Delete photos synced to iPad from PC without iTunes (or Windows or OS X PC)

[anony_mouse]

As per the title - I have an iPad 3 running latest iOS7, and I want to delete 3GB worth of pictures that were synced from a PC using iTunes. I do not now have access to iTunes, or to a Windows or Mac PC. If, due to some catastrophic design design by Apple, it's not possible to delete the pictures directly on the iPad, I do have access to a Linux PC.

Can anyone help me? As an absolute last resort, would a factory reset help, and what would I lose in the process?

 

[taz323]

When you tap on a picture, is there not a pic of a trash can in the bottom right hand corner.

 

[anony_mouse]

Thanks for the quick reply. No, there isn't a rubbish bin in the bottom right hand corner. It's there for pictures in the camera roll and photo stream, but not for pictures synced via iTunes.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

You can only remove them with a sync from that computer you synced them from. Sucks, I know.

Doing a factory reset would remove everything from your phone. It's like you're taking the phone out of the box again and setting it up. Your settings, apps, and so forth would need to be tweaked and downloaded again. You would also lose your camera roll pictures.

Another resort would be jailbreaking (which requires a computer) and installing something like iFile that allows you to access the file system of the device and just delete the pics from there.

 

[anony_mouse]

Ok thanks, I feared that would be the case. Lesson learned to do more research before spending so much money next time.

I understood that icloud backed up most app settings, some pictures (but not those synced from PC!), etc. Aren't most things returned to their previous state after a reset, assuming the correct options are selected during setup?

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

Ok thanks, I feared that would be the case. Lesson learned to do more research before spending so much money next time.

I understood that icloud backed up most app settings, some pictures (but not those synced from PC!), etc. Aren't most things returned to their previous state after a reset, assuming the correct options are selected during setup?

I don't know if an iCloud backup doesn't restore the PC synced photos or if it does. You can certainly try though. Go into Settings - icloud - Storage & Backup and hit "back up now." Once it's finished backing up you can go ahead and do the Settings - General - Erase All Content And Settings factory reset. Once it does and you get to the start up screen it'll prompt you for your Apple ID and will give you the option of doing a restore of that icloud backup you just made. It'll restore and you'll be able to see if those pics restore or not. It's worth a shot. And remember that you need to be connected to Wifi in order to restore an icloud backup.

 

[anony_mouse]

I have done a reset before and restored from iCloud, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember exactly what was restored. Anyway I don't think I have any valuable data stored in any iPad apps. I've already used Dropbox to back up the camera roll/photo stream (not the pictures synced from a PC which are causing the problem). The iCloud backup does not include the synced pictures - I use about 300MB of space on iCloud and the pictures are 3GB.

Well, thanks for your help. I'll probably try a reset soon, and remember this serious limitation of the iOS when the time comes to replace the iPad. Any views on whether a reset will speed up the device (iPad 3)? It's getting slow, especially the web browser which is almost unusable on many sites, including ironically this one.

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

I have done a reset before and restored from iCloud, but it was a long time ago and I don't remember exactly what was restored. Anyway I don't think I have any valuable data stored in any iPad apps. I've already used Dropbox to back up the camera roll/photo stream (not the pictures synced from a PC which are causing the problem). The iCloud backup does not include the synced pictures - I use about 300MB of space on iCloud and the pictures are 3GB.

Well, thanks for your help. I'll probably try a reset soon, and remember this serious limitation of the iOS when the time comes to replace the iPad. Any views on whether a reset will speed up the device (iPad 3)? It's getting slow, especially the web browser which is almost unusable on many sites, including ironically this one.

Like a computer, sometimes these mobile devices tend to develop lots of cache that could lead to a little corruption in the file system over time. If something on the device is causing the web browser to be slow, a reset won't fix it because it's not a full restore. A full restore, which consists of plugging in your iPad to a computer and restoring to new on iTunes, actually re-installs a fresh OS. And that means not restoring a backup either. Usually when a device is making an OS jump from like iOS 6 to iOS 7, it wouldn't be a bad thing to do a full restore and start fresh (depending on who you ask). In your case I don't see the harm in doing a restore if you ever get a chance. If it doesn't fix your problems then you have the backup to rely on.

 

[apc46]

Okay, what this means is that I should have bought a Microsoft surface tablet rather than my iPad since I can run iTunes on a surface and then I could've deleted the photos on my iPhone. This policy of not allowing deletion when you are not near as your PC or Mac is brain-dead. Am I missing something?

 

[m2geek]

Okay, what this means is that I should have bought a Microsoft surface tablet rather than my iPad since I can run iTunes on a surface and then I could've deleted the photos on my iPhone. This policy of not allowing deletion when you are not near as your PC or Mac is brain-dead. Am I missing something?

I totally agree, the one thing I hate about iOS is the terrible photo management. It's just so f-ing stupid!

 

[Todd Bertrand]

Yes this is ridiculous!!! I've had my ipad 2 with photos for years now and don't own a computer anymore. So I'm stuck with some old videos and no way to delete them to make room...