How to Back up iPhone/iPad to iCloud Automatically and Instantly
Last Updated on November 2, 2023 by Jack RobertsonWhat’s the most important thing in your shining iPhone and iPad? Most users will just say the device itself as it costs you several hundred dollars. That’s correct though but never ignore the data hiding in your tiny little gadget.
Imagine:
- If the data in your iPhone or iPad is gone because of a wrong touch of yours or any of your partner’s, kid’s, or sibling’s, what can you do to get your precious data back?
- What if your Apple gadget is lost, screen-broken, water-damaged, or faulted and you can’t access it as well as the data in it?
So, backing up your iPhone or iPad to iCloud is so important in case any of the said situations happen to you.
Is iCloud good for making a backup?
Absolutely, iCloud is such a good choice to back up your iPhone and iPad.
Offered by Apple Inc., you can back up all your important iOS data to iCloud, a nearly perfect cloud storage service, for free. Also, compared to iTunes needs a computer to do a backup, iCloud needs nothing but the Apple device itself and an Internet connection.
Now, let’s cut to the chase and start to back up your iPhone or iPad with iCloud.
Backing up iPhone/iPad to iCloud:
1 . How to Back Up iPhone and iPad to iCloud
It’s pretty easy to do an iCloud backup on your iPhone and iPad when you have logged in an Apple ID to this device.
Step 1
Go to Settings on your iPhone/iPad, tap on Wi-Fi and connect to a stable Wi-Fi network so that iCloud can access your iPhone or iPad and back up the data to the cloud without delay.
Step 2
Next, exit the Wi-Fi page, and tap on your Apple ID tab - the one that has your account name.
Step 3
Tap iCloud, then scroll down and find iCloud Backup. Tap on it.
Step 4
Now, turn on the iCloud Backup option and always make sure this option is activated.
Step 5
You can tap Back Up Now at the bottom of the menu to make an iCloud backup file right away.
Tip 1
If you still don’t have an Apple account of your own, go create one and sign in on your iPhone or iPad via Settings, sign in to your iPhone/iPad.
Tip 2: Can iCloud back up my iPhone and iPad data automatically?
Yes, iCloud can back up your iOS data automatically and actually, this is something you don’t need any extra steps to enjoy. After you turn on the iCloud Backup option as mentioned above, every time the iDevice is plugged in, locked and connected to Wi-Fi, new data generated on your iPhone and iPad will be automatically backed up to iCloud.
Tip 3: How to Check Last Backup on iPhone or iPad?
If you’re worried about the iCloud will fail to back up your iOS data because you’re having a poor connection around the place now, well, easy. You can check the record of iCloud’s last backup on your iPhone or iPad.
Go to Settings - Apple ID - iCloud - iCloud Backup. There, check the line below Back Up Now option to see the time for the last successful iCloud backup.
Tip 4: A Disadvantage of Backing up with iCloud - The iCloud Storage
If anybody asks what’s the disadvantage of iCloud, I would say its storage. For starters, Apple gives you 5GB of space for free. While we have so much data now and it’s very easy to use up all the 5GB free storage.
This is also one of the reasons why people would say “my iCloud failed to back up my iPhone or iPad” and “why won’t my iCloud back up my iPhone/iPad”. Simple as that, there’s no more space for your iCloud anymore.
2. Alternative of iCloud: Backup iPhone and iPad without iCloud
Besides iCloud - the cloud storage service, you can back up your iPhone or iPad data with other tools as well, more importantly, without storage limit. In this part, I will provide you with the information on using one iCloud alternative to back up your iOS data. Pay attention that the below method require a computer.
If you want to back up your data quickly and precisely, you certainly need echoshare iOS Data Backup & Restore, a perfect iCloud alternative that helps you back up your iOS data without hassle.
The program supports all the mainstream file types like photos, videos, audio, documents, app attachments, notes, etc. You can back up whatever you want from your iPhone or iPad to the computer easily.
Unlike iCloud and iTunes’ unavailable-to-decide-data-range backup, iOS Data Backup & Restore gives you the availability to select iPhone/iPad data. You don’t need to back up all the data from it as you do with iTunes, which wastes a lot of time and spaceon your hard drive.
Here come the steps to back up iPhone or iPad using iOS Data Backup & Restore:
Step 1
Install iOS Data Backup & Restore via a button below and launch it.
Step 2
Click iOS Data Backup & Restore, then iOS Data Backup after running the program. Connect your iDevice to the computer.
Step 3
Then, you can choose whatever you want to back up by ticking the file type displayed on the interface or just tick Select All to proceed.
