How do i backup my iphone with itunes

Backing up your iPhone is always a good idea. Maybe your phone is misbehaving and you hope to restore it to factory conditions and then apply the latest backup. Perhaps you're setting up a new phone and want to transfer all your current data. You may also just want to back up certain data for safekeeping. You can back up your iPhone, and then restore the data from that backup, when you need it most.

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, turn to the Finder application. You can also bypass your computer entirely by backing up your phone to iCloud. Subscribers to the Google One(Opens in a new window) cloud storage service can also back up specific iPhone data, including contacts, calendar appointments, and photos.


Cloud Storage vs. Local Backup

There are pros and cons for each method. Using iTunes or Finder means you don't have to rely on the cloud, though it also means you can restore the backup only from the Apple account on your computer. If your computer crashes, there goes your backup. The good news is that you can encrypt an iTunes or Finder backup if you want to back up your passwords, health information, and other sensitive data.

If you use iCloud instead, your backup won’t be affected by computer problems, is automatically encrypted, and is available anywhere. You can even back up to iCloud and restore the data directly from your phone, so you don't need to go through iTunes or Finder. Unfortunately, if your backup uses too much data, you may need to upgrade to a paid iCloud account.

Apple doles out 5GB of iCloud space for free. The paid plans give you 50GB of storage for 99 cents a month, 200GB for $2.99 a month, or 2TB for $9.99 a month. For example, my 512GB iPhone 14 Pro with around 190GB of data required more than 20GB of space on iCloud for its backup, so I needed the 50GB storage plan just to get started.

Google One is another cloud storage option, but it comes with certain limitations for iPhone users. You can only back up your contacts, calendar, photos, and videos. Your apps, settings, and other items won’t be included. There is also no direct way to restore this data through the Google One app on your iPhone. Google One is available for free with 15GB of space or as a paid subscription with 100GB to 30TB of storage.


Back Up and Restore Data With iTunes 

How do i backup my iphone with itunes

I've been working for PCMag since early 2016 writing tutorials, how-to pieces, and other articles on consumer technology. Beyond PCMag, I've written news stories and tutorials for a variety of other websites and publications, including CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Macworld, Popular Science, Time, Fortune, US News & World Report, and AARP Magazine. I spent seven years writing breaking news for CNET as one of the site’s East Coast reporters. I've also written two books for Wiley & Sons—Windows 8: Five Minutes at a Time and Teach Yourself Visually LinkedIn.

Backing up your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad is becoming increasingly important as more and more data is being stored on these devices. Just remember, as you take more photos on your device, and send more messages, the more precious data you could potentially lose if anything was to happen to it.

If you make regular backups, however, if your iPhone was to break, or data was to get lost after an iOS update, you would be able to safely recover your data using your iPhone backup!

Creating a backup is also essential if you want to transfer your data from an old iPhone to a new one.

This guide provides details of 4 ways to backup your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch and info of what data is stored in different types of backup.

Quick jump to...

  1. Backup iPhone to iCloud
  2. Selectively backup iPhone data to your computer
  3. Backup iPhone using iTunes
  4. Backup using Finder on macOS Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey or Ventura
  • Extra: Transfer data from iPhone to iPhone

How to back up iPhone to iCloud

iCloud backups are great for several reasons: all your iPhone backup data is stored in the cloud, rather than on your computer, so you don't take up valuable space; and you can then access your backup data from anywhere with Wi-Fi (as long as you know your Apple ID and password, of course!). You can even set up automatic iCloud backups for whenever your iPhone is connected to power, locked and on Wi-Fi - so you don't have to worry about doing it manually.

The downsides here are that you only get 5GB of free iCloud storage space. If you need more, you'll have to pay for it. It is also worth noting that iCloud backups do not contain your music, playlists and other audio / video content, and you can't access iCloud backups to selectively copy out specific songs, messages etc.

What does iCloud backup include?

Here's how to back up iPhone with iCloud...

  1. Open 'Settings' from the app screen on your iPhone.
  2. Tap your username entry.
  3. Scroll down and hit 'iCloud' > 'iCloud Backup'.
  4. Tap 'Back Up Now'.

How do i backup my iphone with itunes
Back up iPhone to iCloud - Step 1

And then...

How do i backup my iphone with itunes
Back up iPhone to iCloud - Step 2

Summary (iCloud):

✔ Stores backups in iCloud
✔ 5GB free storage (payment needed for more)
✔ Encrypted backups
✔ Create and use backups over Wi-Fi
✔ Able to use backup to restore to iPhone

 

Selectively backup iPhone data to your computer

If you wish to be fully in control which of your iPhone data is backed up to your computer, we recommend the TouchCopy software. This option is for users who desire ease-of-use and an intuitive interface, as well as extra control enabling you to backup individual photos, contacts, messages etc. Additionally, iTunes and iCloud backups do not contain certain files such your songs and music videos, which can all be saved with TouchCopy.

