iPhone not syncing with iCloud despite available storage

Question

Level 1

4 points

iPhone not syncing with iCloud despite available storage

Ok, I’ve seen many people ask this question and still haven’t seen a reliable answer.

I have 1tb of iCloud space that has 70% free space. But my iPhone will not sync to iCloud. It just takes longer and longer, from 1hr-5hrs to just being stuck.

i constantly now don’t have space on my phone because the iCloud won’t update, even though photos go to my iCloud it doesn’t free up space on my phone.

So basically I’m wasting money on storage, to still not have any on my phone.

Can I Please get a real solution to this issue because with my company I need the storage space on my phone , and I’m just ready to end the Apple experience bc this doesn’t make sense.

Photos also aren’t available to download to my computer when I plug my phone in.

[Edited by Moderator]

Original Title: iCloud, is a scam?

iPhone 15 Pro, iOS 18

Posted on Dec 6, 2025 3:55 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

azaksalmarzur28

Level 2

498 points

Dec 6, 2025 4:19 AM in response to Jcoles9

Your iPhone isn’t syncing to iCloud because the upload pipeline is stalled.

Until the uploads complete, your phone will NOT free space — even with 1 TB of storage available.

This is fixable with:

Turn off Low Power Mode
Turn on Optimize iPhone Storage
Keep iPhone plugged in + locked + on Wi-Fi overnight
Turn iCloud Photos OFF then ON again (do NOT delete items)
Delete broken photo/video at bottom of library
Sign out/in of iCloud if needed

This always resolves the issue unless the library is corrupted (rare).

Reply