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How To Back Up An iPhone To Your Mac Or PC
In the event that your iPhone is lost or stolen — or especially if it is damaged — having it regularly backed up is essential. It's also very helpful if you're planning to pass it on to a new owner or trading your iPhone in for a newer unit. There are several ways to back up your iPhone, mainly through an iCloud subscription or through a computer. The former is often a preferred method among Apple users as it saves all your data completely online. However, it's important to note the differences between backup methods to ensure you pick the one that's best for you.
Backing Up An iPhone Via iCloud Vs. A Computer
Having an Apple account affords you 5 GB of free iCloud storage, which can be used to back up and sync your data across Apple devices, but that isn't enough to cover an at-capacity iPhone, so you'd need to pay for additional storage.
iCloud backups can be done from anywhere with stable WiFi. They cover all the information and settings on your iPhone that aren't already independently syncing to iCloud. They also contain your device settings, home screen layout, app organization, and any data from downloaded apps. Data backed up via iCloud will always be encrypted. The process can be done manually or automatically run on your iPhone at regular intervals.
Meanwhile, computer backups don't sync across other Apple devices. Instead, they are stored locally on a Mac or a PC and include almost all your iPhone's data and settings, but won't have certain content from iTunes or the App Store.
To create a computer backup of your iPhone, you'd need physical access to the machine you're manually saving it on. The necessary space won't cost extra but would depend on how much is available on your computer. Data encryption is also available but needs to be enabled.
For convenience purposes, it's smart to back up an iPhone using iCloud. To avoid spending on a subscription or to have a backup of your backup that doesn't live on the web, storing one on your computer is a wise option.
How To Back Up An iPhone On A Mac
If you own a Mac computer and want to store a copy of your iPhone's contents, make sure your macOS is up to date before starting. As long as your machine runs on macOS Catalina or later, you should be able to run the process through the Finder. Here's how:
- Launch a new Finder window.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer using a compatible USB cable. If you have a newer Macbook, you may need a USB-C adapter or a USB-C-to-Lightning cable.
- If a "Allow accessory to connect" box pops up on the computer screen, click Allow.
- On your iPhone, tap Trust on the "Trust This Computer" box. You may need to provide your device passcode.
- On the Finder window on your computer, select your iPhone from the left side panel.
- Hit the Trust button to see your iPhone's contents.
- Next to Backups, select "Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac."
- To back up Health and Activity data from your iPhone, make sure the box next to "Encrypt local backup" is checked. You may also need to create a password for this.
- Hit the Back Up Now button to begin.
You should be able to keep track of the progress through the status bar below the page. Expect this to take a while, and As soon as the process is complete, you should see "Last backup to this Mac" update to the current date and time.
How To Back Up An iPhone On A PC
Although iTunes is gradually being phased out for newer Apple products, it's still one of the only avenues for Windows users to access portions of their Apple accounts. If you'd like to back up your iPhone on a PC, make sure you download iTunes first and then follow these instructions:
- Launch iTunes on your PC.
- Connect your iPhone to your computer using a compatible USB cable.
- On your iPhone, hit Trust on the "Trust This Computer?" popup. You may need to enter your iPhone passcode.
- Select your iPhone from the iTunes side panel.
- Hit Summary.
- Under Backups, select This Computer.
- To back up Health and Activity data from your iPhone, make sure the box next to "Encrypt local backup" is checked. You may also need to create a password for this.
- Hit the Back Up Now button to initiate the process.
You should see the backup progress on the bottom half of the window. It may take a while if you have a lot of data to back up, but once it's complete, you should see "Last Backup" update to the current date and time.
iPhone Not Showing Up On iTunes?
A PC not recognizing an Apple device seems to be a common problem, especially for users with a computer running on Windows 11. Some users in the Apple online community suggested downloading Apple's standalone iTunes installer instead of the one from the Microsoft Store. If that doesn't work, the problem could be tied to an outdated operating system.
Make sure your iPhone is running on the latest version of iOS. Likewise, check to see that Windows is up-to-date and that you have the most recent Apple USB driver on your computer.
- Disconnect your iPhone from your computer.
- Unlock your iPhone, go to the Home screen, and reconnect your device. If iTunes launches, exit it.
- Right-click on the Start button, then select Device Manager.
- Go to Portable Devices.
- Right-click on Apple iPhone and select "Update driver."
- Hit "Search automatically for updated driver software."
If your iPhone still won't show up on iTunes, you may have a cable issue. Use the original charging cord that came with your iPhone or a cable that has data-transfer capabilities. Try connecting your iPhone using different USB cables. If you have a second Windows machine, try on that and see if you run into the same issue.
When all else fails, contact Apple Support:
- Go to the Apple Support website.
- Under "Tell us what's happening," type "iPhone not showing up in iTunes on Windows 11."
- Under Contact, select Chat.
Follow onscreen instructions until you get connected to someone from support.
