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Learn how long an iPhone backup can take and get tips on speeding up the process
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Is this your first time backing up your iPhone and you're shocked by the "10 hr" progress bar? The first backup can absolutely take the longest time, but there are also ways that you can speed up that process. This wikiHow article discusses how long an iPhone backup can take, why, and how to make it faster.

Things You Should Know

  • An iCloud backup can take anywhere from a few minutes to even hours or days depending on your internet connection, the condition of your iPhone, and how much data you have to back up.
  • Turn on regular backups by going to "Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Backup > Enable iCloud Backup" to prevent longer backups.
  • You can also speed up the time of your backups by cleaning your iPhone and getting rid of unused apps and files as well as using iTunes to back up.
Section 2 of 2:

Speed Up iPhone Backup

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  1. iCloud offers 5G of space for free, but if you have more than that on your phone, the backup is likely going to fail.[1] You'll want to free up space on your iPhone.
    • If you don't use certain apps, you can delete them to prevent them from taking up space in your backup.
    • To see which apps you haven't used in a while, go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage. There will be a list of your apps as well as which ones you haven't used recently.
  2. Check when the last time you made a backup on your iPhone, and make sure to schedule backups frequently to prevent long backups.
    • To schedule automatic backups every night when you aren't using your phone and it's connected to Wi-Fi, go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud > Backup > Enable iCloud Backup.
    • If your screen is broken, you can still back it up with VoiceOver!
  3. If you don't want to delete the app, but also don't want your backup to take forever, disable the largest apps from being included in the backup.
    • Turn these off by going to Settings > Your Name > iCloud and tapping the toggle to turn each large app off.
  4. Your backup will pause if you're not connected to Wi-Fi unless you enable cellular data. This means that if you lose power in the middle of the night, your backup won't complete!
  5. Since you're not backing up to a cloud service, the process might be faster. Plus, you don't have to worry about running out of iCloud storage if you're backing up with iTunes.
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*If you need to factory reset your iPhone or are setting up a new one for the first time, use your backup to start it like you left off previously.

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About This Article

Darlene Antonelli, MA
Written by:
wikiHow Technology Writer
This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Darlene Antonelli, MA. Darlene Antonelli is a Technology Writer and Editor for wikiHow. Darlene has experience teaching college courses, writing technology-related articles, and working hands-on in the technology field. She earned an MA in Writing from Rowan University in 2012 and wrote her thesis on online communities and the personalities curated in such communities. This article has been viewed 41,049 times.
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Co-authors: 3
Updated: November 3, 2024
Views: 41,049
Categories: ICloud
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