How To: Backup Your iOS Device to Your Mac Using iTunes

While it’s likely that the majority of iOS users are backing up their device via a Wi-Fi connection to iCloud, some users still want to kick it old school, and keep the backup on their Mac or PC.  Here’s how.

Backing up your iOS device to your computer allows you to make sure you have a good backup of your iOS device in case disaster strikes, and you don’t have a Wi-Fi signal available.

Connect Your iOS Device and Launch iTunes

Connect your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to the computer using your Lightning cable, load iTunes and then select your device from the iTunes menu. (It’s in the upper left-hand portion of the iTunes window in new versions of iTunes. the icon resembles your device.)

Backup Your iOS Device

Click on the “Summary” tab on the menu on the left side of the window. In the right-hand portion of the iTunes screen, you’ll see a “Back Up Now” button. Click that. The backup should begin.

The progress bar at the top of the screen will display the progress of your backup. The backup could take anywhere from a few moments, all the way up to several minutes to complete. The amount of apps and data you have stored on the device will determine the length of time it takes to complete. Once completed, the time and date of your last backup will be updated. (You can see this below the “Back Up Now” button.

This was a rather short how-to, but it could come in handy if you’re faced with the need to quickly backup your iOS device and don’t have a Wi-Fi signal available. And it’s always a good idea to have multiple backups.
Chris Hauk

Chris is a Senior Editor at Mactrast. He lives somewhere in the deep Southern part of America, and yes, he has to pump in both sunshine and the Internet.

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9 years ago