Nowadays, more and more people tend to store all kinds of data to iPhone or iPad directly. And most people cannot live without using iPhone and other smart phones. In another word, once your iPhone got stolen or broken, you are unable to access those important iOS data. So how to deal with those personal photos, messages, documents, contacts and settings? The most effective solution is backing up iPhone to computer regularly. No matter you need to update iPhone to iOS 18, change to a new iPhone 16, or just want to free up more space, you had better backup iPhone to Windows or Mac computer to make a copy. As a result, it would be easier to recover deleted or lost iPhone files with previous backup files. This article will show you 4 different ways to backup iPhone to computer hard drive easily and quickly.
- Part 1: How to Backup iPhone to Computer with iTunes
- Part 2: How to Backup iPhone without Computer
- Part 3: How to Backup iPhone to Computer without iTunes
- Part 4: How to Backup iPhone to Computer with Google Drive
Part 1. How to Backup iPhone to Computer with iTunes
Apple iTunes supports users to backup and restore iPhone on a trusted computer manually or automatically. The latter one requires you to tick "Sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi" or set other iTunes backup settings to backup iPhone to computer with iTunes wirelessly.
Step 1. Update iTunes and connect with iPhone
Install the latest iTunes on your Windows PC or Mac. Launch iTunes and use a lightning USB cable to connect iPhone to the computer. If it is the first time you link iPhone to iTunes, then you need to enter the iPhone password and unlock the iOS device. Choose the iPhone device button after iTunes has detected your Apple iPhone or iPad.
Step 2. Back up an iPhone using iTunes
Click "Summary" in the left panel, and then move to "Backups" section. Tick "This computer" and "Encrypt iPhone Backup" below if you want to make an encrypted backup. Tap "Back Up Now" to start backing up iPhone to a computer.
Part 2. How to Backup iPhone without Computer
If you want to maintain a regular backup routine, then you can backup iPhone to iCloud wirelessly. The supported iPhone files are Camera Roll photos/videos, app data, device settings, messages, ringtones, etc. In addition, there is 5 GB free cloud storage space you can manage.
Step 1. Locate iCloud on your iPhone
Connect your iPhone to a Wi-Fi network in advance.
iOS 10.2 or earlier: Click "Settings", scroll down to choose "iCloud".
iOS 10.2 and later: Open "Settings" app. Tap your name and then hit "iCloud" button.
Step 2. Use iCloud to backup iPhone without a computer
Choose "Backup" or "iCloud Backup" button. Make sure that iCloud backup option is being turned on. Tap "OK" when you are asked to start iCloud backup or not. Press "Back Up Now" to backup iPhone to iCloud automatically. Turn off iCloud backup option if you need to backup iPhone to iCloud for one time only.
You may also want to know: How to backup iPhone without passcode
Part 3. How to Backup iPhone to Computer without iTunes
Apeaksoft iOS Data Backup & Restore is your best choice to backup iPhone, iPad and iPod to Windows or Mac PC in one click. You are allowed to preview data after backup or before restoring data. Furthermore, iOS Data Backup & Restore enables users to restore from the backup selectively, which can do a better job than iTunes and iCloud.
Key Features
- One click to backup and restore iPhone/iPad/iPod data without data loss
- Preview data after iPhone backup or before restoring
- Selectively output what you want from the iPhone backup to your computer
- Support iPhone 16/15/14/13/12/11/X, etc.
Step 1. Open iOS Data Backup & Restore
Download and install the backup iPhone to computer program. Choose "iOS Data Backup & Restore" to back up an iPhone to Windows/Mac PC. One thing you should know is that, it also has the capablity to backup locked iPhone or iPad.
Step 2. Enter iOS Data Backup page
Connect iPhone to your computer via a USB cable. Click "iOS Data Backup" to enter its main interface to back up an iPhone to a computer without iTunes.
Step 3. Choose standard or encrypted backup mode
Apeaksoft iOS Data Backup & Restore can detect your iPhone automatically. Wait until the process ends, choose "Standard backup" by default and hit "Start" to move on. If you have something private need to be backed up, you can select "Encrypted backup" to get an iPhone encryption backup.
Step 4. Select iPhone backup file types
There are photos, App data, contacts, Safari history and many other data types you can choose to back up an iPhone to a computer without data loss. As a result, there is no need to backup unnecessary iPhone files entirely.
Step 5. Back up iPhone to PC in one click
Press "Next" button and set a destination folder on your Windows or Mac computer. Later, iOS Data Backup will start backing up iPhone to computer without iCloud or iTunes quickly.
Part 4. How to Backup iPhone to Computer with Google Drive
You can also clone iPhone data to Google Drive cloud storage directly. It means that there is no need to backup iPhone photos to Google Photos, backup iPhone contacts to Google Contacts and backup iPhone calendar to Google Calendar. But it is still far from making a full copy of your iPhone. Your iPhone emails, calendars and contacts have been online already.
Step 1. Run Google Drive on your iPhone
Connect to a Wi-Fi network. Download and install Google Drive on your iPhone. Now you can backup iPhone without a computer. Tap the "Menu" button in its left panel.
Step 2. Use Google Drive to backup content on your iPhone
Tap the "Settings" gear button at the top. Choose "Backup" and select which file type you want to make a copy including "Contacts", "Calendar events" and "Photos & Videos". Press "Start Backup" in the lower right corner.
If you need to backup multiple photos from iPhone to Google Drive, only new photos will be backed up. And Google Drive will overwrite your precious backup files including contacts and calendars.
Due to all kinds of limitations, it is obviously that iOS Data Backup & Restore is your best option to backup iPhone to computer without hassle. Thus, if you want to get rid of iTunes and iCloud, using iOS Data Backup & Restore to backup iPhone to Windows or Mac computer is the easiest and more powerful solution. Share this post if it is helpful to back up an iPhone to a computer, and leave questions in comments section below if your iPhone is not backing up or have other errors.
