When backing up ios to cloud first step

Whether you've misplaced your device, drowned it in the toilet, or discovered you're missing important photos and messages after installing an iOS update, it's a good idea to develop the habit of regularly backing up your data.

The good news is that there are two simple ways to accomplish this.: via iCloud or iTunes.

Here's a step-by-step guide to backing up your device to avoid losing messages, photos, contacts, or data.

iCloud backup vs. iTunes backup

There are two methods for backing up your iPhone.: iCloud and iTunes.

iCloud stores data in the cloud. It's the simpler option, allowing you to create and use backups while connected to Wi-Fi.

Your data will be saved on your Mac or PC by iTunes. You can save your data offline if your computer has enough storage space and iTunes is installed.

Related: Apple's iOS 11.The 3 update gives you control over iPhone sluggishness.

How to Use iCloud to Backup Your iPhone

1. Make sure your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network before beginning your iCloud backup.

2. Navigate to Settings, click on your name, and then select iCloud. (If you're using iOS 10.2. Go to Settings, then scroll down and tap iCloud.)

3. If you have iOS 10, select iCloud Backup.2. or earlier, it should simply state "Backup"." Turn on Backup.)

4. Finally, select the "Back Up Now" option.

If you don't want to go through these steps every day, that's fine. iCloud can also back up your device automatically.

First, use the steps above to ensure that iCloud Backup is enabled. Your device must be plugged into a power source, connected to Wi-Fi, and the screen must be locked. You'll also need enough iCloud storage space to perform automatic backups.

Apple provides users with 5 GB of free iCloud storage, but this may not be enough for heavy data users. If you require more storage, you can purchase it with plans beginning at $0.99 a month.

Related: Apple's Safari update protects devices from the Spectre vulnerability.

How to Use iTunes to Back Up Your iPhone

1. Connect your device to your computer using iTunes.

2. You should see a message on your screen asking for your passcode or telling you to "Trust This Computer."." Follow the steps provided.

3. When your device appears in iTunes, select it. Some personal data, such as Health and Activity data, necessitates encryption of your backup. To do so, check the "Encrypt" backup box and enter a password.

This blog post was first published in 2016. Since then, Apple has released a number of updates to its products and how data is stored, so we've updated this post with the most recent information.

Apple recently released the latest iPhone, which includes a new storage capacity option of 1TB. That's a significant upgrade for anyone looking to get the latest version, and all that extra space will be quickly filled up with app data, photos, videos, and other media. You don't want to lose any of that important data by accident, so it's critical to treat backups for your phone with the same care you do for your computer. Not only that, but software upgrades have the potential to wreak havoc on data, so maintaining consistent data backups ensures that all of your iPhone data remains safe and secure in the cloud.

If you back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch using iCloud Backup or iTunes, read this post to learn how those backups work and what else you can do to protect your data.

How to iCloud Backup Your iPhone

With iCloud Backup, Apple has attempted to make backup less of a chore. This iOS feature allows you to back up the contents of your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the cloud. This is the most straightforward method for backing up your devices. The beauty of iCloud Backup is that you can set it and forget it.

When your device is charging, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi, iCloud Backup occurs automatically. Once you've configured your device for iCloud Backup, you should be able to rely on backups to occur on a regular basis while charging.

Using iCloud Backup on Your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch

1. Go to Settings.
2. At the top, tap your name, then select iCloud.
3. Tap iCloud Backup.
4. Tap Back Up Now. Continue to use Wi-Fi until the process is completed.

How to Examine Your iCloud Backup

Keep your Wi-Fi network connected until the backup is complete. Here's how to check the status of your backup.:

Using iOS 11 or later, as well as iPadOS:

1. Go to Settings.
2. At the top, tap your name, then select iCloud.
3. Tap Manage Storage.
4. Tap Backups.

Using iOS 10.3:

1. Go to Settings.
2. At the top, tap your name, then select iCloud.
3. Tap the iCloud usage graph, then select Manage Storage.
4. Select your device. iOS will display information such as when it was last backed up and the size of the backup file.

How Does iCloud Backup Work?

iCloud Backup allows you to restore your device from virtually any location. It also makes upgrading simple. When you first set up a new iOS device, the system will ask if you want to restore from an iCloud backup.

