Your iPad may be running low on space if it is beginning to run slowly. Low storage can also make it problematic to install new apps or update existing ones.
Apple has been generous enough to make the new iPad models with large storage space. Users also have the option to upgrade to larger space capability albeit an expensive option.
However, if you have an older iPad with limited space or have somehow used up all the space on your iPad, these are tips to help you with it.
Find out how much space you have left on your iPad
Figuring out how much space you have left on your iPad is a good place to start. To do this,
- Open the Settings app,
- Click General,
- Then tap iPad Storage,
- The iPad will now show how much space you have left on what app and which is taking up the most memory. This will help you know what apps you need to delete to create adequate space.
Delete apps to create more room on your iPad
Some apps like music apps are light but have huge files in them. Some apps in themselves are large. The video app or photo app might appear near the top because they mostly contain the larger files. To get the details on an app, you can simply tap it.
The app details page gives you how much space is being taken up and the option to delete the app and all its data. It will also give you the option to delete the app and leave the data behind.
You can now tap Delete App to remove everything — that is the app and data. This is most effective to recover the most space swiftly. However, it would mean a total data wipe.
You can also tap Offload App to delete the app from the iPad without losing the data. This would mean that if you decide to reinstall the app, you will still have all your data. This is great for getting some temporary space. However, for a video or music app where the app itself is very light, deleting just the app won’t make a lot of difference.
Delete music from the iPad
You can decide to delete some music from your iPad to save some space if music is what’s taking up most of the space. To do this,
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap General and then tap iPad Storage.
- Go on and find the music app — it should not be too far down — in the list and tap it.
- You can now delete an entire artist archive by swiping left on the artist and then tapping Delete.
- Or delete a specific album or songs by tapping on the artist to see the list of the albums and swipe left to Delete.
Clear all Safari’s browser cache
The temporary internet files add up over time to take up good space. Clearing your browser cache, however, will sign you out of all the websites you are already logged into. It will also delete all the cookies, and your browsing history will be a good as new. To do this:
- Open the Settings app and go to Safari.
- Tap Safari then tap Clear History and Website Data.
- Then confirm that you want clear all by tapping Clear in the dialogue box.
- After a short while, the browser cache will clear up to give your iPad some space.
Delete all old emails to free up iPad space
Deleting old useless emails like advertorials or coupons, will do your iPad a world of good. They generally won’t take too much space. However, some emails with large attachments or embedded photos take their tolls on your phone storage space. To delete old emails on your iPad,
- Open the Mail app,
- Then tap on the folder that you would like to empty,
- At the top of the folder, click Edit.
- Then tap the first message in the folder to select it.
- Now, tap and hold Move at the bottom of the screen.
- While still clicking on Move, tap the selected message again – this will deselect it. Now lift your finger off Move.
- The view will now show all the messages selected folder.
- Now, tap the Trash folder which is where you would be moving the emails to if you want to delete it.