"Other" category on iPad taking up 16+GB

I've got a mystery. When I pug in my iPad 3 to my pc and launch iTunes, I see audio at 8GB, video at 7DB, photos at 76MB, Apps at 8GB and Other at a whopping 16GB.
I've looked around and people suggest unchecking "Open iTunes when this iPad is Connected"...that doesn't work. I've seen people suggest looking at messages / emails...that's not the culprit.
What could be taking up that amount of storage? I really ned and want that space ...it's a huge percentage of the storage. I don't sync calendars, contacts, or other Outlook data.

How Do I Get Rid Of The “Other” Data Stored On My iPad Or iPhone?
http://tinyurl.com/85w6xwn
With an iOS device, the “Other” space in iTunes is used to store things like documents, settings, caches, and a few other important items. If you sync lots of documents to apps like GoodReader, DropCopy, or anything else that reads external files, your storage use can skyrocket. With iOS 5/6/7, you can see exactly which applications are taking up the most space. Just head to Settings > General > Usage, and tap the button labeled Show All Apps. The storage section will show you the app and how much storage space it is taking up. Tap on the app name to get a description of the additional storage space being used by the app’s documents and data. You can remove the storage-hogging application and all of its data directly from this screen, or manually remove the data by opening the app. Some applications, especially those designed by Apple, will allow you to remove stored data by swiping from left to right on the item to reveal a Delete button.
 Cheers, Tom

Similar Messages

What is the yellow, "other" category which is taking up 1.90gb of space?

Hi there,
I have a 6g nano, 16gb.
In iTunes I can see that out of the 14.98gb capacity, 12.4gb is audio, 0.75gb is free, and 1.90gb is "other". It shows up as yellow in the bar down the bottom in the capacity window.
My question is: what does "other" consist of?
I don't sync any photos, I don't sync any iTunes U. I don't have "enable disk use" checked, and I never have.
Anything I try to transfer off the ipod (eg podcasts, music, even audio books) decreases the audio content, but not the "other". So, what IS taking up 1.90gb of space on my nano?

How Do I Get Rid Of The “Other” Data Stored On My iPad Or iPhone?
http://tinyurl.com/85w6xwn
With an iOS device, the “Other” space in iTunes is used to store things like documents, settings, caches, and a few other important items. If you sync lots of documents to apps like GoodReader, DropCopy, or anything else that reads external files, your storage use can skyrocket. With iOS 5, you can see exactly which applications are taking up the most space. Just head to Settings > General > Usage, and tap the button labeled Show All Apps. The storage section will show you the app and how much storage space it is taking up. Tap on the app name to get a description of the additional storage space being used by the app’s documents and data. You can remove the storage-hogging application and all of its data directly from this screen, or manually remove the data by opening the app. Some applications, especially those designed by Apple, will allow you to remove stored data by swiping from left to right on the item to reveal a Delete button.
 Cheers, Tom

Why does the "other" category take up so much space on my iphone?

I want to get rid of the "other category that is taking up so much space on my iPhone. It's taking up 2GB of space. Thanks!

This much "other" indicates corrupt files.
A restore should resolve.

How do I get rid of the "other" category on my iPad Air?

iTunes is saying that "other" occupies 1.97GB out of my 16GB tablet and I need to learn how to remove it. I am a long-time apple user with all the apple devices, but can't seem to figure out what causes the "other" category to be so large on any of my devices.
Thanks in advance for your help!

iPhone, iPad, and iPod: Understanding capacity
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1867
How much space is used by your Other? You may be able to reduce.
How Do I Get Rid Of The “Other” Data Stored On My iPad Or iPhone?
http://tinyurl.com/85w6xwn
How to Remove “Other” Data from iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
http://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-remove-other-data-from-iphone/
With an iOS device, the “Other” space in iTunes is used to store things like documents, settings, caches, and a few other important items. If you sync lots of documents to apps like GoodReader, DropCopy, or anything else that reads external files, your storage use can skyrocket. With iOS 5/6/7, you can see exactly which applications are taking up the most space. Just head to Settings > General > Usage, and tap the button labeled Show All Apps. The storage section will show you the app and how much storage space it is taking up. Tap on the app name to get a description of the additional storage space being used by the app’s documents and data. You can remove the storage-hogging application and all of its data directly from this screen, or manually remove the data by opening the app. Some applications, especially those designed by Apple, will allow you to remove stored data by swiping from left to right on the item to reveal a Delete button.
What is “Other” and What Can I Do About It?
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5142
iPhone or iPad Ran Out of Storage Space? Here’s How to Make Space Available Quickly
http://osxdaily.com/2012/06/02/iphone-ipad-ran-out-of-available-storage-space-ho w-to-fix-quick/
6 Tips to Free Up Tons of Storage Space on iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch
http://osxdaily.com/2012/04/24/6-tips-free-up-storage-space-ipad-iphone-ipod-tou ch/
Also,
How to Clear Message/iMessage Cache on iPhone & iPad And Reclaim Lots of Free Space
http://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-clear-message-imessage-cache-on-iphone-ipad/
What is Stored in iCloud and What is Not
https://sites.google.com/site/appleclubfhs/support/advice-and-articles/what-is-s tored-in-icloud
 Cheers, Tom

