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This blog post was originally published in 2016. Since then, Apple has rolled out a number of updates to its products and how their data is backed up, so we’re sharing an update to this post with the latest information. Apple recently released the newest edition of their iPhone, boasting a new storage capacity option of 1TB. That’s a big upgrade for anyone looking to get the latest version, and all that extra space is sure to be filled up quickly with app data, photos, videos, and more. You wouldn’t want to accidentally lose any of that important data, so it’s important to make sure you treat backups for your phone with as much consideration as you do for your computer. Not only that, but software upgrades can also have the potential to wreak data havoc, so keeping consistent data backups ensures all your iPhone data stays safe and secure in the cloud. If you’re using iCloud Backup or iTunes to back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, read this post to understand how those backups work, and learn what else you can do to protect your data. Apple has tried to make backing up less of a chore with iCloud Backup. This iOS feature lets your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch back up its contents to the cloud. If you’re looking for the most frictionless way to back up your devices, this is it. The nice thing about iCloud Backup is that you set it and forget it. iCloud Backup happens automatically when your device is charging, locked, and is connected to Wi-Fi. Once you’ve configured your device for iCloud Backup, you should just be able to rely on the backups to happen periodically when you’re charging. How to Use iCloud Backup on Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch
How to Check Your iCloud BackupMake sure to stay connected to your Wi-Fi network until the backup is done. Here’s how to check your backup’s progress: Using iOS 11 or later and iPadOS:
Using iOS 10.3:
How Does iCloud Backup Work?iCloud Backup lets you restore your device from almost anywhere. It also makes upgrading a breeze. When you set up a new iOS device, for example, the system will ask you if you want to restore from an iCloud backup. There is a downside to iCloud Backup that you need to be aware of. It’s very dependent on a specific set of actions to work:
This last item is the killer. Apple only gives you 5GB of free space with the basic iCloud account. If you have a lot of stuff on your iOS device or in the cloud, it’s trivially easy to exceed your free 5GB iCloud allowance, which means your backups won’t happen unless you pay Apple for additional iCloud space. If you have both an iPhone and an iPad? Forget about it. You have to pay Apple or you won’t have enough space to back up both. iCloud storage ranges from 99 cents per month for 50GB to $9.99 a month for 2TB. There’s another caveat, too. iCloud Backup doesn’t back up everything on your phone. Things that aren’t backed up include:
Most of this makes a lot of sense. Since data is already synced in iCloud and other cloud services, there’s no need to duplicate it in the backup. And as a matter of security, Apple Pay and Touch ID info shouldn’t be kept in a backup either—that info remains the sole domain of specialized hardware on compatible iOS devices called Secure Enclave. As long as you understand the limits of iCloud Backup, it’s an enormously helpful tool that makes backup, recovery, and upgrading a lot easier. There’s an alternative that doesn’t require you to buy any more space in iCloud and isn’t dependent on a network connection, either: backing up locally. To do that, you can use iTunes or Finder. How to Back Up Your iPhone to a ComputerIn 2019, Apple discontinued iTunes in its products, so it can no longer be used as a way to back up your phone on a Mac unless you’re running macOS Mojave or earlier. However, iTunes is still available for Windows PCs. The good news for Windows PC users is that you don’t need an internet connection, don’t have to pay for iCloud space, or any other shenanigans. All you’ll need is enough hard drive space to accommodate the backup. To do this, you’ll have to physically connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC using its USB sync cable. You can also configure iTunes to allow backups over Wi-Fi. How to Back Up an iPhone to iTunesUsing a Windows PC:
Using MacOS Mojave or earlier:
As with iCloud backup, there are a few limitations you should be aware of with iTunes backup. Some information isn’t backed up, by design:
Again, most of these limitations make sense—you can re-sync the content you need and some stuff needs to be excluded as a matter of security. Once you’re done, iTunes maintains a copy of that backup, which you can restore if you ever need to. You can read about how to restore from a backup in the section below. The added benefit from connecting your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC using iTunes is that when you back up that Mac or PC, you will also back up the contents from your iPhone or iPad. How to Back Up an iPhone to a Mac
How to Back Up iPhone ContactsTo create a backup of your iPhone Contacts, your device needs to be connected to Wi-Fi.
What About iOS Backup Apps?Instead of using iCloud or iTunes, you can use backup apps to back up the data on your iOS device. These types of apps can be helpful, but are usually limited to backing up your photos and your contact list. Other information, such as application data, game data, texts, voicemails, etc., is not typically backed up by these apps. The most comprehensive way to back up and restore the data on your iPhone is to use either iCloud or iTunes, or both. The 3-2-1 Backup StrategyIdeally, you should use both iCloud backups and periodic computer backups to make sure you have at least two ways to restore your iPhone or your iPad if you need to. And if you’re a Backblaze Computer Backup user, all the better. Backblaze backs up the contents of the system directory where your backups are kept, so if you’re using iTunes or Finder and Backblaze, you can be sure your iPhone data is safe. Here’s the bottom line when it comes to your mobile device’s data: You don’t want to take any chances. Make sure to have at least two backups: One local, through iTunes or Finder, and one in the cloud—either with iCloud Backup or using Backblaze. The combination of iCloud backups, iTunes or Finder backups, and Backblaze provides you with a foolproof way to keep your mobile data safe and sound. For more on how to keep your data safe, read about the 3-2-1 backup strategy, which we think is the best way to make sure your data is safe. How to Restore Your iPhone From a BackupIn case of data loss, or if you’d like to have the data you backed up from an old iPhone on a new one, you can restore your data backup to your device. Depending on the method you used to back up your device data, there are a few different options for restoring from a PC or Mac running macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier, a backup from a Mac running macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, or an iCloud backup. How to Restore Data From a PC or Mac With macOS Mojave 10.14 or Earlier
To restore data from a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, follow the same steps above in Finder. How to Restore Data From an iCloud BackupTo restore from an iCloud backup, you need to erase all of its content if you have already set up the device, or start from a new device before you can use these steps.
Keep Your iPhone Data Safe in the CloudHopefully this has helped demystify what iCloud Backup and iTunes are doing to keep your mobile data safe, and what else you can do to make sure you’re protected. Still confused? Have a question? Or, do you use a different strategy that you’d like to share? Let us know in the comments. How can I find out when my iPhone was last backed up?Tap your name at the top, then choose iCloud. Tap the graph that shows your iCloud usage, then tap Manage Storage. Select your device. iOS will show you details about when it was last backed up, and the backup file size.
How do I find out when my iPhone was last backed up on my Mac?How to access your iPhone backups on a Mac through iTunes. To access your backups, simply go to iTunes > Preferences. Go to your Preferences in iTunes. ... . When the Preferences box pops up, select Devices. ... . Here you'll see all of your currently stored backups. ... . Select "Show in Finder" and you can copy the backup.. |