Backing up your iPhone is one of the most important things that every Apple user must learn.
After all, no one wants to lose all their photos, videos, contacts, messages, and other files in just one accidental drop. Not to mention, you’ll probably lose your iPhone as well.
So, whether you’re keeping a gallery of awkward pics of your kids to embarrass them on their 18th birthday or a whole folder of your most important documents, backing up your iPhone is the only way to save them from oblivion.
Trust us, it will save you a lot of headaches in the long run. That’s why in this piece, we’re going to teach you how to save those files in three different ways.
1.Back up your iPhone to iCloud
This is probably the easiest and most convenient way to back up your phone. Since iCloud is already integrated into your iPhone and the Apple system, you won’t need anything but the device.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Go to your phone’s Settings. Tap your name, select iCloud, then choose iCloud Backup.
2. Toggle on your iCloud Back up.
Note: iCloud will automatically back up your data every day when your iPhone is charging, locked and connected to Wi-Fi. Or basically when you’re not using it.
3. If you want to manually back up your phone, select Back Up Now.
Once selected, iCloud will start backing up your data right away. It might take a few minutes to an hour if this is your first time backing up your iPhone.
Also, the backup process might take a little longer depending on how much stuff you have on your phone.
Just make sure to stay connected to your Wi-Fi until the backup process is done.
What to do if iPhone can’t be backed up via iCloud
When backing up all your data in your iPhone, it’s only natural to experience some hiccups.
You might encounter a prompt that says “your iPhone cannot be backed up…” And there’s only one reason for that: you probably don’t have enough iCloud storage.
Apple only provides free 5GB worth of storage for every iCloud account. So, if you’re data exceeds more than that (and it probably does), you might want to try these workarounds.
Declutter your storage first
We bet your phone is filled with random screenshots, blurred or duplicate images, and e-books you’ve never actually read! And they can take up so much real estate in your phone.
So before backing up your phone, you might want to declutter your phone first.
Delete all the photos, videos, and files that you don’t need. This will allow you to reduce your storage to a minimum so you don’t have to buy more iCloud storage.
The only downside is that it’s pretty laborious to do. But if you’re willing to put in the work, it’s definitely worth the try!
Check if you have other backup sessions
If you’ve been a long-time Apple user, there’s a good chance that you might have backed up an old iPhone or an iPad some time ago using your iCloud account.
These backups also take space in your iCloud account. Here’s how to check whether you have existing backups:
1. Go to Settings.
2. Tap your Apple ID.
3. Select iCloud.
4. Then tap Manage Storage.
5. Lastly, choose Backups.
If you see multiple backups from your other devices, you can clear them out to make space.
If you’ve backed up your current phone before, you’ll also see there when the last session was and how much storage you have used. You can delete these multiple backups as well to open up some space.
Now, if you’ve done everything we’ve said, and the storage is still not enough, you might not have any other option but to buy more iCloud storage.
Upgrade your iCloud
This is normally the last resort for most Apple users, and understandably so, because owning an iPhone alone is already expensive.
But if you’ve got the money and you don’t want to go through all the hassle that we’ve laid out, you can go straight to this option.
Here in Australia, an extra 50GB of iCloud storage will cost you $1.49 while an extra 200GB of storage costs $4.49 monthly. If it won’t hurt your budget at all, we highly recommend it!
2. Back up your iPhone to Mac
If you keep a treasure trove of years’ worth of photos, songs, videos, documents, and text messages, and you don’t have enough money to upgrade your iCloud, don’t worry. As long as you have several gigs to spare in your Mac, you’ll be fine.
All you need to do is plug in your phone to your Mac, work some magic, and then you’re good to go!
Depending on what version of MacOS your desktop is running, the steps that you’ll take will vary. If you have no idea what your OS is, just click About This Mac on the corner of your screen and you’ll see the details.
If you’re running a MacOS Catalina 10.15 or a later version
There was a time when making a backup on Mac was done with iTunes, But if you own a newer Mac, you’ll find the backup option in the Finder app.
Here’s how to do it:
1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with its cable.
2. Open your Finder app.
3. Click your iPhone that you’ll see in the sidebar.
Note: If your phone doesn’t appear on the sidebar, it only means that your phone isn’t connected at all. Try adjusting the plug or replacing the cable altogether.
4. After choosing your iPhone, click on General then click Backup all the data on your iPhone to this Mac.
5. You also have an option to protect your backup folder with a password. Just put a checkmark on Encrypt local backup.
6. Lastly, click Backup Now.
If you’re running MacOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier
This is where iTunes comes in handy. While it’s pretty much dead,it’s still available and functional in older MacOS versions.
Here’s how to backup your iPhone with iTunes:
1. First, make sure that your iPhone is plugged into your Mac.
2. Open your iTunes, then click Device.
3. Below you’re your iPhone, click Summary.
4. Under Backups, choose Backup Now.
5. Much like the first option, you can also, password-protect your backup folder. Just choose Encrypt iPhone Backup, write a password, and then click Set Password.
Pretty straightforward, right?
3. Back up your iPhone to a PC
Now, if you’re not fully ingrained in the Apple system yet and you still own a very trusty PC, then
here’s a workaround for you.
Just download iTunes on your Windows PC which is available in the Microsoft store. Then follow the same steps that we’ve laid out above.
How often should you back up your iPhone?
As much as possible, you should back up your iPhone or any other smartphone regularly. Because you’ll never know what happens to your device.
You might drop it badly one day and render it useless with all the shattered glass, broken cameras, or liquid damage.
But it’s not even the worst part. All your photos, videos, contacts, documents, and other data are all stored there forever without a backup in the cloud!
To recover all your treasured data, you’ll need an Apple expert like Fone Teknician to repair your iPhone.
However, not all damaged iPhones are repairable. Sometimes, the damage can be too much that even tech repair wizards like us won’t be able to fix – while this is rare, it can happen.
For those kinds of damage, what you’ll need is real magic.
So, for your files to be completely safe, make sure to back up your iPhone regularly. You can back it up automatically via iCloud. Or you can do it manually via your Mac or PC.