How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with your Mac
- June 7, 2024
- Apple
Table of Contents
How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with your Mac
If you back up your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you’ll have a copy of your information to use in case your device is ever replaced, lost, or damaged.
macOS Catalina or later
macOS Mojave or earlier
Not sure which macOS you have? Find out which macOS your Mac is using.
Back up with the Finder
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On a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, open a Finder window.
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Connect your device to your computer with a USB cable.
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If asked for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps. Get help if you forgot your passcode.
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Select your device on your computer. Learn what to do if your device doesn’t appear on your computer.
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If you want to save Health and Activity data from your device or Apple Watch, you need to encrypt your backup. Select the “Encrypt local backup” checkbox and create a memorable password.
Save your password somewhere safe, because there’s no way to recover your backups without this password. -
Click Back Up Now.
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When the process ends, you can see if the backup finished successfully. You’ll see the date and time of your last backup.
Back up with iTunes
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On a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes.
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Connect your device to your computer with a USB cable.
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If asked for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps. Get help if you forgot your passcode.
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Select your device on your computer. Learn what to do if your device doesn’t appear on your computer.
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If you want to save Health and Activity data from your device or Apple Watch, you need to encrypt your backup. Select the “Encrypt [device] backup” checkbox and create a memorable password.
Save your password somewhere safe, because there’s no way to recover your backups without this password. -
Click Back Up Now.
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When the process ends, you can see if the backup finished successfully. You’ll see the date and time of your last backup.
Learn more
- Restore your device from a backup.
- Get help with iTunes backups.
- Manage your backups.
Published Date: June 24, 2021
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
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