"other" in storage timeline?

[ssholl]

Hi,

When I sync my iPhone it shows 19.2 gb of "other".  I don't know what "other" is, so I'm not sure if I've actually used most of my 64gb on real stuff, or if the "other" is a problem.

I have 26 gb of music, .87gb of video, 1.55 gb of photos, 4.5 gb of apps, .14gb of books, and 19.2 gb of OTHER.  what the heck is the "other"?

THANKS for any help. I've asked a couple of my apple tech friends, and they had no idea why it would be so high!

[kaebfly]

Are you sure it's showing as 19.2gb and not as 19.2mb or kb's? "Other" would be things like iOS space, temporary files and saved files from apps, system files, cover art for songs you have on your device, emails, sms, ringtones, etc...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1867

Now if yours truly is holding 19.2 GB's of space then there is something odd going on. You may need to restore your device.

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/1568742

[ssholl]

Hello, and thanks for your response.

I am positive that it is 19.2 gb. It's almost as large as my music. As I said, my mac friends are baffled. I

Early on, I did reset (I think it was reset) the phone and the other went down to around 6gb. Then the next time, I synced it, it was back above 18gb.

So, I can try the restore, but help me to know the answer to this question. Doesn't the restore just take it back to the last sync? I've had the "other" problem since I got the phone and so i wonder if it will make any difference?

Thanks!

Ssholl

[kaebfly]

Restore will take it back to factory....you would have to restore from last backup if you want to do that. I would suggest not doing that....which may be a pain but it will help make sure that whatever extras that may be clogging your iPhone won't be put back on there again. I have the 64 GB and my "other" is 1.25 GB. I haven't had the issue you are having on my iPhone but I did have it happen a long time ago with my iPod Touch....unfortunately I can't recall what I did to fix it...except may restoring it. Just curious....do you have a high number of emails, contacts, Calendar items, Alerts/Reminders scheduled, Notes, Voice memos, text messages on your device? Do you use a lot of apps (mainly gaming apps or GPS apps...or really any app that is actively using location services)? Do you have a lot of apps open (when you double click the home key, are there a lot of apps in the bottom...you can tell by sliding through them)? I'm grasping but that may pay a part in your high "other". If you restore (make sure you do a backup before doing it) without using the backup and then add your things back to your device you can check anc see if you still see high "other". If not, then chances are you have a high amount of other.

As far as your MAC friends are concerned...although they are great to ask for help it really wouldn't hurt for you to contact Apple directly about your iPhone. They may be able to offer a solution or find the problem easier.

[soupcannon]

Mine was excessively high after a failed update attempt , the only way to clear it was to restore it to a previous backup