A recent backup gives you a recovery point if your iPhone is lost, damaged, replaced, or erased. You can back up to iCloud or create a backup on a Mac or Windows PC.
Back Up Your iPhone to iCloud
- Connect the iPhone to Wi-Fi.
- Open Settings and tap your name.
- Tap iCloud.
- Tap iCloud Backup.
- Turn on automatic backup for this iPhone if desired.
- Tap Back Up Now.
- Keep the iPhone connected until the backup finishes.
Check the date of the most recent successful backup instead of assuming one exists.
Back Up to a Mac or Windows PC
- Connect the iPhone to the computer.
- Open Finder on a Mac or Apple Devices on Windows.
- Select the iPhone.
- Choose the local backup options.
- Enable encrypted backup if you need the additional categories of protected data included by encryption.
- Click Back Up Now.
- Wait for completion before disconnecting the iPhone.
Do You Need Both iCloud and Computer Backups?
Not necessarily, but having more than one current recovery path can be valuable for important data. Remember that information already synchronized through iCloud services can be handled differently from data contained in the device backup itself.
Before Erasing or Trading In an iPhone
Verify the backup date and make sure irreplaceable photos, documents, authentication information, and other important data exist somewhere safe. A backup setting that is turned on is not proof that the latest backup completed successfully.
Encrypted Computer Backups
An encrypted local backup can include additional protected information that an unencrypted computer backup does not. If you enable encryption, keep the backup password somewhere secure. Losing that password can prevent you from using the encrypted backup when you need it.