Need to restore an iPhone backup? Here’s how

If you’ve just purchased a new iPhone® or recently erased your iPhone, you’re likely wondering how to get your valuable information—like your contacts and messages—back onto your device.

You can restore content, settings, and apps from a backup to a new or newly erased iPhone.

Here’s our guide on how to restore an iPhone from a backup plus tips on why and how to back up your device.

Important: To restore your iPhone, you must have a backup to restore from.

Why do I need to back up my iPhone?

There are a number of reasons why you might need to backup your iPhone. Perhaps you are migrating to a newer model of the Apple iPhone and want to transfer all of your data, apps, settings and other content to your new device. You might also run into a situation where it’s necessary to return your iPhone to factory settings and you need to wipe your phone clean of everything.

It is advisable to regularly create backups of your phone’s contents, so that nothing gets lost either due to an accident or some other unexpected issue. There are various ways for you to backup your iPhone. We’ll show you various methods to back up your iPhone so that you can restore it later.

How do I back up my iPhone?

You can back up iPhone using iCloud or your computer. Here are steps for both methods.

To back up your iPhone to 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.

Go to Settings, tap your name, and then tap iCloud.

You’ll see a dot next to iCloud backup that 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.

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.

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

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

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

To back up your iPhone on your computer:

On a Mac running macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, you’ll use the Finder® to back up your iPhone. On a Mac running macOS® Mojave 10.14 or earlier or a PC, you’ll use iTunes® to back up your iPhone.

Back up iPhone using your Mac

1. Connect iPhone and your computer with a cable.
2. In the Finder sidebar on your Mac, select your iPhone.
   To use the Finder to back up iPhone, macOS 10.15 or later is required. With earlier versions of macOS, use iTunes to back up iPhone.
3. At the top of the Finder window, click General.
4. Select “Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac.”
5. To encrypt your backup data and protect it with a password, select “Encrypt local backup.”
6. Click Back Up Now.

Back up iPhone using your Windows device

1. Connect iPhone and your computer with a cable.
2. In the iTunes app on your PC, click the iPhone button near the top left of the iTunes window.
3. Click Summary.
4. Click Back Up Now (below Backups).
5. To encrypt your backups, select “Encrypt local backup,” type a password, then click Set Password.

How do I restore my iPhone from a backup?

You can quickly restore your iPhone from a backup using three methods: iCloud, iTunes, and Finder. So, here’s how you can restore the data on your iPhone.

To restore your iPhone from iCloud:

Before you start, make sure a backup of your iPhone is stored in iCloud and you have your Apple account password.

You’ll need to have access to a Wi-Fi network in order to restore your data, and your device should be plugged in and charging after setup to download your content.

If your iPhone is new and you’ve already set it up, you’ll need to erase it and start the process over. To do this, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content & Settings.

Once the reset is complete, follow these steps to restore your iPhone from iCloud backup:

1. Follow the prompts to set up your device until the Quick Start screen appears.
2. Tap Set Up Without Another Device and continue following the prompts.
3. On the Transfer Your Apps and Data screen, choose From iCloud Backup and follow the prompts, which includes signing into your Apple account.
4. You might be asked to review and accept the terms and conditions in order to continue. If you agree, tap Agree to confirm.
5. Choose your most recent iCloud backup and follow the prompts, which includes setting up cellular service and an eSIM.
   Note: If you are trying to fix a problem, you might want to try using an older backup. But, remember that if you use an older backup, you may not be able to restore the data you’ve collected since then.
6. A loading bar will appear when your iPhone begins restoring your information from iCloud. This might take some time to complete.
7. Follow any remaining prompts.
8. When it’s done, you can start using your iPhone.

Your apps and data will continue to download in the background when you’re connected to Wi-Fi.

Some things, like your photos, might take extra time to complete.

To restore your iPhone from your computer:

If you’re using a Mac running macOS Mojave 10.14 or earlier or a PC, you’ll use iTunes to restore your iPhone. On a Mac running macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, you’ll use the Finder . We’ll cover instructions for both.

How to restore your iPhone from iTunes:

1. Open iTunes on Windows without the Apple Devices app or macOS Mojave or earlier.
2. Using USB, connect a new or newly erased iPhone to the computer containing your backup. If a message asks for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps.
3. Select your iPhone when it appears in the iTunes window.
4. Select Restore Backup.
5. Look at the date of each backup and pick the most relevant.
6. Click Restore and wait for the restore to finish. If asked, enter the password for your encrypted backup.
7. Keep your device connected after it restarts and wait for it to sync with your computer. You can disconnect after the sync finishes.

How to restore your iPhone from the Finder:

1. Open the Finder.
2. Using USB, connect a new or newly erased iPhone to the computer containing your backup. If a message asks for your iPhone passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps.
3. Select your iPhone when it appears in the Finder window.
4. Select Restore Backup.
5. Look at the date of each backup and pick the most relevant.
6. Click Restore and wait for the restore to finish. If asked, enter the password for your encrypted backup.
7. Keep your device connected after it restarts and wait for it to sync with your computer. You can disconnect after the sync finishes.