Backing up your iPhone is always a good idea. Maybe your phone is misbehaving and you need to restore it to factory conditions. Perhaps you're setting up a new phone. You may also just want to run regular backups for safekeeping. Whatever the reason, you can back up your iPhone and restore the data from whenever you need it.
How you back up your phone varies by platform. Windows users (and those running older versions of macOS) can back up their phone through iTunes or iCloud. If you’re running macOS Catalina or higher, you'd turn to Finder. You can also bypass your computer entirely by backing up your phone to iCloud. Subscribers to the Google One cloud storage service are also able to back up specific iPhone data, including contacts, calendar appointments, and photos.
Local Backup or Cloud Storage?
There are pros and cons for each backup method. Using iTunes or Finder for a local backup means you don't have to rely on the cloud, and you can choose to encrypt your data with a password. Your data can only be restored from the Apple account on your computer, and if that device crashes or dies, there goes your backup.
By using iCloud instead, your backup won’t be affected by computer problems, will be encrypted automatically, and can be access anywhere. You can even back up to iCloud and restore the data directly from your phone, so you don't need to go through your computer. Keep in mind that if your backup requires too much online storage space, you may need to pay for more through an iCloud+ subscription.
Back Up and Restore Data With Finder
If you have a Mac running macOS Catalina or higher, you'd use Finder to back up and restore your iPhone. To set this up, connect your iPhone to your Mac, open Finder, then click your phone under Locations. The first time you do this, you’ll need to click the Trust button in Finder. You must also tap Trust on your phone and enter your passcode.
Now, under the General tab, choose whether you want to back up your data to iCloud or store it locally on your Mac. You can also opt to encrypt the backup if you check the box next to Encrypt local backup. When you're ready, click Back Up Now.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)When the backup is in progress, the buttons in the Backups section are grayed out. A status message and the graph at the bottom also show that your iPhone is being backed up. When the backup is complete, the buttons become available again, and the date for the Last backup on this Mac will indicate today and display the time.
To restore your phone from the backup, click Restore Backup. Choose the correct backup from the drop-down menu and click Restore. Wait for the restore to complete and then sign back into your phone.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)Back Up and Restore Data With iTunes
For older Macs and Windows machines, you'll back up your iPhone with iTunes. Connect the phone to the computer via a USB cable. Open iTunes, click the phone icon, then make sure This Computer is selected in the Backups section. Click the Back Up Now button (you may be asked to enter the passcode on your phone) to back up your device. After the backup is completed, the timestamp under Latest Backup indicates the date and time of your most recent backup.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)If you want to back up passwords, Wi-Fi settings, website history, and health data, you'll need to encrypt the backup. Check the box next to Encrypt local backup. Enter a password and click Set Password. With encryption enabled, iTunes should immediately start backing up your phone. If not, click Back Up Now. After the backup is finished, you can confirm that it was encrypted.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)Click the Edit menu and select Preferences. In the Devices Preferences window, click the Devices tab. A lock icon next to a backup indicates that it was encrypted. As long as you keep the encryption option enabled, all future backups will be encrypted. To stop encrypted backups, uncheck the box next to Encrypt local backup and confirm your encryption password.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)Now let's say you need to restore your iTunes backup, either to the same phone or to a new device. Before you can restore a backup to an iPhone, you need to disable the Find My iPhone feature. On your phone, head to Settings and tap your name. Go to Find My > Find My iPhone and disable Find My iPhone. Type your password and tap Turn Off. Connect the phone to your PC, then click the icon of your phone and select Restore Backup.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)When the dialog box pops up, check the time and date to ensure you have the correct backup selected. If not, click the drop-down menu, pick the backup you want, and then click Restore to start restoring your phone. If the backup was encrypted, you’ll first need to enter the password. Sign into your phone when prompted, then sign in again after the process finishes. You may need to wait for all apps to be updated and accessible, but you should see your data has been restored.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)Back Up and Restore Data With iCloud
You can also back up your data via iCloud. To back up your phone this way, go to Settings on the device and tap your name. Go to iCloud and select iCloud Backup. Turn on Back Up This iPhone and then tap the Back Up Now button that appears. Let the back up run, then return to the iCloud settings screen to see how much space the backup used.
Apple gives you 5GB of storage for free, but that likely won't be enough space. For example, my iPhone 16 Pro's 260GB of data requires 32GB on iCloud for its backup. Apple's paid plans give you 50GB of storage for $0.99/month, 200GB for $2.99/month, 2TB for $10.99/month, 6TB for $32.99/month, and 12TB for $64.99/month. So I would need the 50GB plan to get started. Adding other phones in my household would require the 200GB plan.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)After you turn on iCloud Backup, a backup automatically runs every 24 hours after the last successful one. For this to occur, your phone must be turned on, connected to Wi-Fi, and hooked up to power. The screen must also be locked or off. If you connect the phone to your computer again, notice in iTunes or Finder that the option under Automatically Back Up is now set to iCloud.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)If you ever need to restore the backup or set up a new phone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone on your device. Tap Erase All Content and Settings. Confirm the content that will be removed and tap Continue.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)To proceed, enter your passcode. A backup may automatically kick off. Wait until that backup completes or tap Skip Backup. Enter your Apple account password and tap Turn Off to disable the Find My and Activation Lock features. Finally, tap Erase iPhone to wipe the phone.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)After your phone has been erased, follow the steps to set it up manually or automatically through another iOS device. At the Apps & Data screen, choose Restore from iCloud Backup and then sign into iCloud with your Apple ID and password. Tap the backup you want to restore. If you don't see it, tap the Show All Backups link and select one from the list.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)Choose the apps and settings you want to restore or just tap Continue to restore everything. You’ll be asked to set up such features as Apple Pay, iCloud Keychain, and Siri. Your iPhone is then restored from the backup and restarted. Sign in and wait for your apps to be installed and updated.
(Credit: PCMag / Apple)Back Up and Restore With Google One
You can also back up some iPhone data through a Google account. Your free account comes with 15GB of space, but you'll need to upgrade to the paid Google One cloud storage option if you need more room. The 100GB plan costs $$1.99/month and the 30TB tier is $2.99/month, though there are certain limitations for iPhone users.
You can only back up or sync your contacts, calendar, photos, and videos. Your apps, settings, and other items won’t be included. There’s also no direct way to restore this data through the Google One app on your iPhone. Your only option is to head directly to the Google service with the data you need, such as Google Photos.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)To get started, you’ll need to download and install the Google One iPhone app. Inside the app, tap the Set up link under the Sync section of the home screen. From here, you can select Photos & videos, tap Go to Google Photos, and then turn on the Backup switch.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Go back to the Set up Phone sync screen and tap the Contacts option. Select Set up sync, tap Upload contacts, then follow the steps to sync your contacts.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)You can also tap the Calendars option to sync your calendar events. Select the Set up sync button and then hit the Upload events button. Follow the steps on the next screen to complete the process.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)Return to the home screen and tap the Storage icon to see how much space has been used for the backups. You can then choose among Google Drive, Gmail, Google Photos, and Google Backup to see what’s included in the data being used.
(Credit: PCMag / Google)