Why You Should Backup iPhone to iCloud or Computer?

You create a ton of data when using apps and services on your iPhone or iPad. Photos, videos or documents – regardless of the type of data, most of them are irreplaceable. And considering that no iOS or iPadOS device is immune from software corruption, hardware malfunction or theft, it means your data is always at risk.

That’s why it’s so important to back up your iPhone or iPad. If you lose data, it’s a simple matter of restoring the device from a backup to get it back. Yes, backing up your iPhone may seem like a hassle. But it’s a hassle well worth it, and there will come a time when a backup can save the day.

iPhone backups also play a role when it comes to setting up new devices. You can easily continue where you left off on your old device without losing your settings and data. For example, if you lose your iPhone or iPad and get yourself a latest model, it’s just a matter of restoring a backup of the previous device.

iPhone backups also play a role when it comes to setting up new devices from scratch.

Of course, Apple has made the backup process quite complicated. There are iCloud backups. And then there are Mac and PC backups. Confusing, isn’t it? Well, both methods handle backups quite differently. Let’s check them out so you can decide for yourself which method is right for your needs.

Backup iPhone/iPad to iCloud

It is incredibly convenient for performing iCloud backups. All you need is your Apple ID and a Wi-Fi connection. After enabling iCloud Backup setting, your iPhone or iPad will seamlessly back up your data to iCloud. This happens when you connect it to a power source while connected to a Wi-Fi network. You can also start a manual backup whenever you want.

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If you want to restore your iPhone or set up a new device from scratch, you can always access your backups as long as you’re connected to Wi-Fi. All backups are also fully encrypted, which means your data is available only to you and not made available to anyone else. And yes – even Apple can’t take care of them.

iCloud backups are also incremental. This will waste them less time as your iOS or iPadOS device will only forward data that was added or changed after the previous backup. However, expect the odd backup to fail on Wi-Fi hotspots with poor connectivity. In this case, you must try again or connect to a different hotspot.

However, iCloud backups also have a serious drawback – storage space. Your Apple ID gives you 5GB of free storage just to play. And considering that the storage quota is also used by other services like iCloud Photos, there’s often very little room left for your backups.

Your iPhone or iPad will only back up your most important data to iCloud to avoid storage problems. It won’t load any iTunes or App Store downloads – instead they will be re-downloaded from scratch in case of restore.

Also, iCloud backups are designed to stabilize data already available in iCloud. For example, if iCloud Photos is turned on, your photos won’t be included in a backup. The same is true for iMessages, contacts, calendars, notes, etc. synced between devices via iCloud. This applies to other data formats as well.

Regardless, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to fit your data into the remaining storage once other iCloud services have their say. This becomes an even bigger problem when you have multiple iOS and iPadOS devices connected to the same Apple ID.

If iCloud backups fail due to lack of storage space, you need to disable backup of certain apps to iCloud, free up some space manually, or purchase additional storage.

Backing Up iPhone/iPad to Computer (Mac or PC)

Backing up your iPhone or iPad to a Mac or PC may not be very convenient. For starters, you have to tinker with cables. At least for the first time, after that you can set your device to transmit data over local Wi-Fi. But on PCs, starting a Wi-Fi backup can often fail or be missed.

Then there is the problem of having your computer at hand when you want to restore your iOS device. This is not the case with iCloud backups, which can be accessed from almost anywhere.

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But other than that, using a Mac or PC for your backups is largely painless. Since storage is unlikely to be an issue, you can take a comprehensive backup of your iPhone or iPad via iTunes (pre-macOS Mojave and Windows) or the Finder app (macOS Catalina and newer). You can also shift your backups to external storage if your computer does not have enough storage space.

Contrary to popular belief, computer backups will not contain every bit of data on your iPhone or iPad. Typically, a backup doesn’t copy data stored in iCloud (like your photos, contacts, and calendars) or content that was originally synced from iTunes or the Finder (imported MP3s, CDs, videos, books, etc.). While this may help prevent data duplication, it is something you need to be aware of.

For security reasons, backups you create on your Mac or PC are not encrypted by default. But don’t worry – it’s pretty easy to apply encryption once you start a backup with the help of a password. This helps protect your data from unauthorized access.

If you don’t have a lot of space in iCloud or your Wi-Fi connection fails when doing long uploads, it will serve you well to back up your data using a computer. Restoring (or reinstalling) your iPhone using a computer is also pretty quick, as all your data is available locally.

Try Using Both Methods

It is very important to make a backup of the data on your iPhone or iPad. But it is equally important to decide which method you will use for your iPhone or iPad backups. If you’re willing to deal with iCloud’s small storage offering or plan to upgrade for convenience, go for an iCloud backup. If you have your PC or Mac with you at all times, performing offline backups is fairly easy and can help you avoid the headaches of poor Wi-Fi connections.

You can choose to back up your most important things to iCloud – this will help speed things up – and then perform periodic backups of your entire iPhone or iPad to a computer. This way, you have access to the best of both worlds. The more extensive your backups are, the better when things go bad.

Next: Accidentally deleted some files from iCloud Drive? Here is a helpful guide on how to restore them.