How to Back Up Your iPhone: Top 3 Methods Explained

• Having a backup allows you to keep your data safe
• There are different methods for creating a backup for iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch
• Three iPhone backup methods are commonly used to protect data

Backing up your data means copying and storing it on a computer, external hard drive, or cloud. A backup ensures you can access all your information if you ever lose or replace your device or it gets damaged. It means your data remains accessible to you even if the device is replaced or misplaced. Besides, it makes it convenient to transfer your desired settings to a new device in no time.

If you back up data on your iPhone, it not only creates a safe space for storing your personal documents but also makes it safer to trade in or sell. So, if you want to buy used iPhone 13 Pro Max by trading in your older iPhone X or XS, create a backup before you erase your iPhone data.

How to Back Up Your iPhone

There are different backup methods for iPhones. In this guide, we’ll discuss the three most common ways to teach you how to back up your iPhone.

The three iPhone backup methods are:

1. Back up with iCloud
2. Back up with your Mac
3. Back up with your PC

Now, let’s discuss each method in detail.

1. Back Up with iCloud

Follow these steps if you want to know how to back your iPhone up to iCloud:

• Connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network
• Open the Settings app and click on [yourname]
• Tap iCloud and then iCloud Backup 
• Click on Back Up Now (you can see the time and date of your last backup under this option)

Keep your iPhone connected to the Wi-Fi while it creates a backup on the cloud. If your device doesn’t have enough storage, you’ll get an alert like not enough iCloud storage space. When that happens, your backup won’t complete until you buy more storage.

Automatically Back Up with iCloud Backup

Besides manually backing up your iPhone, you can also turn on automatic iCloud backup by following these steps:

• Open the Settings app and tap [yourname]
• Go to iCloud
• Click on iCloud Backup and toggle it on

After you’ve turned the automatic backup on, your iPhone will update once daily as long as it is connected to a Wi-Fi network. On 5G models, like used iPhone 13 Pro Max and iPhone 12 Pro Max unlocked, wireless carriers may also provide an option to back up your iPhone using the cellular network.

2. Back Up with Your Mac

There are two methods for those wondering how to back your iPhone up on a Mac.

Back Up with the Finder

• Open a Finder window (on macOS Catalina or later)
• Connect your iPhone to Mac using a USB cable
• You may be asked for your iPhone’s passcode or to Trust This Computer
• Follow the onscreen steps to initiate the system
• Find your iPhone on your Mac and open it
• Tap Back Up Now

So, how to make sure your iPhone is backed up? You can check your iPhone’s last backup date and time to ensure the backup was successful.

Moreover, if you want to back up Health and Activity data, you’ll need to encrypt your backup. You can do that by checking the Encrypt Local Backup box and creating a password before creating a backup. But make sure you keep the password safe; otherwise, you won’t be able to recover your backup.

Back Up with iTunes

You can also create a backup for your iPhone on Mac using iTunes. Most steps are the same as creating a backup using Finder, but instead of opening the Finder window, you’ll open iTunes on your Mac (macOS Mojave or earlier).

The rest of the steps are the same as explained above in the Finder section.

3. Back Up with Your PC

If you don’t have a Mac and you’re wondering how to back up your iPhone, there’s another solution. You can create a backup using your PC. Follow these steps to back up your iPhone data with a PC:

• Download and open iTunes on your Windows PC
• Connect your iPhone to your PC using a USB cable
• You’ll be asked for the iPhone’s password or to Trust This Computer
• Follow the steps shown on the screen and select your iPhone in iTunes
• Tap on Summary
• Click Back Up Now

You can also encrypt your iPhone backups using a PC. To do that, you’ll need to check the Encrypt Local Backup option before creating a backup. It will prompt you to set a password. So, make sure you use a memorable one, or you won’t be able to recover your iTunes backup without it.

Conclusion

If you’re considering replacing your phone and want to buy a used iPhone, make sure you erase all your personal data. However, before deleting everything from your iPhone and factory resetting it, you must back it up to keep your data safe.