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We have had a lot of inquiries concerning the backing up of apps on the iPhone. In this article, we will answer the question in detail – about what a data backup is, what is used to back up items on an iPhone, and how you can safely keep the information you cannot afford to lose.
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What Does Backing up an iPhone Do?
Backing up your iPhone keeps your files safe. It helps you keep an extra record of important media files, data (including contacts and settings), and apps found on your phone so you can recover them even if you lose them from your device for any reason.
If you back up your phone, you will get your files back even if you have to hardware reset the device. Frequently backing up your iPhone keeps your information safe in case of loss, theft, physical damages, phone upgrades, and accidental deletions.
What App Can I Use to Back Up My Phone?
You don’t necessarily need to download a third-party solution for backing up your phone. iPhone has two services for the job:
- iTunes
- iCloud
Both iTunes and iCloud are not only for phones. They work for other Apple machines as well.
How Do I Back Up my iPhone Through iTunes?
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iTunes is more than a media player. It is a media library, mobile device management utility, an internet radio broadcaster, and a store. You can use it to sync your mobile phone with your PC and exchange media files between them. iTunes can also help you backup your apps on your personal computer.
You can use iTunes on both Mac and Windows. Refer to their download page to download iTunes.
You can follow these steps to back up your phone on iCloud:
Step 1: Download the latest version of iTunes on your Windows, Mac, or Linux Personal Computer.
Step 2: Connect your iPhone to your computer with a data cable.
Step 3: Open iTunes.
Step 4: Click on File > Devices > Backup.
You could also select “Back Up Now” on the Summary page.
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Before clicking on “Back Up Now”, you can choose if you want to back up files into your computer or into iCloud (we talk about it below). You need to choose your PC if you don’t have enough storage space on iCloud.
If you back up your iPhone into your computer, you need to keep the PC safe.
How to Restore the Back-Up in iTunes?
Now that you know how to back up apps on iTunes, you also need to understand how you can access the data on your backup.
It is easy. Just like in the above step, you can connect your phone to your PC and open iTunes. Then, on the summary page, you can find the “Restore Backup” option beside “Back Up Now”. Tap on that, and all the files on your PC will be copied to your device.
How Do I View the iPhone Backup Files?
When you back up your iPhone onto your PC, the files are encrypted and saved in a specific folder. You should make sure you don’t move or remove the folder to avoid losing the files. On the other hand, you can keep a copy of the folder in a different location or secondary storage to keep it safe in case of accidental deletion. If such a thing happens and you have a copy of the backup folder, you will need to recopy the folder back to its original path to let iTunes access it again.
The location of the backup folder depends on the type of the operating system.
On Windows
Step 1: Go to the Search Tab and type %appdata%
Step 2: Double Click on Apple > MobileSync > Backup
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On Mac
Step 1: Click on the Magnifier Icon in the Menu Bar
Step 2: Copy and Paste this: “~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/”
How Do I Back Up my iPhone to iCloud?
iCloud, as its name suggests, is a cloud storage service from IOS. This time, instead of backing up your phone to your own computer, you buy storage space from Apple, and this storage is located on the Internet. iCloud is a safer option than your PC, as there is a lesser chance of hardware damage.
Every Apple owner gets a 5GB iCloud storage space for free. You will need to pay a subscription charge to access more storage space than that. For now, the cheapest option is 50GB additional storage at $0.99 per month. You can also choose a 200GB or 2TB plan for a monthly fee of $2.99 and $9.99, respectively.
iCloud is more of a service than an app. To get access to iCloud, you will need to open an Apple account and log in. You can also download iCloud on Windows.
Backing up on iCloud
Step 1: Connect your iPhone to the internet.
Step 2: Go to Settings.
Step 3: Click on the Phone Name.
Step 4: Go to iCloud and tap on iCloud Backup.
Step 5: Tap Back up Now.
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You can see the iCloud storage space available when you click on iCloud. If there is not enough space, a warning will pop out, saying there isn’t enough storage space.
How to Automatically Back Up Your iPhone on iCloud?
In the settings menu, make sure you have turned on the iCloud Backup. If you have done that, your phone will back up automatically when it is on the lock screen and connected to Wifi.
When you back up your iPhone on iCloud, all your media files, including photos and videos, are stored on the cloud storage. Thus, you can delete them from your device if you are short on space.
How to Store Specific Apps on iCloud?
You may prefer backing up only certain apps on iCloud. Doing this is easy; except for some apps, you can choose which application(s) to back up.
Here is how you can choose which apps to back up on iCloud:
Step 1: Go to Settings and then open iCloud.
Step 2: Tab on Manage Storage > Backups.
Step 3: Under Choose Data to Back up, select the app you don’t want to back up.
Step 4: Select Turn Off & Delete.
After doing this, not only will iCloud stop backing up the apps you have chosen to exclude, but it will also delete the app information to date.
Is iCloud Available on PC?
Yes, you can download iCloud on both Windows and Mac. You can also visit iCloud.com on a supported browser to sign in to your iCloud and see the files that you have on iCloud.
How to Restore a Phone from iCloud Storage?
Restoring an entire phone – making it exactly the way it was when you backed it up – could be helpful when you are changing devices or had to delete the content in your phone for some reason.
Step 1: Go to Settings > Phone Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup. Below the “Back Up Now” option, you will see the date when the phone was last backed up. This is to make sure that the backup of the phone exists before you make your move.
Step 2: If you have recently bought a new phone, then while setting up your phone itself, the system will take you to a screen where you can Restore from iCloud Backup. There, you can log in to your iCloud account, and the restore will happen automatically.
Step 3: In the Settings tab, go to General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings > Backup.
Be Careful. During this step, if you haven’t backed up your phone, back it up before erasing.
Step 4: The phone will take you to a “Quick Start” screen. While on Apps and Data, you can select Restore from iPhone Backup and then select the backup that you want to restore.
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Third-Party Solution: Backing Up iPhone on Google Drive
Google Drive lets you backup photos, videos, calendar data, and contact lists on your iPhone. All you need to do is download Google Drive, Sign into your Google Account, and tap on Menu on the top left. Select Settings > Backup. Finally, tap on Start Backup. Remember, the pictures will back up, but not their albums.
Google drive provides more free storage than iCloud, making available 15 GB to each Google account for free. The price range for their paid plans is similar to iCloud.
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Conclusion: Backing up apps and data means keeping their copy in another device or storage. You can easily back up apps on the iPhone with the help of their two main services, iTunes and iCloud. On the other hand, there is Google Drive. Even though Google Drive is not officially an Apple service, it is very reliable and gives you a good amount of free storage as well.