TouchCopy can access your iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch data, allowing you to browse through it on your PC or Mac computer. From there, you can choose what to copy from your device to your computer. You can transfer music from iPhone to a PC or Mac, backup contacts, save messages as PDF or print them off, TouchCopy can do it all. Here's how:

  1. Download TouchCopy on your computer and run it.
  2. Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable or a Wi-Fi connection.
  3. Navigate through your iPhone data using the tabs in TouchCopy.
  4. Select data you wish to backup to your PC or Mac, and copy it!

How do i backup my iphone with itunes
Back up iPhone data to computer with TouchCopy

Summary (TouchCopy):

✔ Stores files on your PC or Mac
✔ Can save all files on your iPhone including your music and videos
✔ Store data up to your computer's available space
✔ Transfer only what you need to your computer
✔ Full control of what is transferred between iPhone and computer
✔ Popular and Trusted software

How do i backup my iphone with itunes
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How to back up iPhone using iTunes

In this method we'll cover is backing up using iTunes. This backup is similar to the iCloud backup, in that you can use the backup to restore the snapshot to your iPhone. The difference here is that the iPhone backup will be stored on your computer, rather than in the cloud- so you don't have to worry about paying for extra space, but you won't be able to access the backup over Wi-Fi on another computer.

What does iTunes backup include?

Here's how to back up iPhone with iTunes...

  1. Launch iTunes on your computer.
  2. Connect your iPhone.
  3. In iTunes, click your device icon.
  4. Under 'Backups' click 'Back Up Now'.

How do i backup my iphone with itunes
How to Back up iPhone to iTunes

Summary (iTunes):

✔ Stores backups on PC or Mac
✔ Optional backup encryption
✔ Create and use backups on your PC or Mac
✔ Able to use backup to restore to iPhone

 

Backup using Finder on macOS Catalina and higher

Our final method covers those of you who are using macOS Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey or Ventura. As you may have noticed, iTunes has now been replaced with the Music app on systems running Catalina and newer macOS versions. As such, the steps to back up your iPhone have changed slightly.

Rather than using iTunes to back up your iPhone, you'll now need to use the Finder app. Here's how it's done:

  1. Launch Finder on your Mac.
  2. Connect your iPhone.
  3. Select your device from the list.
  4. Choose "Back up all the data on your iPhone to this Mac".
  5. Click 'Back Up Now'.

How do i backup my iphone with itunes
How to Back up iPhone in Finder on macOS Catalina

You can also choose to back up your iPhone to iCloud from here. To do this, simply choose "Back up your most important data on your iPhone to iCloud" before clicking "Backup Now".

Note: If you wish to save Health and Activity data from your device, you'll need to encrypt your backup. To do this, click the "Encrypt device backup" checkbox. You'll be prompted to set a password to protect your encrypted backup. Make sure you keep your password safe, as you'll need this to access or recover your encrypted backup.

Summary (macOS Catalina and higher):

✔ Stores backups on Mac
✔ Optional backup encryption
✔ Create and use backups on your Mac
✔ Able to use backup to restore to iPhone

 

Extra: How do I backup my iPhone before I get a new one?

If you are getting a new iPhone and you want to transfer your data from your old one, you can do so with a backup of your old device.

Setting up your new iPhone with your backup means that your new iPhone will have all your music, photos, messages and other app data right from the off!

To do this, back up your old iPhone to iCloud, iTunes or Finder using the methods above. Then, when setting up your new iPhone, on the "Apps & Data" screen, choose to Restore from your iCloud or iTunes backup.

Why can't I backup my iPhone on iTunes?

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 I still use iTunes to backup my iPhone?

Back up your device iTunes automatically backs up your device when you connect it to your computer. But you can also back up your device manually at any time. And if you have iOS 3.0 or later, iTunes can encrypt your backups to secure your data. Connect your device to the computer you normally sync with.

How do I know if my iPhone is backed up to iTunes?

Choose Apple menu  > System Preferences. Click iCloud. Click Manage. Select Backups..
Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud..
Tap Manage Account Storage, then tap Backups..
Tap a backup to see more details about it, choose which information to back up, or delete the backup..

How do I backup my iPhone to iTunes 2022?

Back up iPhone using your Windows PC In the iTunes app on your PC, click the iPhone button near the top left of the iTunes window. Click Summary. Click Back Up Now (below Backups). To encrypt your backups, select “Encrypt local backup,” type a password, then click Set Password.