Guides

Guides for backing up your iPhone

Plain, step-by-step help with the tools already built into your Mac and iPhone.

• How to back up your iPhone to your Mac without iCloudBack up your whole iPhone to your Mac with Finder, step by step. Turn on encryption, use Wi-Fi, check it finished, and restore later. No iCloud needed.
• Where are iPhone backups stored on a Mac, and how big are they?Find your iPhone backups on your Mac, see how much space they use, delete old ones safely, and learn what an encrypted backup holds. No Terminal needed.
• How to get photos from an old iPhone backup on your MacCan you get photos out of an old iPhone backup on a Mac? Check they're in it, restore it to an iPhone, and import them with Photos. Step by step.
• How to export iPhone call history to CSV or PDFiPhone has no button to export call history. See where Apple shows your calls, keep them in an encrypted backup on your Mac, and save them as CSV or PDF.
• How to find a deleted message thread in an older iPhone backupDeleted a message thread on your iPhone? Check Recently Deleted first, then find it in an older backup on your Mac without losing it. Step by step.
• How to see what's inside an iPhone backup on your MacFind the iPhone backups on your Mac, see what Apple puts in them and what it leaves out, and read what's inside without restoring. Step by step.