How to back up your phone

You probably know it's important to back up your computer—but don't forget about your phone. Backing up your device only takes a few minutes, and it can save you hours of frustration if your phone is ever lost, stolen, or damaged, or replaced. Better yet, you'll be able to restore your photos, contacts, apps, and other important information to a new device with much less hassle.

At Asurion, we help people get the most from their tech every day. In this guide, we'll show you how to back up your iPhone® and Android™ phone so your important data is there when you need it.

What does backing up your phone do?

Backing up your phone helps protect important information, including your:

• Contacts
• Photos and videos
• Device settings
• Wi-Fi networks and passwords
• Apps and app data (where supported)
• Email
• Saved passwords
• Call history (where supported)

How to back up your Android phone

The exact steps vary depending on your device. For example, the menus on a Samsung Galaxy® phone look a little different from those on a Google Pixel™. Most Android phones can automatically back up your data to your Google Account, making it easy to restore your information on a new or factory-reset device.

Your Google Account includes 15 GB of cloud storage that's shared across Google Drive™, Gmail™, Google Photos™, and other Google services.

Back up a Samsung Galaxy phone to your Google Account

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Accounts and backup. (Menu names may vary slightly depending on your OS version)
3. Tap Back up data.
4. If prompted, sign in to your Google Account.
5. Make sure Backup by Google One (or your device backup option) is turned on.
6. Tap Back up now.

From this screen, you can also choose how automatic backups work. If you'd rather back up only while connected to Wi-Fi, turn off the option to use mobile data for backups.

Back up a Google Pixel phone

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Google.
3. Tap Backup.
4. If prompted, sign in to your Google Account.
5. Make sure Backup by Google One (or your device backup option) is turned on.
6. Tap Back up now.

Need help restoring your backup to a new device or after a factory reset on your Android? Check out our guide on how to restore your Android phone.

How to back up your iPhone to iCloud

Backing up your iPhone helps protect your personal information if your device is ever lost, damaged, replaced, or reset. Before you begin, make sure you're connected to Wi-Fi and have your Apple Account credentials handy. If you need help getting started, check out our guide to setting up iCloud®.

1. Open Settings, then tap your name.
2. Tap iCloud.
3. Tap iCloud Backup.
4. Tap Back Up Now.

Stay connected to Wi-Fi until the backup finishes.

To confirm it completed successfully, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup. You'll see the date and time of your most recent successful backup.

How to back up your iPhone to your computer

If you'd rather keep a local backup, you can save your iPhone to a Mac or Windows PC.

On a Mac running macOS Mojave or earlier, or on a Windows PC

1. Open iTunes®.
2. Connect your iPhone with a USB cable.
3. Enter your passcode if prompted.
4. Select your iPhone.
5. Click Summary > Back Up Now.

On a Mac running macOS Catalina or later

1. Open Finder®.
2. Connect your iPhone with a USB cable.
3. Enter your passcode if prompted.
4. Select your iPhone under Locations.
5. Click General.
6. Select Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac.
7. Click Back Up Now.

Once you're backed up, you're now protected in case you need to perform a factory reset on your iPhone or if you get a new phone and need to easily transfer your data. Check out our guide to how to restore your iPhone for next steps on getting your information back on your device.