Most people only discover their phone wasn’t backed up after it’s lost, stolen or dropped in water. Checking takes ten minutes. Here’s how.
iPhone: back up to iCloud
- Connect to Wi-Fi.
- Open Settings and tap your name at the top.
- Tap iCloud, then iCloud Backup.
- Turn on Back Up This iPhone.
- Tap Back Up Now and wait for it to finish.
Your iPhone will then back up automatically when it’s charging, locked and on Wi-Fi. Check the “Last successful backup” time on the same screen every now and then.
Running out of space? The free iCloud allowance is small. Either buy more storage or back up to a computer instead.
iPhone: back up to a computer
- Mac: connect the iPhone, open Finder, select your iPhone in the sidebar, then click Back Up Now.
- Windows: install Apple’s Apple Devices app (or iTunes on older PCs), connect the iPhone, and choose Back Up Now.
- Tick Encrypt local backup if you want saved passwords and health data included – and write the password somewhere safe.
Android: back up to Google
- Open Settings.
- Go to Google → Backup (on some phones it’s System → Backup).
- Turn on Backup by Google One (or Back up to Google Drive).
- Tap Back up now.
Menus vary by manufacturer. If you can’t find it, search Settings for “backup”. Samsung phones also offer Samsung Cloud and the Smart Switch app for computer backups.
Don’t forget photos and messages
- Photos: make sure iCloud Photos (iPhone) or Google Photos backup (Android) is switched on – photos are often what people miss most.
- WhatsApp: backs up separately. Go to Settings → Chats → Chat backup inside WhatsApp.
- Two-factor authentication apps: check your authenticator app has its own backup or transfer option, or you could get locked out of accounts.
The 3-2-1 rule (for the important stuff)
For photos and files you’d be heartbroken to lose, keep 3 copies, on 2 different types of storage, with 1 somewhere else – for example your phone, a cloud backup and an external drive at home.
Test it
A backup you’ve never checked is a hope, not a backup. Every few months, confirm the date of your last backup and try opening a few photos from the cloud on another device.