Don't have enough space to update your Apple Watch? It's surprising how fast you can fill up the storage with different files and apps, without even noticing.
Here's how to check the storage space on your Apple Watch and what to do to free up more of it.
How to Check Your Apple Watch Storage
Depending on the number of installed apps, synced files, uploaded music, and other stored content, the available storage space on your Apple Watch will vary. You can use either your iPhone or your Apple Watch to see how much storage space is left on the device.
Here's how to see how much storage space there is left using your Apple Watch:
- Click the Digital Crown to open the Home Screen.
- Head to Settings > General.
- Scroll to the bottom of the list and tap Usage.
- Under Available you'll find the amount of space that you can still use. Under Used you'll find the storage space that is already filled by some content. Scroll down to see how much space each of the installed apps use.
If you are more comfortable using your iPhone to check up on the Apple Watch storage space, simply launch the Watch app and head to General > Usage. Here you'll see exactly the same info as on your Apple Watch.
1. Remove Unneeded Apps From Your Apple Watch
One way to free up some space on your Apple Watch is to delete the apps that you don't use. You can do this on your iPhone using the Watch app.
So, open the Watch app, and from the bottom menu tap on My Watch. Scroll down until you find the Installed on Apple Watch apps section. You can delete any of the apps from this list by tapping on them and then disabling Show App on Apple Watch.
Another way to remove apps is using your Apple Watch. If your Home Screen is in grid view, to delete an app, you should tap and hold on any app icon until they all start to shake, then tap X on the app that you no longer need. A new window appears asking you whether you are sure about this decision, tap Delete App.
If your Apple Watch Home Screen is in list view, simply swipe left on the app that you want to remove and tap the trash icon.
2. Set Limits on Photos Synced to Your Apple Watch
If you noticed that your photos take up most of the storage space on your Apple Watch, you can set a smaller limit on the number of photos that you wish to sync.
To resync the photos from your phone to the watch, you should use the Watch app on your iPhone and follow these steps:
- Tap My Watch from the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down to find and Photos on the list of apps. Tap it.
- To set a smaller limit, tap Photos Limit, and choose the smallest number of photos from the available options, which is 25 Photos.
3. Delete Audiobooks and Podcasts From Your Apple Watch
If you store audiobooks and podcasts on your device but rarely listen to them on your Apple Watch, you can remove them to get more free storage space. You can do this through the Watch app on your iPhone, here's how:
- Go to the My Watch section on the Watch app.
- Scroll down to find Audiobooks on the list of the apps. Tap it.
- Toggle off the audiobooks located under Reading Now and Want to Read. Also, scroll a bit lower to see the audiobooks that have already been synced to your Apple Watch. Tap Edit in the top-right corner and then tap the minus (-) icon near the book you want to delete.
- Go back to the My Watch screen and look for Podcasts on the apps list. Tap it.
- From the Add Episodes From menu, choose Custom and toggle off the podcasts that you no longer need on your device.
4. Remove Downloaded Music From Your Apple Watch
If music is taking up most of your storage space on the device, you can use your iPhone to delete it from the Apple Watch. Don't worry, by doing this you'll only delete the music from your watch, it will still be present on your iPhone. Here's how to do this:
- Open the Watch app and head to the My Watch tab.
- Scroll down to find Music and tap it.
- Toggle off any unneeded Playlists that you may find there, as well as the albums located under Automatically Add, to stop downloading new music to the Apple Watch.
- To delete the already downloaded music from the Apple Watch, tap Edit in the top-right corner. Then tap on the minus (-) symbol to remove music and then Delete to confirm your decision.
You can also use your Apple Watch to delete music. Simply head to Music > Library > Downloaded.
Then choose whether you want to delete a whole Album or individual Songs, tap on the needed section, and swipe left on the album or song. Press the three dots that appear and tap Remove. To confirm your choice and delete the album or song from your watch, tap Remove Download.
How to Fix the Apple Watch "Storage Full" Message
Is your Apple Watch storage still full even after you deleted almost everything from the device? Many users claim that after removing photos, music, and all the other files that may be eating up their storage capacity, this message still shows up.
This storage issue is the most common for Apple Watch Series 3.
Here's what you can do to fix it:
- Restart your Apple Watch by holding the Side button and sliding to power off. Then press the Side button again to restart it.
- Unpair it from your iPhone and pair it again.
- Erase the Apple Watch by going to Settings > General > Reset on the watch itself.
Usually, you'll be able to fix this issue by simply restarting your Apple Watch.
Use Your Apple Watch Storage Space Effectively
Too many synced photos, audiobooks, and podcasts that you don't listen to, apps that you don't use, or even music can drain your Apple Watch storage space.
Now that you know how to check out how much storage space is left on your Apple Watch, you'll be able to manage it properly. By deleting unnecessary content from the device, you can free some storage space for more important apps and files.
