I don't own a computer either, my whole digital life centers around my iPhone and I wish to safeguard its contents. I will gratefully consider all options however money/cost may exclude some. Thanks in advance. John
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What options do I have to backup iphone 8 Plus as I don't have wi fi in my home.
- Thread starter holty
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Does your local library offer free wifi? You could use iCloud backup that way. Or is there a nearby hotspot you could use? There aren't a lot of other options without a computer.
Apple gives you 5 GB of free iCloud space. You can always use the free WiFi available at Starbucks, McDonalds, Panera, etc. As long as your iPhone backup does not exceed the 5 GB you can use that method. Be advised though, that using free WiFi may not be safe so if you have sensitive data to backup, I would not recommend that method.
Without a computer or WiFi in your home, your choices are very limited.
Without a computer or WiFi in your home, your choices are very limited.
Yeah this is the annoying part of iOS. It's supposed to be a "post PC era"? Yet the device cannot even back itself up using whatever network connectivity it has.
To the OP, if you have another phone, you can temporarily put your SIM in there and set up a hotspot, and connect your iPhone to it via wifi and do the backup.
To the OP, if you have another phone, you can temporarily put your SIM in there and set up a hotspot, and connect your iPhone to it via wifi and do the backup.
Now that we can update over cellular, I think Apple should allow the option to backup over cellular.
A good start would be to clarify exactly what contents you want to back-up. Make a list, and categorise things low/medium/high in terms of their importance to you. For each type of data, you can make a judgement on what level of back-up is necessary. For example:
- for lists and bits of writing in the Notes app, you might decide you're happy for them just to be backed up to iCloud, or perhaps that you don't even need them backed up at all
- perhaps your contacts and your passwords are crucial - in which case you might want to export them into another format perhaps storing them in an online folder in something like Google Drive or Dropbox, or even just emailed to yourself. Or for passwords, a password manager. Ideally, you'd have a physical copy too, but an electronic copy stored on a different service is better than nothing.
- similarly, for your photos you could rely on iCloud, or use iCloud + Google Photos, depending on their importance to you
It's funny that Apple provides the option for the Photos app to have no restriction (unlimited updates) in uploading/downloading to/form iCloud using cellular data. But not for a more critical function like a backup.
I've never tried this, but I suppose you could use a lightning connector flash drive to backup some items manually. I really don't know if that would work for the iCloud apps. You could save photos to the Files app and drag them to the flash drive, but I would guess it would be a very tedious and time-consuming process. Maybe someone who's tried something like this can weigh in.
My dad has one of those and does use it. I don't understand why but I do see him using it when he's visiting me.
I go into my phone settings and turn on all the things I want backed up from my phone and they are automatically/magically sent into outer space where they can be put on my new phone at a future date.