There is a disadvantage to iCloud Backup that you should be aware of. It is highly dependent on a specific set of actions to function.:

1. A power supply must be connected to your device.
2. Your device must have a Wi-Fi connection (and be connected to the internet).
3. Your device must be locked.
4. You must have enough storage space in iCloud to store the backup.

This final item is lethal. Apple only provides 5GB of free storage space with the basic iCloud account. If you have a lot of data on your iOS device or in the cloud, it's easy to exceed your free 5GB iCloud allowance, which means backups won't happen unless you pay Apple for more iCloud space.

If you own both an iPhone and an iPad, forget it. You must pay Apple otherwise you will not have enough space to back up both. The cost of iCloud storage ranges from 99 cents per month for 50GB to $9 per month for 500GB.99 a month for 2TB.

There’s another caveat, too. iCloud Backup does not backup your entire phone. The following items are not backed up::

• Data that’s already in iCloud: For example, contacts, calendar appointments, notes, and photos.
• Data residing in other cloud services. Gmail, for example, or Microsoft Exchange mail.
• Your Apple Pay and Touch ID information (if your device supports it).
• Imported media files, such as e-books, music, and videos purchased from services other than Apple Music, such as Amazon, or any content downloaded to your phone from a browser or an app.
• Any App Store content (which is still available for re-download; reloading is just inconvenient).

Looking for more information on how to download and back up data that iCloud Backup does not cover? We've compiled a list of guides to assist you in protecting your content across a variety of platforms, including social media, sync services, and others.

• Downloading and Backing Up Email Account Data
• How to Download and Save Facebook Data
• How to Download and Save Google Drive Data
• How to Download and Save TikTok Data
• How to Download and Save Twitch Content
• How to Back Up Your Data After Downloading It

The majority of this makes perfect sense. There is no need to duplicate data in the backup because it is already synced in iCloud and other cloud services. Furthermore, Apple Pay and Touch ID information should not be kept in a backup for security reasons—that information is the sole domain of specialized hardware on compatible iOS devices known as Secure Enclave.

As long as you understand the limitations of iCloud Backup, it's a tremendously useful tool that greatly simplifies backup, recovery, and upgrading.

There is an alternative that does not require you to purchase additional iCloud storage space and does not rely on a network connection.: backing up locally. You can accomplish this by using iTunes or Finder.

Backing Up Your iPhone to a Computer

Apple discontinued iTunes in its products in 2019, so it can no longer be used to back up your phone on a Mac unless you have macOS Mojave or earlier. However, iTunes for Windows PCs is still available. The good news for Windows PC users is that you don't need an internet connection, don't have to pay for iCloud storage, and don't have to deal with any other nonsense. All you'll need is enough hard drive space for the backup.

To accomplish this, physically connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC via its USB sync cable. You can also configure iTunes to allow Wi-Fi backups.

Backing Up an iPhone to iTunes

Using a Windows PC:

1. Connect your iOS device to the PC with which you normally sync using a USB or USB-C cable or a Wi-Fi connection. Learn how to enable Wi-Fi syncing here.
2. Double-click iTunes.
3. An icon for your device should appear in the menu bar on the upper left side of the iTunes window. Click on it.
4. To begin backing up your iOS device to your computer, click Back Up Now. If you want to include account passwords, Health, and HomeKit data, make sure the Encrypt iPhone backup checkbox is also checked.
5. To view the backups stored on your computer, go to Edit, then Preferences, and finally Devices. Encrypted backups will be marked with a lock icon in the backup list.

Using MacOS Mojave or earlier:

1. Connect your device to your computer using iTunes. with a USB cable.
2. Follow the onscreen instructions if you are prompted for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer.
3. On your computer, select your device.
4. Click Back Up Now.
5. When the process is finished, you'll see that the backup was successful because the date and time of your last backup will be displayed.

There are a few limitations to iTunes backup that you should be aware of, just as there are with iCloud backup. By design, some information is not backed up.:

• iTunes and App Store content, as well as PDF files downloaded to iBooks.
• Music, videos, books, and photos were imported from iTunes on the computer.
• Photos that have already been uploaded to the cloud via iCloud Photo Library and My Photo Stream.
• Touch ID and Apple Pay preferences.
• Unless you select "Encrypt iPhone backup," you will lose access to your activity, health, and keychain data (passwords).”

Again, most of these limitations make sense—you can re-sync the content you require, and some things must be excluded for security reasons.

