The Apple iCloud service is a vital part of the Apple ecosystem. A hassle-free backup and restore process via iCloud is the reason why the majority don’t mind paying for it. But if the iCloud backup is stuck or is taking too long for you to complete, it’s a good idea to take a closer look. Here are the possible factors behind iCloud backup taking longer time on iPhone and tricks to fix the problem.
When trying to backup to iCloud, you must remember that this requires a stable and consistent connection first. Without it, you may have an incomplete backup or no backup at all. Here are a few things you should verify and troubleshoot to make sure iCloud backup is OK and not stuck.
1. Slower Wi-Fi Speed
Even if you have the fastest 5G connection in your area, you’ll have trouble making an iCloud backup on a mobile data connection. That’s why even Apple recommends using a Wi-Fi connection. If your iPhone or iPad is connected to a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network, you should switch to the 5.0 GHz band for better speeds.
Restarting your router can help and you can test your connection speeds with fast.com or Speedtest to find out its reliability.
2. iCloud Backup Is Bigger
When you enable everything from media to apps like WhatsApp in iCloud backup, the overall backup size can increase significantly. Before I show you how to reduce iCloud backup size, you can check the next backup size in Settings menu. Here’s how.
Stage 1: Open the Settings app on iPhone.
Step 2: Go to the profile menu.
Stage 3: Select iCloud and turn on Manage Storage.
Step 4: Select Backups and check your current device backup.
Step 5: From the info menu below, you will see the last backup time, the backup size, the ability to delete the current backup and the next backup size.
Depending on your usage and preference, it can range from 1GB to 15GB (this is just an estimate, more than 15GB for advanced users). In our case the available backup size was 10.36 GB.
If you think iCloud backup is too big, you can exclude large apps from backup list.
Exclude apps like WhatsApp from iCloud
WhatsApp uses iCloud to store user media and chat data. If you want to download and store every media sent to you on WhatsApp, it can take up 8GB-10GB in iCloud backup. However, you can choose to exclude WhatsApp data.
Open Settings on iPhone and go to the profile menu. Select iCloud and scroll down to WhatsApp. Disable the toggle and after that iCloud will no longer backup WhatsApp chats and data.
Disable Media Backup
If you already use OneDrive or Google Photos to back up photos and videos, it doesn’t make sense to store the same data in iCloud.
You can open iPhone Settings and land on Photos. Disable the iCloud Photos toggle and you’re ready. Don’t forget to backup new photos and videos to one of the iCloud alternatives on iPhone.
3. Extract Videos from WhatsApp Backups
Some messages are too valuable to be backed up in iCloud. So you can make these conversations a part of backup and remove all unwanted videos and photos from WhatsApp.
Stage 1: Open WhatsApp and Settings on iPhone.
Step 2: Select Chats and open Chat Backup.
Stage 3: Disable the Include Videos toggle and it will reduce the backup size.
The app will lead to a faster iCloud backup on iPhone.
4. Keep iPhone Connected to Power
iCloud backup only happens when your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi, power and locked.
Don’t make it a habit to unplug your iPhone from time to time. It will pause the iCloud backup process and lead to longer backup times.
5. Disable Background Downloading
Trying to download the latest Ted Lasso season on Apple TV or Money Heist on Netflix for offline viewing? You should disable downloading in the background so that iCloud can use the full internet bandwidth and complete the backup process quickly.
6. Check iCloud Servers
iCloud does not win any awards for reliability. There may be times when iCloud servers are having a rough day.
Go to Apple System Status page and check iCloud Backup status. Make sure it has a green indicator and then try again.
Take iCloud Backups Regularly
If you’re running out of patience, you have no choice but to use iTunes to complete the backup process. It’s not as foolproof as using iCloud, but it should get the job done.
Have you noticed any improvement in iCloud backup completion time? Share your experience in the comments below.