Your iPhone keeps a host of data, including photos, videos, contacts, messages, and apps, which can be difficult to lose. To ensure continuous access to them in case the phone is lost or damaged, periodic backups are highly recommended.
Apple is replacing iTunes on Windows, but you shouldn't uninstall it yet
Apple provides two main options for backing up iPhone data: either through iCloud, which is not favored by many, or by keeping a copy on your computer, allowing easy access to your data and reducing risks associated with storing data online. Additionally, moving away from the traditional iPhone connection process with iTunes, Apple offers a new and official application worth trying on the Windows platform. Let's take a look at how to use this application to create a backup of iPhone data on Windows computers.
Taking a backup of iPhone devices on a computer traditionally relied on the iTunes application for Windows users. However, with the end of the iTunes era, a significant change occurred. Apple retired iTunes and replaced it with three separate applications: Apple Music and Apple TV for audio and TV streaming services, and the Apple Devices app, which we will discuss in this context. Now, you can create and manage backups for your iPhone on the Windows system in a manner reminiscent of iTunes but with an interface that is more compatible with Windows 11, offering smooth and efficient performance.
How creating an iPhone backup on Windows
- Firstly, we need to download the official iTunes alternative from Apple, which is the "Apple Devices" application, via the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating systems.
- You can open the store, search for "Apple Devices," and simply install it by clicking "Get"
- Before proceeding, ensure that the application is compatible with version 19045.0 of Windows 10 or later. You can check your Windows version by opening system settings (Win + I), navigating to System, and then About, where you will find the "OS build" number.
Apple Devices application to save a backup copy of the iPhone
- After downloading and opening the "Apple Devices" program, we first need to unlock the phone screen and then connect it to the computer using a USB cable.
- If this is the first connection between the phone and the computer, we will be required to grant permission to access files by clicking "Trust" or "Allow." We may also need to unlock the phone if necessary before this message appears.
- Next, navigate to the "General" section in the program (located at the top of the sidebar) and move to the "Backups" section where we select "Back up all the data on your iPhone to this computer."
- We can also encrypt backup data to secure passwords and sensitive information by choosing the "Encrypt local backup" option and entering a password for data encryption. It is advisable to keep the password for ensuring the ability to recover the backup in the future.
After completing the previous steps, click on the "Back Up Now" button located at the bottom of the screen. You will be prompted to enter your phone's password to initiate the process. The operation will take some time, so just leave the phone connected to the computer until the process is complete. Stay informed about the progress by monitoring the progress bar.
You can keep multiple backups of your iPhone data on the computer, and you can also delete previous backups. To do this, click on "Manage Backups," and you will see all the backups with their respective timestamps. Then, select any of them and press "Delete" to remove it.
We have provided a guide for the "Apple Devices" application that allows you to create a backup of iPhone data on Windows computers easily and promptly. If you own an iPhone, we recommend downloading and using the program immediately to ensure you have a backup of your data, especially considering the unpredictable nature of future events. If storing data on the computer is not feasible for any reason, it is advisable to use cloud storage, which enables access to files from anywhere without consuming computer space, thus safeguarding against concerns about file loss or hard drive damage.
