Whether you happen to damage your iPhone by accidentally dropping it somewhere or someone steals it away and you have to wipe it clean remotely, you need some type of backup to keep all your iPhone data safe with you. For taking care of such issues, the most popular option for backing up your iPhone data is iTunes. But what if you don’t want to take the iTunes route, maybe because you don’t have access to a computer? Well, you’d definitely look for alternative backup options. If you don’t know how to backup an iPhone without iTunes, rest assured that there are plenty of third party tools available to do that. Besides, your first choice should be iCloud backup. Below all these options are discussed in detail. So, let’s take a look without wasting any time.
Jump To Section
- How To Backup An iPhone Without iTunes To iCloud
- Restoring A Backup Right From The iPhone
- What Third Party Options Are Available
How To Backup An iPhone Without iTunes To iCloud
Deep inside your iPhone’s settings, there is a feature that backs up all your device data automatically in the background. That’s iCloud and it is enabled from very first moment when you boot the device. All you have to do it to stay connected to a reliable Wi-Fi connection and power source and ensure that you have screen locked your device. If you’ve done so, all your photos, messages, text, apps and just about anything on your device will be stored to the iCloud account that you have registered on the said iPhone.
However, if your device doesn’t meet the criteria mentioned above and it is lost, broken, or stolen, all you will have is an outdated backup where your latest data, media, and settings won’t be available.
So, you should update the iPhone manually, not using iTunes on your computer, but directly. It is simple, quick, and best option available. In fact, you can even restore all your stuff backed up whenever needed right from your iPhone as well.
What Does iCloud Back Up?
As iCloud backups are a bit different in comparison to what you create using iTunes, it is important to first determine what is stored in these backups before we get on with actually creating one. Here are the details.
- Purchase history of movies, music, apps, books and TV shows
- Videos and Photos (unless you have enabled iCloud Photo Library, in that case they are stored to iCloud already and you do not need to worry)
- App Data
- Device Settings
- Home Screen & app organization
- Ringtones
- Voicemail
- iMessage, Text and MMS Messages
- HomeKit configuration
- Health Data
Any apps, music or other such media that is not purchased from iTunes, iBooks Store and iOS App Store won’t backup to your iCloud account. In case you have any such stuff on your iPhone, you should better go for an iTunes Backup.
How To Create iCloud Backup?
Before you actually backup all your stuff to iCloud, make sure that you are connected to WiFi. If you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection available then you may not be able to create a backup on iCloud. Even a hotspot at a coffee shop in your area can be used for this but you just need to be sure that it’s a reliable one before you connect to it and start creating your backup.
Once you are connected to Wi-Fi, it’s time to actually create the backup. Here are the steps that you will have to follow here.
- Go to Settings
- Click on iCloud.
- Scroll Down to find “Backup” and tap on it
- At bottom of this screen you will be able to see your last backup date and there will also be an option labeled “Backup Now”
- Just tap it and it will start backing up your data on iCloud
Depending on size and number of files on your iPhone, it will take some time for the backup to complete. If you don’t feel like having enough to at the moment, you can cancel it whenever you like and repeat the process above once more to make sure all your stuff is backed up to iCloud.
Once you complete the backup, your latest backup will be available along with the time when it was finished. Just remember this information for the time when you have to restore it.
Restoring A Backup Right From The iPhone
Restoring iCloud backups may not be the most simple and straightforward things to do because you can’t find any “Restore” button in settings. So, the option you have for restoring is to rest your device first. In fact, it’s an obvious thing to do as you might be restoring a backup on your newly bought iPhone, or when you have got a used iPhone and want to set it up the way you want, or even when you just want to clean everything and take a new start but still keep your pictures, apps, etc. on the device. So, here is what you need to do.
- Go to Settings
- Tap General and then find the “Reset” option
- Several Reset options will now pop up and you will have to tap “Erase All Content & Settings”
- Now you will be prompted to enter the lockscreen password
- Tap “Erase iPhone”
- Enter iCloud password to complete the reset.
The iPhone will now wipe clean all your data, settings and media before rebooting. When it reboots, it will be as good as new. Now, here is what you need to do next.
- Connect to a Wi-Fi connection
- Tap “Restore From iCloud Backup” from Apps and Data section
- Provide your Apple Login credentials to proceed further
- A list of all your previous backups will show up, tap latest backup
- Once you have selected the backup, the restore will begin.
As soon as it finishes, you will have to provide your iCloud info for updating the settings and also for setting up Apple Pay. And, once you do that, it will take you to Home Screen of your device where you will be able to find all the photos, videos, settings, apps, etc. from the backup.
What Third Party Options Are Available?
Besides iCloud, there are several third party tools that can be used effectively for creating iPhone backs without iTunes. Given below are top three options that you can consider for your iPhone backups. If they don’t satisfy your specific needs, the options are endless. But let’s take a look at these three first.
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SYNCIOS
It’s a free alternative to iOS which allows you to back up and transfer videos, music, photos, apps, ebooks, contacts, messages, etc. All you have to do is to connect your iOS device to Mac or Windows PC and manage your content right away. However, it still requires you to install iTunes. SYNCIOS comes with some handy tools that allow you to create ringtones, manage playlists and convert audio/video files. One major reason as to why using SYNCIOS is recommended is its ability of downloading and converting videos from Facebook, YouTube and lots of other popular sources. It is simple and straightforward tool that comes completely for free.
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PhoneCopy
Another option you have is PhoneCopy. It’s a freemium for Android, iOS and several other platforms. It is designed for creating data backups and storing everything in cloud where you can access it through the website of the developer. The backups include your SMS, contacts, tasks, calendar events, and notes. Once an initial backup is taken, your data is synchronized for quicker backups as you move forward. The tool also saves your backup history as well allowing you to retrieve any deleted content directly through the app.
To begin with, you have to set up your account right from your iPhone. Once you have your account up and running, you just have to hit Synchronize button for backing up your data on servers of PhoneCopy. Everything is then accessible through the official website of the service provider and you can also make changes there as well. Just ensure that you tap on Synchronize for saving changes.
You can download the basic version of the app for free but if you want to enjoy premium access then you will have to bear $25 subscription cost every year.
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CopyTrans 4Pack
If you are using the starter pack, Copytrans won’t offer you a cloud solution like the choices described above. Basic version of the app gives users a backup solution for all their data on iPhone without any need of internet connection. All you have to do is drag contacts, apps, calendars, notes and just about any other type of data to the folder on desktop.
Besides the granular controls, CopyTrans also does a wonderful job when it comes to organizing your data through contact book and music library. Though there’s a price tag associated, but it is far less compared to other software that store your data locally as a backup. Buy 4-Pack for $30 and you will be able to manage your photos, calendars, music, apps, contacts, notes, and other stuff right from the desktop.
You can start using this software by downloading the entire suite from the website of the developer and connecting your iOS device to it. Next, simply select your data type that you want to include in backup using the Control Center and hit backup button to get things started.
So, if you don’t want to backup your iPhone using iTunes and don’t even know how to backup an iPhone without iTunes, you can use any of the options described above. Both cloud based and local backup solutions are available and it’s just the matter of choice as to which ones you’d like to use. Our recommendation, however, is to use iCloud for backup simply because it’s a native tool and comes from the house of Apple.
Check Other Topics:
- How To Backup iPhone Contacts
- How To Create iTunes Backup For Your iPhone And Why Do You Need It?
- How to Restore Your iPhone, iPad From A Backup
- How To Backup All Your Health And Fitness Data On Apple Watch