Can't backup iPhone 6S via iTunes (PC).

[NotMyName]

Contacted Apple and predictably they said it's because i'm not using the latest version of iTunes which to me at the moment has to surely be nonsense unless anyone can explain otherwise.

I'm getting an 'unknown error (-42)'. They say this is linked to not having the latest version or having pending updates. Well since this happens immediately after turning the PC on and i have auto updates turned off it's not that.

I'm running 12.6.2.20 version of iTunes on my Windows 7 PC. The reason being is i don't like updating apps OTA, i prefer to do it through iTunes.

Now i have a bit of a strange setup with my PC. My wife uses 1 HDD and i use another, rather than having 2 different user accounts on the 1 HDD. Regardless .... we are using the same version of iTunes.

Thing is, i can back her phone up on my HDD ... using 12.6.2.20 but i get the error message on her HDD.
I can back the phone up on the laptop which isn't using the latest iTunes but it's newer than 12.6.2.20.

Problem is, all her apps etc are stored on her HDD obviously. Aside from that, if it works on one it should work on the other, right?


Any idea why it's not backing up on one HDD, when iTunes versions are the exact same on both?

 

[winmaciek]

Those two HHDs - is it a single Windows installation or are two ones?
Why don't you like OTA? It's often much faster.

 

[NotMyName]

Those two HHDs - is it a single Windows installation or are two ones?
Why don't you like OTA? It's often much faster.

The 2 HDDs are 2 separate physical HDDs with 2 separate Windows 7 installs on - so each drive has Windows installed on it. I know this is not 'normal' but it's also how i've ran the machine for the past 10+ years.

As for the OTA thing, speed is really not an issue since i don't need everything to be as fast as can possibly be. I prefer via iTunes for a few reasons but they all boil down to being able to roll back in the event of an update.

* I've updated apps before where i didn't want to update the iOS and the new app doesn't work with my existing iOS. Granted this was a mistake early in my iPhone usage a number of years ago so i wont make it again but it's happened - and i couldn't do anything about it other than update the iOS, which i didn't want to, so the app lost out.
* Poor updates. For example - i updated Snapchat some time ago only to find out that the update was horrendous. I hated it. Thankfully i had the previous version stored on my PC due to updating via iTunes and i was able to remove the new one and put the old one back on there ... problem solved. I believe that if i updated OTA i would've been out of luck.
* Where apps just go crazy and no longer work. I have to update them and find the latest version is horrible. I can put the old one back on via iTunes.

 

[Minorite]

You can switch to iMazing for app management and use latest iTunes for drivers. iTunes 12.6.2 and iOS 12 is a glitch bomb in most cases...

p.s. Try to back up your phone with iMazing as well, backups are free and they usually have more human readable errors.

 

[NotMyName]

Using iMazing (i have the paid for version) and let's say the latest iTunes, how could i save the existing app versions so that if i updated to the new version i could still roll back to the old one?

 

[Minorite]

Using iMazing (i have the paid for version) and let's say the latest iTunes, how could i save the existing app versions so that if i updated to the new version i could still roll back to the old one?

You will need to download the .ipa via 'Manage apps' section while it's still available on the AppStore, after this you can install it anytime. Don't forget that you can keep several app versions. Here's the guide just in case (it seems to be reworked recently and has new info).

To install an older version just delete the current one and reinstall with iMazing. Thing to remember is that you can't restore a backup of the newer version to the older one in 99% cases, same as with device backups and iOS version. Also usual iOS limitations like no way to install 32bit apps on iOS 11/12 and similar.