Back up your iPhone before an iOS update: a checklist
The backup is for the day an update doesn’t go to plan.
In short
Apple says your data and settings stay in place when you update iOS, but recommends backing up first. Run an iCloud backup with Back Up Now or a computer backup, check that it finished, make sure iCloud Photos has finished syncing, and — if you use a vault app — check its own backup and recovery phrase.
Key takeaways
- Settings › [your name] › iCloud › iCloud Backup › Back Up Now.
- With iCloud Photos on, photos sync rather than going into the backup.
- A vault app needs its own backup and its own recovery secret.
Why back up if the update keeps everything
An update is designed to leave your data and settings untouched. The backup covers the rest: an update interrupted, an iPhone that won’t start afterwards. Apple’s recovery steps for an iPhone that can’t update suggest trying Update first, but Restore reinstalls iOS and erases all your data — and at that point, the backup is what you have.
Back up
To iCloud
- Connect to Wi-Fi.
- Go to Settings › [your name] › iCloud › iCloud Backup.
- Tap Back Up Now and wait for it to finish.
In the same screen, tap This iPhone to see when the last backup was made and which apps are included.
To a computer
On a Mac, connect the iPhone with a cable, select it in the Finder sidebar, click General, choose to back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac, then click Back Up Now. Select “Encrypt local backup” to protect it with a password — a password you will need to restore it. On a Windows PC, the steps are similar.
Know what the backup doesn’t hold
- iCloud Photos. If it is on, your photos sync to iCloud and are not part of the iCloud backup. In Photos, tap Collections and check the sync status at the top right before updating.
- Messages in iCloud, which also syncs instead of being backed up.
- Data that apps store in iCloud Drive, which lives there rather than in the backup.
If you use a vault app
A photo vault deserves its own check, because its contents are only as recoverable as its backup and its key. Before updating:
- Check the app’s own backup status, if it has one.
- Find your recovery phrase or password, and make sure it isn’t stored only inside the vault or in a screenshot in Photos.
- If the app offers a restore test, run it.
Latent backs each vault up to your iCloud, encrypted on the iPhone, shows the backup status at all times and includes a restore test. Restoring on a new or erased iPhone needs the vault’s nine-word recovery phrase.
Then update
Go to Settings › General › Software Update, tap Download and Install, and follow the onscreen instructions.