How to back up your iPhone to iCloud

SUMMARY

To back up your iPhone to iCloud, go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup. Select "Back Up Now" to perform a manual backup or toggle on "Back Up This iPhone" to automatically back up your device when charging.

Backing up your iPhone is just as important as backing up your computer. You have files and data stored on your device that you don’t want to lose if your iPhone becomes lost, stolen, or damaged. Luckily, backing up an iPhone to iCloud is easy.

Note: Although this guide is about iPhone, backing up an iPad works in the same way.

Why Backup to iCloud?

When you back up your iPhone to iCloud, iCloud takes periodic snapshots of the data on your iPhone, so it’s easy to restore to a new device if your old one is replaced, lost, or damaged.

What’s Included in iCloud Backup?

Whether you backup your iPhone to iCloud manually or enable automatic backups that run each day when you’re iPhone is plugged to power, the same items normally stored on your physical device will back up to iCloud. Here are the things included in the iCloud backup:

• App data
• Home screen and app layout
• iMessage, SMS, and MMS messages
• iPhone settings
• Photos and videos
• Purchase history from the App Store, Books Store, and iTunes
• Ringtones
• Visual Voicemail

Also, if your iPhone is running iOS 11 or earlier, voice memos are included. And, if you own an Apple Watch, those backups are also included unless you use Family Setup for your Watch.

Many other items on your iPhone already get backed up to iCloud by default, and they include contacts, calendars, notes, reminders, voice memos, bookmarks, iCloud messages, and iCloud photos.

How to Back Up Your iPhone With iCloud

By default, iCloud backup is enabled when you first set up your iPhone and sign in to iCloud. Your iPhone is automatically backed up when it’s locked and connected to power and a Wi-Fi network. You can check the status of your iCloud backups in Settings.

1. In Settings, tap your name, and then tap iCloud.
   • The dot next to iCloud Backup displays the status of the last backup on this device. If it’s green, it means your iPhone has been successfully backed up. But if there is a gray or red dot, it might mean that your backup is turned off, your device is offline, or the last backup failed.
2. Tap iCloud Backup to check the date of the last backup for your iPhone, to adjust settings, and to view backups of any other devices signed in with the same Apple Account.

3. Tap your iPhone to find out details about the size of your backup and which apps are included.

4. Tap the back arrow in the upper left corner to return to the previous screen.

5. If you want to manually backup your iPhone to iCloud, tap Backup Now.

You may receive an alert before the backup begins. This can be from one of the following:

• If you don’t have enough iCloud storage space available for your backup, you’ll see a notification. You can then follow the prompts to upgrade your iCloud storage plan.
• If you have iCloud backups turned off for any of your apps, you’ll see a notification. You can select "iCloud Settings" to turn on backups for those apps or "Continue" to back up without that app data.

It can take up to several minutes for the backup process to run, depending on the amount of data on your device. So be sure you stay connected to your Wi-Fi network during the process.

Once complete, you’ll see the date and time of the last successful backup below "Back Up Now."

See also: My iPhone Won’t Backup To iCloud! Here’s How to Fix it!

How to Automatically Back Up Your iPhone

Performing regular backups of your iPhone is essential so that you don’t lose any important items. You can set iCloud to automatically sync your data, purchases, and other items on a regular schedule.

Go to the same spot in your Settings as above, Your Name > iCloud > iCloud Backup. Then, turn on the toggle at the top for Back Up This iPhone.

Optionally, you can enable the toggle to Back Up Over Cellular if you lose your Wi-Fi connection. Just note that it may affect your cellular data plan usage.

To ensure your device is ready for the automatic backup, simply make sure you’re on Wi-Fi, connect your iPhone to its power source, and enable the Lock screen. Your device will then automatically backup to iCloud. The ideal time for this is during your normal charging time, like when you’re asleep.

Just like backing up your iPhone manually, you can then see the date and time for your last successful backup on the iCloud Backup screen.

And that’s how to make sure your iPhone is backed up to iCloud.

To learn more about how to use your iPhone, tap or click another article to keep reading.