This is precisely the point! I don't think it can be explained any better than this and I hope it makes it clear for the OP.
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iTunes does not entice you to run encrypted backups.
And I made sure this was off anyway before I backed up for the first time. There's noth8ng confidential on my phone anyway. It's all part of knowing what each setting does.
I suggest you become acquainted with what all the options are for all the settings...it's what part of being a responsible owner is about.
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I am pretty sure there is no responsibility requirement to owning an iPhone. I can find a lot of proof from a quick internet search
As much as it sucks for the OP, this is a good design and is working as intended for data security.
I am pretty sure there is no responsibility requirement to owning an iPhone. I can find a lot of proof from a quick internet search
As much as it sucks for the OP, this is a good design and is working as intended for data security.
Responsibility isn't required before owning a phone...merely a good idea.
This whole topic is why I never encrypt anything (except using a VPN for surfing). I've seen too many ppl forget boot passwords and password encrypt hard drives and then can't even use the computer or access data. Not worth it to me. I do have the find my device active so i can remote wipe it but other than that I don't want to risk it.
I just bought a refurb iPhone 6 Plus and the first time I plugged it in and did a backup it REQUIRED a password and did not give me an option. Was it supposed to? This is new to me. I have never used encrypted backups.
I don't recall it doing that until I added my work account and a new profile was added that required a lock code that had to be changed every so often.
Here's an issue I have with this. So let's say somebody obtains my iPhone and computer that I use to backup my iPhone using encrypted backups. If your scenario existed, they would in theory be able to backup my iPhone by disabling the encrypted backup then they could restore my backup on any new iPhone and then attempt to brute force my passcode until they can get into the device.
No thanks, let's leave it how it is and not forget the password.
Main benefit to encrypt the iTunes backup is to add the health data and the passwords.
It saves me a lot of work when I restore my phone or switch from an old phone to a new one. I have four email accounts and entering the password of each one twice, one for the incoming mail server and the other for the outgoing server becomes a chore. Also, as I said before, it allows you to backup your health data and port it to a new device as well.
Actually, it's much simpler. The state (encrypted or not) is stored on the *phone*, not on the copy of iTunes. That's why you have to reset the phone to change the state, if you don't know the password.
The person who I quoted, he/she wanted to be able to keep the old encrypted backups, but then disable encryption for new backups without knowing the password for the encrypted backup or without resetting the iPhone. If this was possible, then this would allow somebody who has physical access to my iPhone and computer to change the backup toggle from using encryption to no encryption (without entering a password), then take a full backup, then they could move that backup to a new iPhone and attempt to brute force the passcode until they could gain access to the iPhone.
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Not entirely true. I use a program called "iBackupBot" which allows one to edit backups and make changes and restore the edited backups to the IOS devices. In order to edit encrypted backups with iBackupBot, I have to enter the password, even when the IOS device is not connected. This tells me that the password also resides in the backup. However, when I want to make an unencrypted backup using iBackupBot, which it can independently from iTunes, then iBackupBot asks me to enter the password while the device is connected. This also tells me that the password also resides in the phone as well.
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This is the best thread I have read lately. Thank you to all for a few good chuckles especially the OP.
This only works for iOS 9 and earlier. Since iOS 10, iBackupBot cannot decrypt iTunes backups. It gives the error message:
"Can't load backup in <filename> Backup is encrypted. The encrypted backup of iOS 10 or later is not supported. You can make a new backup without password protected by iTunes then re-open iBackupBot."
All this further underscores how important it is to know what the options are before you do it.
The system is working the way it should...OP is the one who is responsible for his woes. No one else.
Not Apple's doing.
I wonder how many other people have enabled encryption and don't remember their password now. OP can't be the only one.
The system is working the way it should...OP is the one who is responsible for his woes. No one else.
Not Apple's doing.
I wonder how many other people have enabled encryption and don't remember their password now. OP can't be the only one.