What items are in the "other" category on the iPad

What is in the "other" category on the iPad (i.e., there is audio, photos, etc.) and the end, there is an "other" tab. These tabs show how much space you are using. My "other" category is showing 8GB used. Have no idea what that is, but it is taking up all my space on my ipad.. Thank you

See this document for a comprehensive list of what is in Other and how to deal with it.
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5142

How can I stop the "other" category from taking up all the remaining space on my iphone 4?

I have an iphone 4 that is unlocked (when my contract ended, I called AT&T and unlocked the phone since I was going abroad and needed a new carrier) and the "other" category is out of control. It was at about 3GB and I did everything possible to try to remove it - cleared cache, deleted data from apps, deleted messages and voice memos, but nothing worked- it just kept coming.
I reset the phone and restored from back up, and it seemed to fix the problem. But then I checked it again and the "other" category is steadily creeping up again. It went from 500MB to 3.5GB again in about two hours. It seems to be just trying to take up all of the remaining space available on the phone.
Is my only option to restore the phone completely and not restore from any of the potentially infected back up data?

Thanks, Thomas. I can see the data usage by app, but that's the problem- there is nothing that it taking up that much space. The largest ones are these:
Whatsapp: App size: 61.8MB, Data and documents 108 MB
Facebook: App size: 91.2MB, Documents and data: 49.3MB
Photos and camera: 131MB
I systematically went through and deleted all of my conversations in messages, so I know that there are no photos/ videos hiding there.
I really think that it's coming from something I can't see, especially since it's still there after resetting to factory settings and restoring from backup.
There only reason there is 1.75GB of available space is because I deleted all of my music so that at least it wouldn't be over capacity!! This is so frustrating!

How can I reclaim storage from other category on my iPad?

I have used PhoneClean, deleted my browser cache, deleted and re added my e-mail account, deleted my text messages and still there is 10 GB in the other category.

By restoring as New.
Locked Out, Forgot Lock or Restrictions Passcode, or Need to Restore Your Device: Several Alternative Solutions
A
1. iOS- Forgotten passcode or device disabled after entering wrong passcode
2. iPhone, iPad, iPod touch: Wrong passcode results in red disabled screen
3. Restoring iPod touch after forgotten passcode
4. What to Do If You've Forgotten Your iPhone's Passcode
5. iOS- Understanding passcodes
6. iTunes 10 for Mac- Update and restore software on iPod, iPhone, or iPad
7. iOS - Unable to update or restore
Forgotten Restrictions Passcode Help
iPad,iPod,iPod Touch Recovery Mode
You will need to restore your device as New to remove a Restrictions passcode. Go through the normal process to restore your device, but when you see the options to restore as New or from a backup, be sure to choose New.
You can restore from a backup if you have one from BEFORE you set the restrictions passcode.
Also, see iTunes- Restoring iOS software.
What is "Other" and What Can I Do About It?- Apple Support Communities
Reclaim "Other" storage space on iPad, iPhone and iPod - AppDucate

Why is iPhone Other Category Taking up Half my Phone's Storage?

I have restored my 16 GB iPhone 4S twice, once from iTunes and once from iCloud. I can't get the 8.9 GB of the Other category to go down. The Other category is only a tiny sliver on my iPad. I've read many posts on this problem but have not found a solution that works.

I restored it back to factory default in iTunes. After that I added all of my settings and apps back to the phone from a backup.
Are you saying the only way is to start from scratch and rebuild my entire contact list, apps etc?

