It’s crazy to think how integral our phone is to our life. Have you ever thought about just how much information we store on our iPhones? Things like photos, videos, and phone numbers are just a few that we keep on our phones that hold a great deal of importance to us. Can you imagine how much of a pain it would be if you accidentally lost everything? A great example is the friends you see who lose their phones and write a status saying “lost my phone, text me!” I always feel sorry for those friends and imagine them spending countless hours manually storing contacts in by hand.
Luckily, it doesn’t have to be like that. You can backup your iOS devices and transfer your information to a new iOS device if necessary. There are two methods: iCloud and iTunes.
iCloud Backup Method
- Stores backups in iCloud
- Get up to 2TB of storage
- First 5 GB are free
- 50 GB $0.99/month
- 200 GB $2.99/month
- 2 TB $9.99/month
- Always encrypts your backups
- Lets you create and use backups from anywhere with Wi-Fi
How to back up your iPhone or iPad using iCloud
- Connect your device to a Wi-Fi network
- Tap Settings
- Tap [your name]
- Tap iCloud
- Scroll down and tap iCloud Backup
- Toggle on iCloud Backup
- Tap Back Up Now. Make sure to stay connected to Wi-Fi until the process is completed.
- You can see the last successful backup in small lettering under Back Up Now
iCloud backups do not backup everything from your phone. Here is a list of the things it does not include:
- Data stored in other cloud services
- Data already stored in iCloud
- Apple Pay information and settings
- Touch ID settings
- iCloud Music Library and App Store Content
iTunes Backup Method
- Stores backups on your Mac or PC
- Storage depends on Mac or PC’s local storage space
- Offers encrypted backups (off by default)
- Lets you create and use backups from your Mac or PC. Does not need Wi-Fi connection
How to backup your iPhone or iPad using iTunes
- Make sure iTunes is downloaded.
- Open iTunes and connect iOS device to computer
- If a message asks for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps
- Select your iPhone or iPad when it appears on iTunes
- If you want to save Health and Activity data, you’ll need to encrypt your backup. Select the box Encrypt [device] backup and create a password.
- Otherwise click Back Up Now
- You can see when the last backup was under Latest Backups. It will give you information about both iCloud and iTunes backup dates
iTunes backups does not backup everything from your phone. Here is a list of things it does not include:
- Content from iTunes and App Stores, or PDFs downloaded directly to iBooks
- Content synced from iTunes
- Photos already stored in the cloud
- Touch ID settings
- Apple Pay information and settings
Backing up your iPhone or iPad will save a major headache in the event you lose or break your phone. Be smart and prepare for the worst!