Gone are the days of not needing a smartphone. Your iPhone is so much more than just a screen for texting. Today, smartphones are everything. They're how we get work done, stay on top of the crazy news cycle, rock out, keep in touch with friends and family, and capture life’s most important moments. Carrying all of that information in our pockets is incredibly powerful, and it makes getting through our days a little easier. It also means that our most important data can easily be lost when you forget your phone on the train or have an unfortunate spat with the sidewalk. Show If you want to avoid frantically trying to recover the best shots from a friend's wedding, you must back up your iPhone. It’s an especially good idea if you plan on updating to a new iPhone. There are a few ways to do this, and which one you choose will depend on your needs and habits. After you're all backed up, check out our guide to choosing the Best iPhone. Updated September 2021: We updated the steps for backing up your iPhone to MacOS or Windows computers. Backing Up to iCloud Your easiest option, and Apple’s first recommendation, is to back up your iPhone to iCloud. The process is pretty simple:
Photograph: Apple Apple gives you 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, but that’s probably not enough to cover all of your data. Going forward in iOS 15, there's a temporary way to back up your data to iCloud even if you are out of storage, but that doesn't help you right now. You can buy more storage, but it adds up pretty fast. For data-heavy users, there’s a better way to do it for free. Backing Up to Your Mac If your phone is loaded with pictures, songs, apps, and years worth of text messages, a basic iCloud backup isn’t going to cut it. If you have a computer with some gigs to spare, you can plug in your iPhone and click a few buttons to make sure all your phone's data is tucked away, safe and sound. But the correct method depends on your version of MacOS. If you’re not sure which Apple operating system you have, just click the little Apple icon in the top left corner of your Mac desktop and select About This Mac. Another window will pop up, telling you in big bold letters what you’re running. Backing Up to MacOS Catalina 10.15 or later The upgrade to MacOS Catalina (2019) did away with iTunes, replacing it with three separate apps for music, podcasts, and TV. The backup option is now located in Finder, where you can search folders and other drives. The steps to back up your iPhone are almost the same as with iTunes:
Photograph: Apple You can also manage previous backups from here, or choose to sync different types of media with your computer while you’re at it. Backing Up to MacOS Mojave 10.14 or Earlier iTunes is not dead just yet. The service is still available on older OS versions, so you can still back up everything there. Here's how:
Pro tip: This method will let you create multiple backups, so don’t panic if you need to find some info from a few months back. Just dive into iTunes Preferences, click on Devices, and click Summary for your iPhone, and you’ll see a list of every backup. As long as the one you need is there, you can hit Restore Backup and you’ll be ready for a blast from the past. Backing Up to a Windows PC You can also back up your iPhone on your Windows PC using iTunes. Here's how:
How to Turn On Wi-Fi Syncing You probably don't want to have to plug in every time you back up. Luckily, you can turn on Wi-Fi syncing between your iPhone and computer with these steps:
One More Thing We all take a bunch of pictures with our phones, and we want to be able to look back on those moments at a later time. Backing up to iCloud or your computer will get the job done, but it doesn’t hurt to have a second place to save all your family photos and best vacation pictures. The Google Photos app is a great way to make sure your photos won’t get lost since you get 15 GB of storage for free. As an added bonus, the app lets you clear your iPhone’s camera roll once all your photos are backed up if your phone’s low on storage. If you'd rather avoid Google, we've rounded up several alternatives here. More Great WIRED Stories
Why can't I backup my iPhone to my Mac?Make sure your Mac or PC is up-to-date. If you're using iTunes, make sure that you have the latest version of iTunes. Connect your device to your computer with a USB cable, and locate your device on your computer. If your device doesn't appear in Finder or iTunes, learn what to do.
Can you backup iPhone to Mac instead of iCloud?In the General tab, click the circle next to where it says Back up all of the data on your [iPhone/iPad/iPod touch] to this Mac. If you don't want to create an encrypted backup, or you've already set up encrypted backups, click Back Up Now at the bottom of the General tab.
How do I know if iPhone is backed up on my Mac?Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud. Tap Manage Storage, then tap Backups. Tap a backup to see more details about it, choose which information to back up, or delete the backup.. Choose Apple menu > System Preferences.. Click Apple ID.. Click iCloud.. Click Manage.. Select Backups.. |