Bottom Line: It is 100% safe to delete old iOS DeviceSupport folders. Deleting symbol files for legacy iOS versions (like iOS 14, 15, 16) will NOT delete your Xcode projects or connected iPhone data.
What is the iOS DeviceSupport Folder?
Located at ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS DeviceSupport on macOS, this folder is created by Xcode when you connect physical iPhones or iPads for debugging.
When you attach an iPhone running a new iOS version to your Mac, Xcode mounts the device and extracts symbol files into a version folder (e.g., 17.4 (21E219)). Each iOS version support folder takes up 3 GB to 5 GB.
Over years of testing on multiple iOS hardware devices, Xcode retains support symbol folders for dozens of obsolete iOS versions, wasting 20 GB to 70 GB+.
Can You Delete iOS DeviceSupport?
✅ Yes, it is completely safe to delete.
- No project damage: Source code, simulators, and developer certificates stay 100% intact.
- Auto-downloaded on demand: Connecting an iPhone to Xcode in the future will simply re-extract symbol files for that specific iOS version.
How to Safely Clean Up iOS DeviceSupport
Method 1: Delete via Mac Terminal
- Open Terminal on Mac.
- Run the command to remove legacy iOS symbol folders:
rm -rf ~/Library/Developer/Xcode/iOS\ DeviceSupport/*
Related Guides
- Learn about deleting Xcode DerivedData.
- How to clean up Xcode Archives.
- Check if you can clean CocoaPods cache.
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