An iPhone features unique updates from time to time, requiring you to update and backup your device. You can wait for automatic backup once every 24 hours or initiate a manual backup. Depending on the files you are backing up, this process may take time, and you may want to know whether it is possible to use your iPhone while backing up.
So, can you use an iPhone while backing up? You can use your iPhone while backing up by pulling out from the menu without canceling the progress. If your iPhone is doing an automatic backup, it will not be possible to use it at the start as the process requires you to lock the screen. However, you can unlock and use it once the process begins.
Using your iPhone during backup is inadvisable as it prolongs the backup duration. Worse off, the app might hang, requiring you to start over. However, if you are backing up your iPhone via your Mac or PC, you can freely use your iPhone.
Keeping your data safe through backing up is an important practice, but most are impatient with this process. Every 24 hours, your iPhone will back up automatically. The backup will start when you lock your iPhone and connect it to a power supply and Wi-Fi. Since this may happen between your busy schedules, your dilemma may be leaving your phone to complete the backup or if you can continue using it.
You can use your iPhone while backing up, even though automatic backing requires it to be locked to start. However, you should remain connected to stable Wi-Fi, or the backup will stop. If you are doing a manual backup, pull from the backup menu and continue use. It is not advisable to use your phone during backup as this prolongs the backup period but is a non-issue if you are backing up through your Mac or PC.
An automatic iCloud backup will require you to lock your iPhone to start. Afterward, you can unlock it and continue normal use. A stable Wi-Fi is mandatory throughout the backup process. If you accidentally disconnect your Wi-Fi during backup, you will have to perform a manual backup or wait for the next automatic backup. There will be no data loss in this case, and you can initiate a new back when your Wi-Fi connection stabilizes.
Unlike automatic backup, which is set to start once every 24hours, you can back up your iPhone manually anytime. This process does not require you to lock your device, but you still need stable Wi-Fi. To do this, navigate to the Settings app and tap Account. Next, tap iCloud and scroll to the iCloud Backup, then tap Backup Now, and the process will start.
While your iPhone requires to be plugged into a power source to initiate an automatic backup, you can disconnect it from the power source if you want to use it, provided it has enough battery power.
If your iPhone’s battery drops below a certain level, the backup will stop immediately. Also, turning on the low power mode will affect automatic backup even if your iPhone has enough power. This is why keeping your device plugged on is advisable.
During manual backup, you should avoid deleting or adding anything to your iPhone, as this will affect the backup or disrupt the files. Equally, avoid force closing your Settings app lest you corrupt your backup files.
Since you will be dividing your device’s attention to multiple usages, the backup duration may extend significantly depending on how long you use your iPhone. Hence, minimize use to necessity until the backup is complete.
If you are backing up to iTunes, you can use your iPhone. However, do not disconnect it from your PC and ensure an active Wi-Fi connection. Like other backups, force closing your Settings or iTunes will corrupt your files, hence avoid this while using your iPhone or PC during backup. Turning off your iPhone before the backup is over may also damage your backup data, and you should avoid this.
How Long Should an iPhone Backup Take?
Backing your iPhone to iCloud or iTunes before updating your operating system to the new release should be common to keep your data safe. Despite knowing this, most users, especially first-time users, do not complete their backup, stating that it takes too long. Read on to know how long your iPhone backup should take and why this duration may sometimes extend.
Generally, it should take you half an hour to two hours to back up your iPhone. However, this duration may extend depending on factors like the amount of data you want to back up, your iPhone’s current state, and your Wi-Fi connection.
You should brace yourself for a longer backup duration the first time you backup your iPhone. This is because iTunes must first build its database, and the process takes some time. Your backups should take less time in the future, but this is subject to the storage, connection, and backup frequency.
Apple focuses on improving its devices with each release. Hence, the newer iPhone models feature fast data transfer, battery, and backup efficiency than older models. If you are using an older model, even with stable internet, you might have to bear additional time in the backup process. While this can be frustrating, upgrading to a new model is the ultimate solution.
Like most phone manufacturing companies, Apple will alert you when you are about to fill your iPhone’s storage, as this will slow down its functionality. Hence, if you have been receiving alerts that your iPhone’s storage is full but ignored, you will experience significant slowness during backup unless you delete the unnecessary data. You can check your file sizes from your backup settings and get rid of unnecessary big files before initiating a backup.
Your network will also influence your backup speed. Stable internet will ensure seamless backup, reducing the overall backup time. On the other hand, you will experience frequent disconnections with a poor internet connection, requiring you to start the process more than one.
