Life can be unpredictable, and you never know when you might end up losing your iPhone data or, worse, the device itself. Of course, no one wants to lose important pictures and videos they’ve had on their phones for years, which is why it’s essential to back up your device regularly.
The easiest way to backup your iPhone or iPad is with the help of iCloud, but there are various other methods you can use. Note that this guide is taken using an iOS 15.3.1 device.
How to backup your iPhone or iPad using iCloud
- Open the Settings app.
Open the Settings app. - At the top, you’ll see your name. Tap on that, and you’ll be taken to the ‘Apple ID’ menu.
Tap on your name to go to the Apple ID menu. - Tap iCloud.
Tap the iCloud button. - Go to iCloud Backup.
Tap the iCloud Backup button. - In the ‘Backup‘ menu, tap Back Up Now, and your device will begin to create a backup. Make sure you’re connected to your Wi-Fi during the process.
Tap the Back Up Now button. - To check the progress of your backup, go to ‘iCloud’ in the ‘Apple ID’ menu and select Manage Storage.
Tap the Manage Storage button. - Go to Backups.
Tap the Backups button. - You should now be able to see the progress of your backup.
Check the progress of the backup.
Important: keep in mind that the free iCloud version only gives you 5GB of space. If you want more, you have to buy a monthly subscription.
How to backup your iPhone or iPad to a Mac
- Connect your device to your Mac with a USB cable and open “Finder” on your Mac.
Open a Finder window. - Select your device from the ‘Locations’ menu in the sidebar.
Select your device. - Click Back Up Now, and your Mac will start the process.
Tap Back Up Now. - If you want to protect your backup with a password, check the ‘Encrypt Local Backup’ option. Don’t lose the password; otherwise, you won’t recover your backup.
Check the Encrypt Local Backup Box
How to backup your iPhone or iPad to a Windows PC
Apple discontinued iTunes on Mac in 2019 and turned it into separate apps (Music, TV, and Podcast). As a result, you can’t use it to create a backup on the more recent versions of macOS. However, iTunes is still available on Windows PCs, and you can download it from Apple’s official site. Here’s how to backup your iPhone on Windows using iTunes.
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to your PC and open ‘iTunes’.
Open iTunes. - Click on the device icon that appears in the menu bar of the iTunes window.
Click on the device icon. - Click on Back Up Now, and the backup process will begin. The backup process doesn’t require an internet connection, but you need enough space on your drive.
Click the Back Up Now button.
How to backup your iPhone or iPad using Google Drive
- Download and open the ‘Google Drive’ app on your iPhone.
Open Google Drive. - Open the ‘Menu‘ by tapping on the three vertical lines in the top left corner.
Open the menu. - Tap Settings.
Open the Settings in the menu. - Go to Backup.
Tap Backup. - Tap the Start Backup button.
Bela is a journalist that has ghostwritten for popular publications such as MacRumors, 9to5 Mac and AppleInsider. Taking her expertise in covering Apple products and news, she founded Apple Ping to provide users her own inside information about Apple.