"Other" Category taking SOOOO much space

Hi Apple Community.
its been almost 2 years that ive had my imac and im very happy with it. NEVER going back to PC. However im always concerned about my memory, and just today i checked my storage and BANG there was 100GB of memory taken by the "other" category on my flash storage and 269.46GB taken by the "Other" Category on my 2TB SATA Disk. PLEASE help me get rid of these. i understand the SATA disk space because ive got Parrallels disktop using memory on sata disk but i dont understand how 100GB is taken by other category in my flash storage! HELP PLEASE

First, empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB free on the startup volume for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of your data. Use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space. Proceed further only if the problem hasn't been solved. ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To really see everything, you have to run it as root. Back up all data now if you haven't already done so. No matter what happens, you should be able to restore your system to the state it was in at the time of that backup. Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways: ☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.) ☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens. ☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid. After installing ODS in the Applications folder, drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. When you're done with it, quit it and also quit Terminal.

What is the "other" category and why is it taking up so much space?

The "other" category on my iPod is taking up a considerable amount of space. I don't have very many apps, pictures, or videos because I want to preserve room for more music, but I can't seem to find a way to reduce the amount of memory that "other" takes up. Please help! Also, I would update to a newer system, but I don't have enough room.

Everything else plus the operating system.

When I plug my iPad in to sync with my mac desktop, the capacity meter shows an 'other' category. What is this?

When I plug my iPad in to sync with my mac desktop, the capacity meter shows an 'other' category. What is this?

Could be contacts/favorites/history/notes/etc.
It is normal for there to be 200 - 800 gb in other.

When syncing my ipod touch, the Other category shows it's taking up a lot of space. What is in Other?

When syncing my iPod Touch, the "Other" category shows it's taking up a large amount of storage space on the device. What is in the "Other" category, and how do I control what goes into it?

Restore from a backup will get you some 'other' back.
Still not happy, Restore in iTunes, Setup as new. Sync back personal data using iTunes Tabs

HT1451 I have the 128gb iPad 4 but for some reason the category other (yellow) says I have 64.26 gb being used. What is stored under other category on the iPad?

What is stored under "other" category on the iPad?

The long and short of it is that you will probably have to restore your iPad. That giant "other" space is a sign of a corrupt file from a sync, I am pretty sure, but I am quite sure that the way to resolve it is to restore the iPad.
You can search the discussion site for similar threads but I think you will find that a restore is the way to correct it. Read this one.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/12531408#12531408

Brand new iPad 2 32GB with 3G. When I hooked it up to my computer, the capacity bar had 11.4GB full in the "other" category even though i haven't synced anything yet.

Brand new iPad 2 32GB with 3G. When I hooked it up to my computer, the capacity bar had 11.4GB full in the "other" category even though i haven't synced anything yet. What does the "other" category consist of and how can I fix this?

The iPad was sealed in the box when I got it. It had the plastic screen protector wrapped all around it and when I powered it on for the first time it displayed the "connect to iTunes for setup" message displayed. The only other thing I can think of is if the person I bought it from had ordered it through Verizon on and the iPad was set up on a number on his pre-existing verizon account. My question is should I just keep using it and consider myself lucky? Since there is no way for Verizon to charge me for the usage because I never signed a contract. I realize that if it is on the account belonging to the person I bought it from, they will eventually figure this out and shut it off. But I might as well use it in the meantime right?

Why is the other category taking up all my space?

All of a sudden my computer's hard drive has been consumed by this "other" category. Not too long ago we had half the space on our computer. And whenever I delete applications and such it all comes back. I deleted 11 GB of applications, and two days later it was all consumed by the other category. We didn't even download anything! What is going on and is there a solution?
Macintosh HD                                                                   248.3 MB free out of 499.25 GB
Audio               Movies               Photos               Apps              Backups               Other
Zero KB           Zero KB              Zero KB             Zero KB          Zero KB               499 GB

Select  ▹ System Preferences ▹ Spotlight ▹ Privacy. The list of items excluded from Spotlight indexing is shown (it may be empty.) Click the plus (“+”) icon to add an item to the list. Select your boot volume (under DEVICES) and add it to the list. Then remove it from the list by selecting it and clicking the minus (“-“) icon.
Spotlight will rebuild the index. If you try to do a Spotlight search now from the magnifying-glass icon in the top right corner of the display, a pulsing dot will appear in the icon. When the dot disappears, the indexing is complete.

"Other" category on iPad taking up 16+GB

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