6 Fixes to WhatsApp Backup “Not Enough iPhone Storage” Issue

When you're about to backup WhatsApp to iCloud on iPhone, the backup process may appear to have successfully completed but pop up an error message, saying “Not enough iPhone storage”. It is confusing and frustrating that why you need to free space on your iPhone when the backup will be saved to your iCloud account.

Why is your iPhone not enough storage to backup WhatsApp? According to Apple, you need to have at least 2.05 times the space available in your iCloud account and on your iPhone than the actual size of your backup.  Therefore, all you need to do is to free up iPhone storage space when WhatsApp not backing up to iCloud even with enough storage in your iCloud account.

Just follow the tips in this guide to free your iPhone storage without data loss. You are also given a simple way to backup iPhone WhatsApp using powerful backup tool. Let's get started.

Fixes to WhatsApp Backup but not Enough iPhone Storage

When you find not enough iPhone storage to backup WhatsApp to iCloud, you can try the following troubleshoots one after another until it gets fixed. Alternatively, you can skip to the next part to get a better tool to backup WhatsApp.

1# Check Available iCloud Storage

You need to make sure you have enough free iCloud storage space to save WhatsApp data. According to WhatsApp help center, your iCloud and iPhone should have at least 2 times more free space than your WhatsApp backups.

To check iCloud storage, go to the Settings app on your iPhone > [your name] > Tap iCloud.

Just in case, you may need to upgrade your iCloud, just tap Manage Storage from this page > Tap Upgrade to choose your upgrade plan, like 50 GB, 200 GB, or 2 TB.

2# Free Up iPhone Storage

After checking the available storage space in your iCloud account, the next step is to free up iPhone storage. You can firstly go to iPhone Settings > General > iPhone Storage to check your iPhone storage.

• Offload Unused Apps: iOS offers a feature to offload apps that you rarely use. This will remove the app itself but keep its data, allowing you to reinstall it without losing information.

• Clear Safari Cache: Due to background storage usage, you may fail to complete WhatsApp backup not enough iPhone storage. In this case, you can choose to clear cache files in Safari app to get more iPhone storage space.

To clear cache files in Safari, open the Settings app on your iPhone > Locate and choose the Safari > Tap on Clear History and Website Data.

3# Delete Unnecessary Backups

You may still have some free space in iCloud but still, it is not enough for WhatsApp to backup to iCloud. Without pay for extra iCloud space, you can choose to delete old iCloud backups to free up some space.

Visit the Settings app on your iPhone > Tap [your name] > iCloud > Click Manage Storage. From here, you can delete unnecessary and old iCloud backup.

4# Force Quit WhatsApp Application

In order to avoid that the backup function does not work properly due to possible exceptions in the WhatsApp application, have a try to force quit WhatsApp and reopen it again.

Go back to the home screen of your iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen, find the WhatsApp card and swipe up to force close it.

5# Force restart iPhone

not enough iPhone storage to backup WhatsApp may also result from software glitches on your iPhone. It may be helpful to force restart your iPhone to refresh it.

To force restart iPhone with Face ID, quickly press and release the Volume Up button > Quickly press and release the Volume Down button. Finally, press and hold the Side button. When the Apple logo appears, release the button.

6# Backup WhatsApp Data Selectively

iPhone offers you options to backup all WhatsApp data or backup WhatsApp chat history without media files. If you wonder how to backup WhatsApp to iCloud not enough iPhone storage, consider backing up only essential chats and media. Here are steps you can follow.

• Archive Unnecessary Chats: Long-press on a chat and select "Archive." Archived chats won't be included in your next backup, reducing the storage required.

• Exclude Videos from Backup: Videos can take up a significant amount of space. To exclude them from the backup, go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup, then toggle off "Include Videos."

If you don't want to take risk of losing media files in your WhatsApp chat, you can also try other methods to backup your WhatsApp chat history. The next part will offer you a powerful tool to make it.

How to Backup WhatsApp Without iPhone Storage via FoneTool

Indeed, it is kind of convenient to backup WhatsApp to iCloud, especially if you have enabled its Auto Backup function. However, Such not enough iCloud/iPhone storage issue will disappoint you, won't it? How about try a professional WhatsApp backup tool? FoneTool comes to help you.

What Makes FoneTool Different from iCloud
• Unlimited Storage to Save Backup:  FoneTool allows you to save your WhatsApp backup anywhere you want, including local folders on your computer, external hard drives, NAS, and so on.
• Fast and Secure: FoneTool offers high-speed backups and ensures that your data remains encrypted and secure.
• Easy-to-Use Interface: The user-friendly interface makes the backup process simple. You can complete WhatsApp backup with one-click.

Follow the steps below to backup WhatsApp chats with freeware phone tools without effort.

Step 1. Download, install, and launch FoneTool > Connect your iPhone to PC via USB > When prompt, you need to tap Trust on your iPhone to let computer scan your iPhone.

Step 2. On the main interface of FoneTool, click WhatsApp Manager from the left pane > Mouse over to Backup WhatsApp and click Get Started to confirm.

Step 3. Optionally, you can enable backup encryption and choose a destination you prefer to save the WhatsApp backup files > Click Start Backup to begin the task.

To restore WhatsApp backup, just head to the Backup History page to locate the WhatsApp backup to make it. 

FoneTool also supports you to transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone. Without losing anything, just try it to use WhatsApp on your new iPhone.

Summary

That’s all for the solutions to WhatsApp backup, but not enough iPhone storage. You should have known that WhatsApp backup requires enough iPhone and iCloud space. For more queries or suggestions, please feel free to contact us.