How to Back Up Your iPhone to iCloud or Mac

Gone are the days of Not Needing a Smartphone. Your iPhone is so much more than just a screen for texting. Today, smartphones are everything. They’re how we get work done, stay on top of the crazy news cycle, rock out, stay in touch with friends and family, and capture life’s most important moments.

Carrying all of that information in our pockets is incredibly powerful, and it makes getting through our days a little easier. It also means that our most important data can easily be lost when you forget your phone on the train or have an unfortunate spat with a pool of water.

If you want to avoid frantically trying to recover the best shots from your weekend in Cabo, you’ll need to back everything up. (It’s an especially good idea if you plan on updating to the newly announced iPhone 11.) There are a few ways to do this, and which one you choose will depend on your needs and habits.

Updated September 2019: We updated our advice so you can backup on iOS 13 and MacOS Catalina. After you’re all backed up, be sure to check out our guide to choosing the Best iPhone, take a look at iOS 13, and read our in-depth look at the A13 Bionic chip in the iPhone 11.

Back It Up in the iClouds

Your easiest option, and Apple’s first recommendation, is to back your phone up to iCloud.

The process is pretty simple:

  1. Connect to Wi-Fi.

  2. Go into Settings and tap on your name. Click iCloud.

  3. On the iCloud page, scroll down and click on iCloud Backup. On its page, make sure the switch is turned on so you’ll get automatic backups. If it’s off, you should hit the Backup Now button to make sure you’re taken care of right off the bat.

  4. Check or uncheck whether you want iCloud to back up things such as your Photos.

Photograph: apple

Apple gives users 5 GB of iCloud storage for free, but that’s probably not enough to cover all of your data. You can buy more storage, but it adds up pretty fast. For data-heavy users, there’s a better way, and you can do it for free.

Backing Up to Your Mac …

If your phone is loaded with pictures, songs, apps, and years worth of text messages, a basic iCloud backup isn’t going to cut it. If you have a computer with some gigs to spare, previously all you needed to do was plug in your iPhone, install iTunes on your Mac or PC, and click a few buttons to make sure all your phone’s data is tucked away, safe and sound. That method still works for now, but it soon won’t.

When Apple launches its new Catalina OS in October, iTunes will be gone from that operating system. There’s still a backup option, though, which we’ll get to in a minute.

If you’re not sure which Apple operating system you have, just click the little Apple icon in the top left corner of your Mac desktop and select “About This Mac.” Another window will pop up, telling you in big bold letters what you’re running.

Backup to MacOS Mojave, or Earlier

iTunes is not dead just yet. The service will still be available on older OS versions, so you can still backup everything there.

Once your phone is plugged in, open iTunes and click on the name of your device, and hit “Back Up Now” under “Backup and Restore.” This creates a backup of everything on your phone, including all your app data so you don’t have to log into all your accounts again, plus your home screen arrangement to save you from dragging a bunch of icons around to get it just the way you like it.

Photograph: Apple

Pro tip: This method will let you create multiple backups, so don’t panic if you need to find some info from a few months back. Just dive into iTunes preferences, click on the Devices tab, and you’ll see a list of every backup for your devices. As long as the one you need is there, you can go back to your device’s page in iTunes and hit “Restore From Backup.” Pick the right one and you’ll be ready for a blast from the past.

Backup to MacOS Catalina

If you plan to upgrade to MacOS Catalina (or if you’re already on the beta version now), iTunes will be replaced—split into three apps for music, podcasts, and TV.

The backup option is now located in Finder, where you can search folders and other drives. The steps to backup your phone are almost the same as with iTunes:

  1. Open the Finder window.

  2. Click on your connected device.

  3. In General Settings, choose Backup.

You can also manage previous backups from there, or choose to sync different types of media with your computer while you’re at it.

One More Thing

We all take a bunch of pictures with our phones, and we want to be able to look back on those moments after they’ve passed. Backing up to iCloud or your computer will get the job done, but it doesn’t hurt to have a second place to save all your family photos and best vacation pictures.

The Google Photos app is a great way to make sure your photos won’t get lost, since you get unlimited storage as long as you’re fine with your images being compressed. If you’d rather save them at full resolution, you can pay for a little more storage and save those crisp photos for access anywhere. As an added bonus, the app lets you clear your iPhone’s camera roll once all your photos are backed up if your phone’s low on storage.

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