Data Backup Digest

Are you the proud owner of the new iPhone X? Apple’s latest and greatest smartphones has now hit the stores, boasting an improved display, camera and functionality. Though the notched design has proved controversial for some, Apple undoubtedly has another hit on its hands.

We all know the importance of backing up our computer data, but what about our smartphones? Potentially more of our personal data is stored here now and it needs protecting.

If you’ve upgraded from an older iPhone, we’re going to show you how to migrate your data over. We’ll also show you how to get the iPhone X backup set up so you never have to worry about losing any of your information.

Moving from an old iPhone

To begin migration, plug your old iPhone to your computer using a USB cable. Open up iTunes and select the phone icon, which appears near the top of the iTunes window. This will take you to an overview screen, displaying your phone’s model number, version, and more.

Beneath the ‘Backups’ section, tick ‘This Computer’ to ensure that a full backup of your iPhone will be stored on your computer. When you’re ready to begin the backup process, click ‘Back Up Now’.

This might take a while to complete, depending on how much data you have stored on your phone. Let it complete, then turn on your iPhone X and complete the setup steps if you haven’t already.

When you get to the ‘Apps & Data’ screen, select ‘Restore from iTunes Backup’. If you already completed the onboarding process and skipped this step previously, access it again from your Settings menu.

Once selected, connect your iPhone X to the same computer you just did the backup on. iTunes will then display a screen welcoming you to your new phone. Select ‘Restore from this backup’, use the dropdown to select your old phone, then click ‘Continue’. Again, this will take a while depending on how much data it needs to bring across.

Backing up your iPhone X

If you’ve just got an iPhone X and want to set up a backup plan (and you definitely do – data loss is no laughing matter), follow these steps.

First, connect your iPhone X to iTunes and click the phone icon. Beneath the ‘Backups’ section, tick ‘iCloud’ and ‘This computer.

The iCloud backup option can also be found on your phone via Settings > iCloud > iCloud Backup and will store your most important phone data in the cloud, ensuring you can access and restore it from anywhere. If you’re worried about the security implications of this, don’t tick it.

The computer option will do a full backup onto your system. If you want to store account passwords, Health and HomeKit data, you’ll need to tick ‘Encrypt iPhone backup’ due to the sensitive nature of this data.

And you’re done! Now you don’t have to worry about backing up your iPhone X because it’ll all be handled automatically – either every time you connect your phone to your computer via iTunes, or through the cloud.