iOS is filled with apps and tools that let us do the things we love. However, it's also got a few annoying quirks. One that drives us batty is the "Not Enough Storage" notification. It seems to know exactly when it would be most inconvenient to pop up, such as when we're right in the middle of tapping out a very important text message or trying to snap something crazy on the subway.
You're getting this message, presumably, because your iCloud data is full, and your phone can't automatically back itself up to the cloud anymore. You get 5 GB of storage for free, but these days, that's not all that much. One solution is to just upgrade your iCloud storage plan. You can get more storage for as low as $1 per month. Once you've upgraded, plug in your iPhone, make sure it's connected to a Wi-Fi network, and you should be good to get backed up.
But what if you'd rather not pay for more storage? Here's what to do if you want to make that notification go away, once and for all.
First, if your photos and videos are precious to you (and we know they are), back them up to your desktop by plugging in your phone and following the prompts in iTunes.
Next, we want to make more room in iCloud. You can do this by deleting an old backup of one or more of your devices, which should make room for a new backup. Head to Settings, iCloud, Storage, and then tap Manage Storage. Tap the name of the device backup you don’t want anymore (oh wow, my old iPhone 4 is still in there?), and select Delete Backup.
In your iCloud settings, you'll also want to head to Photos, turn off iCloud Photo Library and turn on My Photo Stream, if you haven't done so already. Photos uploaded in iCloud Photo Library count against those 5 GB of storage; Photo Stream photos do not, and still make your photos available across all of the iCloud-enabled devices with your Apple ID. This will ensure that the photos you take going forward don't nip away at your storage.
And finally, before you're ready to iCloud back up your phone, you want to customize what data you really want backed up. In the Manage Storage section of your iCloud settings, look through the apps that you want to be backed up. Toggle off any that you don't really care about. You can also toggle off Photo Library, because you already backed up your photos to your desktop, and have Photo Stream enabled.
Now, the moment you've been waiting for. Head to Settings, iCloud, Backup, and then tap Back Up Now (your phone will need to be plugged in, and connected to Wi-Fi). Once backed up, that notification should bother you nevermore.
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