Back Up an iPhone to iTunes

Having a backup of your iPhone is always recommended, as it allows you to recover quickly from any problems you might encounter over the life of the phone. If you have iTunes installed on your computer, you can use the powerful built-in backup software to save a copy of all of your important information safely on your computer. You can then restore your backup any time your iPhone runs into problems.

Steps

Making a Backup

  1. Download and install iTunes. You can download it for free from itunes.com/download.
  2. Open iTunes and connect your iPhone to your computer. Use the USB cable that came with the iPhone.
    • If you're connecting for the first time, you'll be prompted to "Trust" the computer on the iPhone's screen.
  3. Run the first-time setup (if prompted). If you have never connected your iPhone to a computer before, you'll be prompted to run a quick setup. This won't erase anything on the phone, it will just give it a name.
  4. Check the notification area to see if it's backing up automatically. By default, your iPhone will automatically backup when connected to iTunes. The display at the top of the window will let you know if the iPhone is being backed up.
  5. Select your iPhone to open the Summary page. If you want to run a manual backup, you'll need to select your device first. If your iPhone isn't appearing, see the Troubleshooting section.
    • iTunes 12 - A button for your device will appear at the top of the iTunes window. It may take moment for the button to become clickable.
    • iTunes 11 - You can select your iPhone from the Devices drop-down menu in the upper-right corner of the iTunes window.
    • iTunes 10 - Select your iPhone from the Devices section of the left sidebar.
  6. Select "This computer" in the "Backups" section. This will make complete backups of your iPhone to your computer's hard drive using iTunes.
    • Note: iTunes does not back up your movies, music, podcasts, or apps. These will need to be synced again if you restore your iPhone using the backup you create.[1]
  7. Click . to begin the backup process. iTunes will begin backing up your iPhone, and the backup file will be stored in your iTunes MobileSync folder. iTunes will only store the most recent backup for each of your iOS devices.
    • The backup process will likely take a few minutes to complete.
    • The backup file that is created cannot be opened, it can only be used to restore an iPhone. If you need to find something in the iPhone backup file, you'll need to use a Retrieve-Deleted-Text-Messages-from-an-iPhone.

Troubleshooting

  1. I am getting a "Not enough free space" error. This is typically caused by your computer not having enough free space on the hard disk to store the iPhone's backup file. When you backup your iPhone, it backs up all of the photos stored on the device, which can take up a lot of space. Check-Your-Hard-Disk-Space.[2]
  2. The backup process keeps failing. This is usually caused by a problem with the existing backup file. Try deleting it or moving it to a new location and trying the backup process again. The file is located in different locations depending on if you are using Windows or OS X.
    • Windows - \Users\\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\. You can quickly open the AppData folder by pressing ⊞ Win+R and typing %appdata%.
    • OS X - ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/. You can quickly access the Library folder by holding the ⌥ Opt key and clicking the Go menu.
  3. My iPhone is not appearing in iTunes. If you've connected your iPhone and it is not appearing, there may be several issues causing it to not show up.

Restoring From a Backup

  1. Open iTunes and connect your iPhone to your computer. Use the USB cable that came with the iPhone. You can use iTunes to reload any of your previous iPhone backup files.
  2. Select your iPhone to open the Summary page.
  3. Click the . button. This will open a new window, allowing you to select the backup you want to use.
    • If you have backed up different devices on your computer, you will be able to select from any of the available updates. Make sure to pick the one that you want to use.
  4. Click . to begin restoring the iPhone. The process may take a while, especially if you are restoring a large backup file.
    • You can monitor the restore process on the iPhone's screen. A progress bar will indicate how much of the restore process has been completed.

Troubleshooting

  1. iTunes is giving me errors. The quickest way to resolve most errors is to update to the latest version of iTunes. Click the Help menu and select "Check for Updates" to have iTunes update automatically. If you don't see the Help menu, press Alt
  2. iTunes is reporting my backup is corrupt. This problem will prevent your iPhone from restoring a backup, but you may be able to resolve this problem without losing any data.[3]
    • Quit iTunes and then open the folder MobileSync folder containing your backup.
      • Windows - \Users\\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\. You can quickly open the AppData folder by pressing ⊞ Win+R and typing %appdata%.
      • OS X - ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/. You can quickly access the Library folder by holding the ⌥ Opt key and clicking the Go menu.
    • Copy the backup folders to your desktop. This may take a few minutes for them to transfer.
    • Delete the folders in the Backup folder. Don't worry, you have copies on your desktop.
    • Open iTunes, click the iTunes or Edit menu, and select "Preferences". If you don't see the Edit menu, press Alt.
    • Select the Devices tab, select the backups, and click .
    • Close iTunes, move the folders from your desktop back into the Backups folder, and then restart iTunes. Try restoring your backup again.
  3. My iPhone is not appearing in iTunes. If you've connected your iPhone and it is not appearing, there may be several issues causing it to not show up.



Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204136
  2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203271
  3. ↑ http://www.igeeksblog.com/itunes-cant-restore-from-backup-of-iphone-ipad/
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