Now you can delete the copy on your computer to save space, if you like. You can move the entire backup folder, or compress it into one file first. Now that you've found where your backups are hidden away, you can copy them to an external drive and delete the ones on your hard drive.Īpple advises users to copy the entire folder if you want to preserve the data without any chance of it becoming corrupted, so go ahead and make a copy of the folder (or compress it into a ZIP file) and drag that over to your external hard drive (or a different cloud service like Google Drive). Copy and move backups to an external hard drive You can delete your backups from this menu too. This will take you to the folder with your backups.Īlternatively, open iTunes and click Edit at the top, then Preferences. Substitute your user profile name for (username). Open your Search bar and type in: Users(username)AppDataRoamingApple ComputerMobileSyncBackup. You'll use a similar process for Windows. You can find your backups by reconnecting the iPhone. You'll get a list of all your backups, which you can then right-click and select Show in Finder to locate. That will take you to the folder where your backups are stored.Īlternatively, connect your iPhone to the Mac again and open its menu, then click Manage Backups.
Find the backup filesĬlick the Spotlight search button or press Command + Shift + G with a Finder window open and copy in the following text: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/.
Where to find your iPhone backups, and how to move them onto an external hard driveįor the majority of users, the steps above will more than suffice.īut you're interested in keeping device backups on an external hard drive, or simply want the flexibility to move your backups to a different spot on your computer, you'll have to dig a little deeper. Once it's all done, you can disconnect your iPhone. Give your devices a few minutes to back up your data. The options are named differently on Mac and PC, but perform the same functions. Under Backups, choose to back up your data to the computer, then click Back Up Now. It'll appear as a tiny iPhone icon in the top-left in iTunes, and you'll see its name in the left sidebar in Finder.ģ. On your iPhone, it'll ask you if you want to trust the computer - select Trust and enter your passcode.Ģ. Open iTunes or Finder on your computer, and then plug in your iPhone with its charging cable. If you've got a Mac, you'll use the Finder.
If you've got a PC, you'll do this using iTunes ( so make sure you have it downloaded). It'll all get stored into a single file that you can move and store however you like. If you prefer to keep your data outside of the cloud, you can save it all to your computer. The latter two plans you can also choose to share with your entire family, making the price even better. It's just $0.99 per month for 50 GB, $2.99 per month for 200 GB, and $9.99 per month for a whopping 2 TB. The good news is that iCloud storage is cheap and easy to upgrade.
If you have multiple Apple devices backed up to iCloud - or even one reasonably full iPhone - that space runs out quick. When you sign up for an Apple ID, you only get 5 GB of free space. William Antonelli/Insider What to do if you run out of iCloud storage
You can set up automatic backups or make a manual one.