Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team
Just about everyone brings their smartphone or tablet with them wherever they go. Unfortunately, this means that those devices are almost always in danger of getting lost, damaged, or stolen. Making sure those devices are backed up means that you're protected no matter what happens. For iOS devices, iCloud and iTunes are the only truly complete backup options, backing up not only your photos and videos, but also your contact list, text messages, data from apps, and all of your settings. This guide will go over how to make sure your iOS devices are being properly backed up.
Tools You'll Need:
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Supplies You'll Need:
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Before You Begin:
Installing iTunes
Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch to WiFi
There are two ways to backup your iOS device: iCloud, and to your computer via iTunes.
iCloud has been the default way to backup your iOS devices since iOS 5. The first 5GB of files you backup using iCloud are free. Once this has been filled up, you'll have to pay a monthly fee. Photos and videos can fill up your free 5GB fast. If you take a lot of pictures, you may need to consider upgrading your iCloud storage, or backup using iTunes instead.
While iCloud is the default backup method, it will need to be turned on.
From now on, whenever your iOS device is connected to WiFi and not in use (locked), it will automatically back itself up to iCloud.
To backup using iTunes, you will need to connect your device to your computer. You'll be using the USB cable that it came with to do this. While this method is free, it is not automatic and will take some time to download all of the data on your device over to your computer.