When you're finished, iTunes keeps a copy of your backup, which you can restore if necessary. In the section below, you can learn how to restore from a backup.

When you connect your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC via iTunes, you will also backup the contents of your iPhone or iPad.

Backing Up an iPhone to a Mac

1. Open a Finder window in macOS Catalina or later and connect your device to your computer using a USB cable.
2. Follow the onscreen instructions if you are prompted for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer.
3. On your computer, select your device.
4. If you want to back up your device's or Apple Watch's Health and Activity data, you must encrypt your backup by checking the "Encrypt local backup" box, which requires you to create a password.
5. Select Back Up Now.
6. When the process is finished, you'll see that the backup was successful because the date and time of your last backup will be displayed.

Backing Up iPhone Contacts

To backup your iPhone Contacts, your device must be connected to Wi-Fi.

1. First, go to Settings.
2. At the top, tap your name, then iCloud.
3. Turn on Contacts by tapping the slider.
4. Merge your contacts with iCloud if prompted.
5. Turn on the iCloud Backup app at the bottom of the list.
6. Tap Back Up Now.

What About iOS Backup Apps?

You can use backup apps to back up the data on your iOS device instead of iCloud or iTunes. These apps can be useful, but they are usually limited to backing up your photos and contact list. Other data, such as application data, game data, texts, voicemails, and so on.These apps typically do not back up. The most comprehensive method for backing up and restoring data on your iPhone is to use iCloud, iTunes, or both.

The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy

Ideally, you should use both iCloud backups and periodic computer backups to ensure that you have at least two options for restoring your iPhone or iPad if necessary. And if you use Backblaze Computer Backup, even better. Backblaze backs up the contents of the system directory where your backups are kept, so you can be confident that your iPhone data is safe if you use iTunes or Finder and Backblaze.

When it comes to your mobile device's data, here's the bottom line:: You don't want to risk anything. Always have at least two backups.: One locally, via iTunes or Finder, and one in the cloud, via iCloud Backup or Backblaze.

The combination of iCloud backups, iTunes or Finder backups, and Backblaze ensures that your mobile data is safe and secure. Read about the 3-2-1 backup strategy, which we believe is the best way to ensure the safety of your data, for more information.

How to Restore an iPhone Using a Backup

In the event of data loss, or if you want to transfer data from an old iPhone to a new one, you can restore your backup to your device. There are a few different options for restoring from a PC or Mac running macOS Mojave 10 depending on the method you used to back up your device data.backup from a Mac running macOS Catalina 10 or earlier.15 or a backup from iCloud.

How to Recover Data from a PC or Mac Using macOS Mojave 10.14 or Earlier

1. Connect your device to your computer using iTunes. with a USB cable.
2. Follow the onscreen instructions if you are prompted for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer.
3. An icon for your device should appear in the menu bar on the upper left side of the iTunes window. Click on it.
4. Click on Summary, then Restore Backup.
5. Examine the backup dates and select the one you want to restore from.
6. Select Restore and wait for the restore to complete. Enter the password for your encrypted backup if prompted.
7. Maintain your device's connection until it restarts and syncs with your computer. You can disconnect your device once the sync is complete.

To recover data from a Mac using macOS Catalina 10, follow these steps.15 or later, repeat the preceding steps in Finder.

How to Restore iCloud Backup Data

Before you can use these steps to restore from an iCloud backup, you must first erase all of its content if you have already set up the device or start from scratch.

1. First, switch on your device.
2. Follow the setup steps until you reach the Apps section.
3. Log in to iCloud using your Apple ID.
4. Select a backup. The data transfer begins once you select a backup.
5. Sign in with your Apple ID when prompted to restore your apps and purchases. You will be unable to access your apps until you sign in.
6. Continue to connect your device to your Wi-Fi network and wait for a progress bar to appear before completing the data transfer. It may take a few minutes to an hour to complete, depending on how much data you have to back up and your network speed. If you disconnect from your Wi-Fi network before the transfer is complete, the data transfer will be halted until you reconnect.

Safeguard Your iPhone Data in the Cloud

Hopefully, this has helped to clarify what iCloud Backup and iTunes are doing to protect your mobile data, as well as what else you can do to ensure your safety. Do you still have questions? Do you have a different strategy that you'd like to share? Let us know in the comments.

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