Take your text messages/iMessages as an example. Simply tick Messages & Attachments, and disable all the other options. Click Next to start the backup after you make your decision.
Step 4
Wait for a while and iOS Data Backup & Restore will finish the backup. After that, you can view and restore the data if you would like through the iOS Data Restore option.
3. How to View and Extract iCloud Backup
According to Apple Support, you cannot see the details of the iCloud backup, let alone extract some files from the iCloud backup. However, nothing is impossible. With the right tool, you can, for sure, check the data that’s packed into the iCloud backup and extract some of it to your iPhone or other devices.
Here, you can try this handy iCloud backup viewer and extractor program, echoshare iOS Data Recovery.
echoshare iOS Data Recovery, as a professional data and system manager of iPhone, iPad and iPod, can help all iOS users solve their problems of data backup.
- View iCloud backup flexibly: As for iCloud backup viewing and extraction, this app is such a pro. Once turned on, this app will scan your iCloud backup with definite safety, displaying all the files inside. You’re available to view the data by categories, like Photos, Videos, Audio, Contacts, etc.
- Extract data selectively with seamless quality: If you’re a camera bug who has so many photos and videos stored in your iCloud backup, you might worry about the quality of the extraction. Well, don’t. Lossless extraction, this is what iOS Data Recovery can guarantee.
- Restore Data Selectively: You can do a selective extraction - choose the photos you need and restore them back to your iPhone or iPad. And leave the rest behind.
Now, let’s start to view and extract your iCloud backup file with echoshare iOS Data Recovery!
Step 1
Click the button below, cownload and install iOS Data Recovery on your computer. Connect your device to your computer with a USB cable. Then, launch the program and click iOS Data Recovery from the interface.
Step 2
Next, choose Recover from iCloud and then log in your iCloud account so that the program can access your iCloud backup files.
Step 3
Once you've logged in, click iCloud Backup and you can see all backup records. Now, choose the one that contains the target files that you need based on the device name and date. Click Download to proceed.
Step 4
On the next screen, the program will display all the files found on this iCloud backup by categories. Tick the file type(s) that you prefer and click Recover to save them to the computer.
Wait for a minute or two, iOS Data Recovery will finish extracting data from your iCloud backup real soon. When it’s done, go to the destination folder and transfer them to your iPhone or iPad.
FAQs
The most common reason why your iCloud is not backing up your iPhone is that you’ve reached the iCloud’s 5GB free storage limit. As the capacity is full, iCloud is unable to import any more data from your iPhone.
So, now, what you can do is:
- Pay for extra iCloud storage space. Learn more about prices in your region here.
- Get yourself an iCloud alternative that has no storage limitation at all. Here you can back up your iPhone/iPad using iOS Data Backup & Restore.
- Remove data from your iCloud storage. By default, iCloud will back up data from most of your iOS apps once the iCloud backup option is on. Here, you can disable some apps from iCloud backup settings so that your iCloud will remove the related data from that overfull 5GB space. This is how you do it: Turn your iPhone/iPad on, tap Settings, Apple ID, iCloud, then Manage Storage. There, you can see a list of data that iCloud will back up. Disable those that you think are not important. Then, restart your device to refresh the iCloud backup record.
It’s easy to back up your iPhone or iPad photos to iCloud, be it Camera Rolls or Saved Photos.
Simply launch the Settings app and tap Apple ID. There, choose iCloud and find Photos. Tap on it and turn this option on. Always keep it active and iCloud will just back up your photos to the cloud.
The first alternative we’re going to use here is another Apple’s program, iTunes.
Step 1 Open iTunes and connect the iPhone to your PC via a USB cable. Then the device is detected, just click the phone icon to enter the device syncing panel.
Step 2 Then Trust This Computer on your iPhone if it is the first time that you connect your iPhone to this computer and follow the onscreen steps.
Step 3 Click on Summary, then click Back Up Now to back up your iPhone with iTunes.
Disadvantages of Backing up iPhone with iTunes
When backing up an iPhone with iTunes, you don't face quite the same space limitations like iCloud has. However:
You can’t decide the size of your iTunes backup file as iTunes will just back up everything from your iPhone, including files, apps, app data, and system settings.
You’re not allowed to preview any file before you restore this iTunes backup file. As a result, all the data will be restored to the phone and it will cover all the current content of the iPhone. And the cover is irreversible.
To be clear, iTunes is not a perfect choice to back up your iPhone unless you use some professional iTunes backup extractor to restore certain data only.
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