If you use your iPhone or iPad a lot, it likely has a host of vital information stored on it—information that you probably don’t want to lose. That’s why backing up your iPhone and iPad is so important. We’re going to go through two quick ways you can make a backup on your device and through your computer.
To make a wireless backup directly from your device, you’ll need an iCloud account. Once you’re logged in to iCloud, make sure your device is connected to a Wi-Fi network—you can’t make a backup over 3G. After you’ve done so, just tap Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup, turn on the iCloud Backup toggle, and press Back Up Now.
This creates a manual backup of your device at any time. In addition, when iCloud Backup is turned on, your device automatically backs up any time it is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi.
If you’d like to have an local backup on your computer, you can also back up your device through iTunes. Just plug your phone into your computer (or use the Wi-Fi Sync option) and open iTunes.
Once iTunes is open, click the Devices menu, select your iPhone, and scroll down in the summary section to Backups. There, under Manually Back Up and Restore, click Back Up Now.
This is also where you can change your backups so that you solely back up through iTunes, but if you have an iCloud account, we recommend you have backups in both places.
I’m associate editor Serenity Caldwell, and thanks for watching.
Author: Serenity Caldwell, Associate Editor
Serenity has been writing and talking and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, writes, acts, sings, and wears an assortment of hats.