That is correct. You have to work with unencrypted backups for IOS 10 and above. No problem, I remember my password to turn off the encryption.
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To the OP (if he hasn't been chased away) I believe you can still do iCloud backups without needing your encryption password.
It's amazing how little empathy people have for things like this . . . . . until it happens to them.
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It's overkill not to be able to turn off encrypted backups.
As you say they need access to my phone and have the password for my computer before they can switch off the encrypted backup.
I understand the need to be secure, but this is a step too far. Can't speak for the OP, but Apple really pushed encrypted backups a few years ago and I don't remember the warnings then being as explicit as they are now that if you forget your password, you can't turn it off.
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Hello - if you are still on the forum . . . . what did you mean by this please?
So if this happens to someone, they can make an iCloud backup, erase their phone, then restore from iCloud.
Then they can make sure to never encrypt local backups again.
Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Might be unfair if there was no workaround, but there is.
Then they can make sure to never encrypt local backups again.
Sounds pretty reasonable to me. Might be unfair if there was no workaround, but there is.
Trouble is the iCloud backup doesn't include everything that an iTunes backup does, as I understand it anyway.
I use the Notes app for example and the backup does not include Notes.
Also I have a 128GB phone with over 100GB used - my existing encrypted iTunes backup is way over the iCloud 5GB free storage tier limit in size. (Just checked it's 18.3GB)
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EDIT - just to elaborate a little further on why this happened to me and why I maintain that the way it is currently designed is overkill.
When Apple first introduced Encrypted Backups several years ago, they were heavily pushed - other forum members may not remember that, but they were. I didn't use them at first, but eventually gave in to the "nagging" by Apple to enable them.
When I look at the help pages now, there are huge warnings about not forgetting your password. I do not recall them being so explicit when I enabled the feature, as I'd like to think I'd have been more careful were that the case.
I can understand the importance from a restore point of view, but until now it hadn't registered with me that I can't even turn off the feature without the password.
I have not used that password once since I set it up so, in my opinion, it'd be a better system to have 2 passwords.
One password that is created when you enable encrypted backups that is solely used for the restoration of a backup. If you forget that, you can't restore - fair enough.
The option to turn the feature off, however, should be like all of the other secure areas of iTunes and be controlled by your AppleID password.
I'm less likely to forget that as, even in the days of TouchID, I still use that password more frequently.
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https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204136
Might be missing something, but looks like there is nothing local backs up that can't be in iCloud. Also iCloud now has ability to store messages in ios11.
Filevault does allow a recovery key to be stored in iCloud, so guess that could work for iTunes as well.
Might be missing something, but looks like there is nothing local backs up that can't be in iCloud. Also iCloud now has ability to store messages in ios11.
Filevault does allow a recovery key to be stored in iCloud, so guess that could work for iTunes as well.
Thank you for your replies on this, appreciated.
I've avoided using iCloud so far as pretty much every significant hack on Apple has come via iCloud - some would say this is me being over cautious but that's the way I feel.
Anyway, because of this I know little about the specifics of how it functions so on the page you have linked it says:
So it says it doesn't include Contacts & Notes etc as they are separately sync'd to the cloud.
Can they also be restored from iCloud to the device separately as well then?
Photos I'm not worried about as I can just transfer them to my PC.
Apple Pay and TouchID settings I could reset again pretty quickly and easily.
Music and Apps I can restore via my iTunes library.
So (storage allowances aside) in summary, could I;
Backup what's allowed to iCloud, Erase my device, Reinstall iTunes, Recover from iCloud, Recover the Music and Apps from the iTunes library, Re-enable local backups and then delete my info from the cloud?
Actually a more apt analogy would be forgetting the combination on the safe and can't empty its contents anymore to use it again.
Not really because the analogy would just cover the fact that you can't restore from that backup.
Both the OP and I accept that, the thing we're struggling with is that Apple chose to use the same password to turn backup encryption off.