Can't free up enough storage space for Big Sur?

Hi AGinCO,

Thanks for visiting the Apple Support Communities. It looks like "Other" is taking up a big portion of your storage on your Mac. Let's see what's going on there.

Other storage on your Mac could be one of the following:

1. Documents like PDF, .psd, .doc, etc.
2. macOS system and temporary files.
3. Cache files like user cache, browser cache, and system cache.
4. Disk images and archives like .zip and .dmg.
5. App plugins and extensions.
6. Everything else that doesn’t fit into the main macOS categories.

To remove cache files:

1. Select the Finder icon from the Dock.
2. Select the Go menu in the upper left corner of the screen.
3. Click on Go to Folder. Then, type ~/Library/caches into the text box. You will see a list of caches from active applications.
4. Select the app folder you wish to remove the cache from.
5. Right-click (or control-click) on the app folder. 
6. Select Move to Trash.

To remove the downloaded files:

1. Open the Finder app on your Mac.
2. Choose the Go menu at the top left corner.
3. Click on Downloads.
4. Next, select the files you want to delete.
5. Right-click on that file.
6. Tap Move to Trash.

If you need further assistance, please contact Apple Support:

Get Support

Cheers!

Hello AGinCO,

Welcome to Apple Support Communities. We understand wanting to free up some space on your Mac to make space, and install Big Sur. Being able to update your Mac is very important, and we'd be happy to look into this with you.

Please follow the steps in the following links, and let us know if that helps:

How to free up storage space on your Mac

Optimize storage space on your Mac

We hope this information is useful. Kind regards.

Hi AGinCO,

Thanks for getting back to us with those additional details. We understand wanting to free up some space on your Mac so you can install the latest update. Let's continue working on this together.

Which macOS version is currently installed on your Mac? Apple > About This Mac.

Do you have multiple user accounts set up on your Mac? If so, have you tried to apply these tips to other user accounts as well?

If you go to: Apple > About This Mac > Storage. What seems to be taking up most of your storage? For example: photos, music or something else.

Please check this out:

macOS Big Sur - Technical Specifications

If you need further assistance, please contact Apple Support:

Get Support

Thank you for using Apple Support Communities. Have a nice day.