How to Back up phone

[PilateBall]

How do you back up your iPhone? I'm really not very technically savvy; so please explain.



Moved post to separate thread

 

[xrayeyes]

You can save most items to iCloud, but it is not considered a full back up. You would need to download iTunes on your desktop/laptop and perform a back up of your phone there. It's recommended to do a back up often, as this will be the only way you can restore the phone with all of your photos, data, messages, mail, etc.

 

[PilateBall]

Thank you. I realized that my desktop crashed last month, and I don't have iTunes on my laptop. So I downloaded it, but I can't figure out how to back up my phone to it. The format is different than I remember, and I'm kind of lost. any help is appreciated.

 

[xrayeyes]

Here are a few pointers once you get iTunes installed. Go under "View" in the toolbar and select "show sidebar" I find it easier to see my phone and libraries that way. Then go back to the top toolbar and under "Store", make sure you "Authorize this computer". Then go back to iTunes in the toolbar and scroll to Preferences. Then go to devices and select "Prevent from syncing automatically.". That way it will only sync when you tell it to. Once you have done all that and your phone is showing...highlight your phone and go to "Summary" at the top. You will see options to back it up. You can back up to iCloud, but I would also back up to your computer.

 

[PilateBall]

Thank you xrayeyes! I figured most of it out before I read your post, but the rest of your instructions were very helpful. I guess I'm just scared of technology, and when things go wrong I panic. So I appreciate the help

 

[KevinJS]

Encrypt the backup on your computer. That way all of your passwords will be preserved in the backup. Just don't forget the password for the backup.

The later versions of iTunes on PCs look a bit strange. The classic Windows menu bar is missing. Press ALT to reveal it. Then from the View menu, Show Sidebar etc. This will bring iTunes back to the way it used to look. On the Mac these problems don't exist because the Mac menu bar is at the top of the screen in its usual position.

 

[KevinJS]

I've bashed out this pictorial guide on iPad forums.

You don't need to be a member over there to read the threads.

The phone looks a bit strange in iTunes because I used an old iPhone 4 that I use as an iPod for this demo.

Backups | Apple iPad Forum