After updating to 8.1 OTA I decided to restore as new instead as often mentioned in the forums it is a good thing to do. I was hoping for more free space, more stability, and possibly better battery life as stated by many as the way to get these things.
Steps - non DFU method:
- I backed up using iTunes and iCloud to be safe
- wiped the phone (from the phone),
- clicked restore in itunes
- When it came back up instead of restoring from backup I setup the phone from scratch - they say it helps to make it as new right - despite having to redo all of your settings, you'll have less crud and less problems.
Result non DFU mode: No change in free or total space at all from before restore and the quirks that came with 8.1 (fewer then 8.0.x) are still there (not a huge deal, they'll get fixed). Well that was a waste of time in terms of free space. And batter life is good but not any different then before restore.
Usage on phone:
Storage: Used 8.4 GB, Available: 3.8 GB
Then I saw that restoring from DFU mode is actually somehow a cleaner install as wiping phone and restoring as new is somehow not the same wipe as the DFU mode restore. So time for another test.
Steps DFU method:
- backup phone using iCloud and iTunes to be safe
- put phone in DFU mode (method below if you are looking for this)
- restored phone in itunes (button is now different with DFU mode)
- when iTunes came back up after restore I clicked restore from backup (why go through all the setup again if it didn't help before)
Results DFU method:
Usage on phone:
Storage: Used 7.0 GB, Available: 5.1 GB
That's a surprise. Same apps, same data, same setup exactly.
But wait there's more:
Compare iTunes usage before and after:
non DFU - Free space: 3.72GB
DFU - Free space: 6.21GB
Screenshots attached.
Thoughts:
- The Other block used is dramatically different.
- What people are promising when they say 'Restore/Setup as new' but they never say use DFU mode - what I had thought was setting up as new meant going through all the settings and not restoring from backup. At least for me that made no difference whatsoever.
- The usage reported in iTunes and on the phone are different - the total is the same but they do not agree on free space. If the phone one is the limiting factor then the iTunes reported other usage is false. Either way there is a bit more free space using DFU mode.
- using non DFU mode restore and going through all the settings and re-downloading apps was a complete waste of my time. This DFU mode actually gave me a bit of free space.
Can anyone make any sense of any of this?
before on Phone:
after on Phone:
before in iTunes:
after in iTunes:
------------------------------
On creating phone as new and not restoring from backup:
Note to those considering following this process: All of the apps that I care about have cloud data so it was just a matter of logging in and setting up the tons of customizations. No local data is on the phone with the apps that I care about. Not a problem. If you care about app data that is ONLY on the phone this method probably will lose that data for you unless you take some other measures to get it off the phone and later be able to put it back on. That's why restoring from a backup is so convenient and for some the only way to go to keep their data on the phone. Related, I use iCloud and google contacts and calendars so that's not lost for me. Also I stream all my music and videos. All photos are in iCloud and on my computer. Ok you've been warned.
Tip: Using 1password synced to dropbox allowed for a much smoother setup as new. It's just a great tool for lots of other reasons anyway, if you're not using it you should be.
------------------------------
DFU mode:
Step 1: Connect your iPhone with your computer
Step 2: Switch off your iPhone by holding Power button and slide to power off
Step 3: Hold the power button for 3 seconds
Step 4: Press and hold the Home and Power (sleep/wake) buttons for sometime (10 seconds)
Step 3: After this, release the Power button but keep the Home button pressed for 15 seconds
Step 4: This puts the iPhone in DFU mode. The screen remains black.
Step 5: When you connect your iPhone to iTunes, a popup tells you that iTunes has detected an iPhone in DFU mode.
Steps - non DFU method:
- I backed up using iTunes and iCloud to be safe
- wiped the phone (from the phone),
- clicked restore in itunes
- When it came back up instead of restoring from backup I setup the phone from scratch - they say it helps to make it as new right - despite having to redo all of your settings, you'll have less crud and less problems.
Result non DFU mode: No change in free or total space at all from before restore and the quirks that came with 8.1 (fewer then 8.0.x) are still there (not a huge deal, they'll get fixed). Well that was a waste of time in terms of free space. And batter life is good but not any different then before restore.
Usage on phone:
Storage: Used 8.4 GB, Available: 3.8 GB
Then I saw that restoring from DFU mode is actually somehow a cleaner install as wiping phone and restoring as new is somehow not the same wipe as the DFU mode restore. So time for another test.
Steps DFU method:
- backup phone using iCloud and iTunes to be safe
- put phone in DFU mode (method below if you are looking for this)
- restored phone in itunes (button is now different with DFU mode)
- when iTunes came back up after restore I clicked restore from backup (why go through all the setup again if it didn't help before)
Results DFU method:
Usage on phone:
Storage: Used 7.0 GB, Available: 5.1 GB
That's a surprise. Same apps, same data, same setup exactly.
But wait there's more:
Compare iTunes usage before and after:
non DFU - Free space: 3.72GB
DFU - Free space: 6.21GB
Screenshots attached.
Thoughts:
- The Other block used is dramatically different.
- What people are promising when they say 'Restore/Setup as new' but they never say use DFU mode - what I had thought was setting up as new meant going through all the settings and not restoring from backup. At least for me that made no difference whatsoever.
- The usage reported in iTunes and on the phone are different - the total is the same but they do not agree on free space. If the phone one is the limiting factor then the iTunes reported other usage is false. Either way there is a bit more free space using DFU mode.
- using non DFU mode restore and going through all the settings and re-downloading apps was a complete waste of my time. This DFU mode actually gave me a bit of free space.
Can anyone make any sense of any of this?
before on Phone:
after on Phone:
before in iTunes:
after in iTunes:
------------------------------
On creating phone as new and not restoring from backup:
Note to those considering following this process: All of the apps that I care about have cloud data so it was just a matter of logging in and setting up the tons of customizations. No local data is on the phone with the apps that I care about. Not a problem. If you care about app data that is ONLY on the phone this method probably will lose that data for you unless you take some other measures to get it off the phone and later be able to put it back on. That's why restoring from a backup is so convenient and for some the only way to go to keep their data on the phone. Related, I use iCloud and google contacts and calendars so that's not lost for me. Also I stream all my music and videos. All photos are in iCloud and on my computer. Ok you've been warned.
Tip: Using 1password synced to dropbox allowed for a much smoother setup as new. It's just a great tool for lots of other reasons anyway, if you're not using it you should be.
------------------------------
DFU mode:
Step 1: Connect your iPhone with your computer
Step 2: Switch off your iPhone by holding Power button and slide to power off
Step 3: Hold the power button for 3 seconds
Step 4: Press and hold the Home and Power (sleep/wake) buttons for sometime (10 seconds)
Step 3: After this, release the Power button but keep the Home button pressed for 15 seconds
Step 4: This puts the iPhone in DFU mode. The screen remains black.
Step 5: When you connect your iPhone to iTunes, a popup tells you that iTunes has detected an iPhone in DFU mode.
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