Friday, March 29, 2024

How to Back up iPhone Data

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Data loss is like a bolt from the blue. iPhone damage, iOS crash, or theft etc., can happen anytime. Thus, having a habit of maintaining backup of iPhone is a big rescuer. Not only in data loss cases, iPhone backup is also helpful, when you want to transfer your data of old iPhone to a new iOS device.

Apple provides two methods to backup your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch data — iCloud and iTunes.

Here we will share in detail how you can backup your iPhone 6, 7, 8, X, XS and other versions and what are the benefits of each.

iCloud backup iPhone without computer. It can back up all your information stored on your iOS device including photos and videos. Since Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Mail, Notes, Voice Memos, iCloud Photos, health data, and call history are by default stored in iCloud, you cannot save them in iCloud backup.

You can backup stored App data, Apple Watch backups, Device settings, HomeKit configuration, Home screen and app organization, iMessages, SMS, MMS, photos, videos, and purchase history from Apple services (music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books, etc.)

There are two ways to backup iPhone data in iCloud:

  1. Manually backup iPhone in iCloud
  2. Set iPhone to automatically backup data in iCloud

Note: Before starting to backup your device in iCloud, ensure iPhone battery is charged and your iPhone has a continuous Wi-Fi connection.

How to manually backup your iPhone in iCloud

  • Connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network
  • Go to Settings > your name >click iCloud
  • Toggle on iCloud Backup
  • Click on Back Up Now

Note: To check if the iPhone backup process is completed, again go to Settings > your name > iCloud > iCloud Backup. Under Back Up Now, backup will be listed with date and time.

How to automatically backup iPhone in iCloud

  • Ensure your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi
  • On your iPhone follow Settings > your name > iCloud
  • Turn on iCloud Backup

Unlike iCloud, iTunes saves your backup data on PC or Mac. Your iTunes backup can store almost all the data and settings of your iPhone.

What you cannot save with iTunes is content from iTunes store, App Stores, files downloaded from Apple Books, imported MP3s or CDs, videos, books, and photos, Apple Pay information, Apple Mail data, Face ID or Touch ID settings and data already stored in iCloud like iCloud Photos, iMessages, SMS and MMS.

How to backup iPhone with iTunes

  • Update iTunes to the latest version
  • On your PC or Mac, open iTunes
  • Connect your iPhone to computer
  • If you haven’t synced your device with iTunes, on your iPhone a message asks to ‘Trust This Computer’. Click ‘Trust’
  • On your computer in iTunes, select your iPhone
  • In the Summary window, to manually backup in iTunes, click Back Up Now. Once the process finishes, you can see the backup under Latest Backup with the date and time.
  • To automatically start the backup whenever you plug it to your computer, under Backups, select ‘This Computer’

Is it better to backup to iCloud or computer

Often users ask which is the best backup method for their iOS device — iCloud or iTunes?

The answer is both as the Apple’s backup solutions are secure and can be trusted. Each have their own benefits.

iCloud is popular due to its greater storage capacity and access to backup anytime and anywhere.

Some may prefer iTunes as it doesn’t require Wi-Fi to backup. Others find it a hassle to use a cable to copy data and relying on PC or Mac storage space for backup.

But, here we recommend to use both iCloud and iTunes to backup your iPhone. Having multiple backups help. If one fails to deliver due to technical glitches, you can take refuge in another.

iCloud backup iTunes backup
Stores backup in Cloud Stores backups on your computer  
Requires Wi-Fi to backup data Doesn’t require Wi-Fi to backup data
Encrypts your backups by default Its optional to encrypt backup file
Access backup from anywhere on any computer Access backup only on the computer trusted by your iPhone
Backup is not deleted or lost unless you remove it by yourself       Backup can be lost or deleted, if your computer’s drive gets corrupt or formatted

Drawback of iTunes and iCloud

Although a secure way to back up your iPhone, there’s a big drawback to these Apple’s backup methods.

While restoring the backup, you end up losing all the current iPhone data.

It is highly possible your last backup doesn’t contain some new photos, videos, messages, chats, etc. And while replacing with the iCloud or iTunes backup file, the current data is overwritten and lost forever.

So what you can do?

Thankfully, software like Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone https://www.stellarinfo.com/media-tools/iphone-data-recovery.php  are available. You can restore data from backup with the help of the software. It ensures your existing data is not overwritten. It inserts the backup data onto your iPhone without replacing the current one.

Watch this Video to know more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p065NQMciz8

Moreover, the software lets you recover only what you want. This means you can restore only the desired photos, videos, contacts, messages, Notes, reminders, Whats app chats, Tango, Kik messages etc., from the iCloud and iTunes backup and bypass other not required data.

Hope you found this post helpful.

Do share your take on iPhone’s iCloud and iTunes backup solutions in the comments section below.

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