HT204022 This iphone cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage available. Can you help up delete some of our pictures that are backed up so that we can continue to back up the phone?

Question

This iphone cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage.  Can you help me take the pictures off the icloud since I backed them up on my pc and would like to continue to use the storage in icloud to back up with.

Answer 1

you are correct. We are not understanding each other. I am attempting to provide a model for good habits for the OP. You have provided only a short term brief intervention which leaves a gaping hole for data to get lost in.
At no point did I say that merely backing up the device without saving the camera roll pictures would delete them.  Please stop inferring what you think I mean, you are confusing the issue. I said that doing so was SETTING UP the OP for data loss. This behavior encourages the OP to simply shut off their backup for their pictures. At no point did you instruct the OP to delete the old pictures from the device. The set up part is this... if they simply turn off the camera roll backup, and aren't implementing some form of management for the pictures on the device, then the pictures are only being actually saved, in a "permanent" manner when the OP backs up to itunes. That's all fine and good, but this also presumes that the OP will always do so on a regular basis, will never forget to do so even when there are a ton of new, very important pics to worry about.
My suggestion allows the OP to continue to use the automatic backup feature the way it was intended...automatically...for the information that has not yet been saved to the user's computer. The whole point here is that the OP can keep their pics AND still benefit from automatic backups without disabling the cameral roll from being backed up into the icloud.
Should this poster have walked into my fruit themed store, I would recommend that the OP do the following:
1. back up the pics to the computer (done)
2. REMOVE THE BACKED UP PICS FROM THE PHONE
3. Learn about and utilize PHOTOSTREAM (including its limitations like no videos, only 1000 pics and only for 30 days) to make backing up and saving the photos from the phone easy and simple
4. Explain how backup works and what it backs up
5. Reassure the OP that even if they haven't backed up to itunes lately or have not bothered to properly save their pictures using another device and PHOTOSTREAM, that their oversight won't be catastrophic in circumstances where failure to do either of these things and being met with tragedy, does not necessarily mean that the OP is SOL. The automatic backup is another line of defense against data loss and can save the OP's precious memories, TEMPORARILY, until they can be transferred to another device for "permanent" storage. Why disable a line of defense?
I see it all the time. Full icloud, camera roll turned off, device not backed up to itunes nor pics saved for weeks because they were too busy, didn't feel like it or were just plain lazy.  Then, a wedding, birth, Halloween, Naughty time with the hubby, whatever it may be its an event with a LOT of pictures taken. Then, then next day or so, before the manual saves can happen, the device is damaged and needs to be replaced. There's no backup, nothing saved and the user loses ALL of the pics from the special event. IF they had properly managed their pics and only kept stuff on there that they really needed, deleted the rest after saving their pics elsewhere, and thus kept the backup size small enough to use, the backup would happen unattended overnight, and even though catastrophe still happens,  all the pics from the big event are recovered on a new device using the iCloud backup.
Do you see the difference?  I hope you do, and i hope so does the OP.  I have a great deal of experience here, take advantage of it or not. Accept my help or be stubborn about it, Your choice. I am finished posting into this thread now.  Take care and good luck with your data.