Also, if your upload speed is too low, you may have to wait longer for your backup to complete. Hence, while you may not access the best internet in your state, stability is vital. On average, an upload speed of 1Mbps may take 2 hours to upload 1GB of data, and you can use this to establish how long you will wait depending on your internet speed.
Unused third-party apps may also extend your backup duration. These apps consume space, given the data they hold. Since each device has its share of such apps, you should delete them before backing up to speed up the process.
After deleting your third-party apps, navigate your media files for unnecessary songs, photos and videos and delete them to speed up your backup. If you have unused videos and files on your iPhone that you are not at ease deleting, you can transfer them to your PC instead.
Now that you understand why your backup is taking longer than usual, it is necessary to know how to resolve this problem to ensure you wait till the backup is complete. One of the ways to speed up your iPhone backup is using iTunes and iCloud. iCloud and iTunes are conditioned to many external factors, hence versatile to back up your data and media files at impressive speeds.
To use iTunes and iCloud, connect your iPhone to your PC and launch the app. Navigate the Backup Manager, click Backup, then wait for the backup to complete.
Using the backup option frequently is also another solution to slow backup. As mentioned earlier, you should expect a slow backup on your first attempt. However, if you utilize your backup privileges often, by the time you have to do the actual backup, the volumes will be smaller, saving your time. As you utilize your backup privileges, you should delete unwanted files and apps from your device.
If you have big apps that you are hesitant to delete but do not require backing, you can disable their backing. To do this, navigate the Settings, tap your profile, and disable the backup on the iCloud tab. If your internet connection is the problem, switching to a better connection will resolve slowness.
Lastly, no matter how long your iPhone takes to complete backup, you should never disrupt the process lest you corrupt your files. To check if your backup is complete,
- go to your Settings app
- tap your account.
- next, tap iCloud
- “Manage Storage”
- then Backups.
While here, you can select your device, and you will see the last backup date and size. If the backup is still underway, you will see a progress bar with the estimated time before completion.
Can You Back Up Your Phone While Using It?
Keeping your phone’s data safe is essential while owning the device. This is because phones can get lost, damaged, or stolen. When this happens, the financial implications are stressful enough, and coming to terms with your data loss may be worse; therefore, you should regularly back up your phone as much as possible. Given that the process takes minutes to hours, I will help you know whether you can use your phone in the meantime.
Like iPhones, you can use your phone during backup. However, you should be careful not to interrupt the backup as disrupting it may require you to start afresh, taking more time. Equally, it will require you to connect to a Wi-Fi connection for google backups. However, as soon as the backup initiates, you can access your phone’s other features.
Google backup is the easiest option to explore when backing your phone. However, phone manufacturers like Samsung have an alternative backup that you can use. Other cloud services you can consider are Dropbox, OneDrive, and MEGA. Most of these cloud storage is free, but the information you backup will differ from app to app.
After turning on your device, the Google backup service will also turn on by default, but it is advisable to confirm. You can find the backup settings using the search bar in the app. Hence, navigate the Settings app on your device and tap System then Backup.
You will see a switch labeled Backup to Google Drive, and you should turn it on if it is off. While here, select the account you want to use to store your backup by tapping Accounts if you have more than one Google account.
Once you turn on Google backup, you give your phone permission to back up your contacts, wallpapers, Gmail settings, calendar events and settings, apps, language settings, and other settings and data for apps other than google apps.
If you have enough PC storage, you can use it to back up your phone. Connect your device via USB and look for a notification saying Charging this device via USB. Under this notification, tap for more options and select the option that says file transfer. This action will pop up a window on your PC, and you can open the file explorer, click on your phone under the PC and dig into the folders to copy the files you want to backup.
If you are using a Mac, you will first install the Android File Transfer app on your Mac and connect your phone using a USB. The Android File Transfer window will open on your Mac and display the folders and files on your phone. Like in PC backing, open the folders and files you want to copy and paste into your Mac.
Finally
Backing up your iPhone or phone is necessary if you want to keep your data and media files over the years. This way, you can access this data should your device be damaged, get lost, or stolen. Backing up is a lengthy process depending on the files you want to back up and your internet connection, which is why users are concerned about leaving their devices untouched during this period.
Fortunately, you can use your phone or iPhone while backing up. However, whether it is manual or automatic, you will have some limitations. For instance, you will wait until the process initiates in automatic backup but switch out of the Settings menu in manual backup as the process continues. Either way, you should be careful to avoid interrupting the internet connection or force close the Settings app, as this may prolong the backup time or corrupt your files respectively.
