Fix: Transfer Cannot be Completed, iPhone Not Enough Storage

What to do when it says transfer cannot be completed?

When you want to transfer data from old iPhone to new iPhone, but encounter the transfer cannot be completed due to iPhone not having enough storage issues in iPhone 14 (Plus) / 14 Pro (Max), 13 (mini) / 13 Pro (Max), 12, the following tips may help you.

1. Check iPhone storage

The main reason for the new iPhone says not have enough storage to transfer is that the amount of data you are trying to transfer is close to or exceeds the capacity of the new phone. Please check the storage of the old and new iPhone, and also remove unnecessary items from the old phone to reduce the load.

Click Settings > General > iPhone Storage. Then, you will see a list of apps and how much space they are taking up on your iPhone.

☛Tip: You can review the Recommendations such as Offload Unused Apps and Review Large Attachments.

2. Remove unneeded software

After reviewing iPhone storage, you should check if there is any software that is not often used or unneeded after installation, they will occupy a large part of iPhone storage, which is also one of the reasons for transfer cannot be completed.

Click the app name, then select Delete App.

3. Manage your photos and videos

Generally speaking, Photos and videos can take up most of the storage space, so it’s better for you to delete some of the redundant photos.

Part 1. Remove recently deleted photos

When you delete photos, these photos will be not removed from your iPhone but removed to a Recently Deleted album. You can delete them manually.

Step 1. Go to the Photos, and next select some photos you don’t need anymore. Then tap the Trash icon.

Step 2. Then it will note you This photo will be deleted from iCloud Photos on all your devices. Click Delete Photo.

Step 3. The deleted photo will be sent to the Recently Deleted album.

Step 4. Swipe down, and select Recently Deleted, you should select the unnecessary photos and delete them.

Part 2. Delete duplicate or similar photos

While taking photos, you might take piles of photos to capture the best moment. However, it will take up a large part of iPhone storage, which may lead to “iPhone transfer cannot be completed due to not having enough storage” issue. so you can free up storage by deleting those duplicate photos.

If your iPhone doesn't contain many photos, you can delete them manually. Or you can turn to a professional and free photos Deduplication tool- FoneTool.

With the Photo Duplication feature of this tool, you can easily find and delete duplicate photos on iPhone.  Please follow the steps below to see how it works:

Step 1. Download the free tool and connect your iPhone with the PC, next open it. Click Toolbox and choose Photos Deduplication.

Step 2. Click Filter photos in iOS device > Scan iOS Device.

Step 3. Click Start scanning.

Step 4. Click Delete.

4. Reset iPhone

Sometimes, your new iPhone has enough storage space, but you will still get a notification that the transfer cannot be completed, it may be that there is an unknown error during the transfer process. In this case, you can reset your iPhone and then try to transfer the data again after a few minutes.

Click Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.

How do I transfer data from iPhone to iPhone when storage is full?

If the above methods do not free up enough space to transfer data, and your iPhone 14/13 still got the not enough storage messages, you can keep reading to learn all the potential solutions that can help you address the “can’t transfer data to new iPhone due to not enough storage” issue. These ways apply to all iPhone models, let’s start with the first way.

Way 1: Transfer data via FoneTool

Apart from deleting duplicate photos, FoneTool is a professional iPhone transfer software. With this tool, you can easily transfer data from iPhone to iPhone within one click. 

Exclusive features of FoneTool:
★Broad compatibility. It supports most iPhone models from iPhone 4 to the latest iPhone 14 and can be compatible with the latest iOS 16.
★Fast transfer speed. You can transfer your data to new iPhone with a fast speed.
★Fully or selectively transfer data: FoneTool support fully or partially transferring data to new iPhone after setup.

Step 1. Run FoneTool, and click Phone Transfer on the left pane. Click iPhone to iPhone.

Step 2. Waiting for the iPhone-to-iPhone program to be launched. You can encrypt the process to transfer personal data, like Keychain, and Health app. Then click Start Transfer.

Then your data on the old iPhone will be transferred to the new iPhone.

Notes:✎...

If you want to selectively transfer photos, videos, messages, contacts, from iPhone to iPhone, you can choose Phone Backup > Selective Backup to backup your files to computer, and restore to the new iPhone 14/13/12.

iPhone-to-iPhone transfer need 2 USB cables to connect 2 iPhones. If you only have one USB cable, on the FoneTool, you can choose Phone Backup > Full Backup to fully backup your current iPhone on PC. Then restore to new iPhone later to complete the migration.

Way 2: Upload data to iCloud

iCloud is a powerful cloud storage device that helps Apple users store photos, videos, notes, documents, and other data to iCloud storage. Uploading data to iCloud is the most commonly used method, and it's also the most convenient method for users.

Step 1. Go to Settings > Apple ID > iCloud > Backup. Turn on iCloud Backup, you’ll see an option of Back up Now, please click it.

Step 2. Next, turn on the new iPhone and set up it. When it comes to Apps & Data, click Restore from iCloud backup, and sign in to the iCloud account that you used on the previous iPhone.

Step 3. Click on the backup you recently made on your old iPhone. Please wait for the backup transfer to finish.

☛Tip: Please don’t let your iPhone run out of battery power.

Way 3: Transfer data via iTunes

iTunes needs you to make an iPhone backup to computer and then restore the backup to the new iPhone. Please read this passage to know what iTunes backup includes and how it works.

Step 1. Download and install the latest version of iTunes on your computer.

Step 2. Connect iPhone to iTunes.

Step 3. Click the Summary tab > Select This Computer > Click Back Up Now. Wait for the backup to be finished.

Conclusion

This post shows you 3 useful ways to fix transfer cannot be completed due to iPhone not having enough storage, you can choose one of them as you like. Your most intimate backup helper - FoneTool is mostly recommended because it helps you transfer data from iPhone to iPhone safely and easily.