What would you do if you permanently lost all the photos, notes and other files on your phone?
If you have a backup system, you probably know what to do next: restore everything to a new phone. But if you haven’t thought about it, fear not: the backup process has been simplified so much that it only requires a few taps on the screen. Here’s a quick overview of some ways you can keep your files safe and up to date.
Starting
When you first set up your phone, you created (or signed in to) a free Apple, Google, or Samsung account to use the company’s software and services. For example, this would be the Apple ID on your iPhone, the Google account on your Android phone, or the Samsung account on your Galaxy device.
With that account, you probably had five gigabytes of free storage space on Apple’s iCloud or 15 gigabytes of online storage from Google and Samsung. This server space is used as an encrypted digital locker for your phone’s backup app, but it can fill up quickly, especially if you have other devices connected to your account and storing files there.
When you get close to your storage limit, you’ll receive warnings, along with an offer to sign up for more server space for a monthly fee, usually a few dollars for at least another 100 gigabytes. (Please note that Samsung’s temporary cloud backup tool provides a unlimited amount of storage for 30 days if your Galaxy is in the repair shop or ready for an upgrade).
But online backup is just one approach. You can save your files to a local drive with a few extra steps.
Backup
Apple, Google, and Samsung have specific setup instructions for cloud backup in the support area of their sites. But the feature is easily located.
On an iPhone, tap your name at the top of the Settings screen, and then tap iCloud. On many Android phones, tap System and then Backup. Here, you set the phone to automatically backup (which usually happens when it’s connected to a Wi-Fi network and plugged into its charger), or opt for a manual backup that starts when you tap the button.
Backup apps usually save a copy of your call history, phone settings, messages, photos, videos, and app data. Freely downloadable content, such as the apps themselves, is generally not backed up as it is easy to recover.
Sync vs Backup
Syncing your files is not the same as backing them up. A backup saves copies of files at a point in time. Syncing your smartphone keeps information in certain apps, such as contacts and calendars, up to date across multiple devices. When you sync, your phone, computer, and anything else signed in to your account have the same information, like the to-do list you just updated.
With sync, when you delete an item somewhere, it disappears everywhere. A backup remains intact in its storage location until it is updated in the next backup.
By default, Google syncs content from its own web and mobile apps between your phone, computer, and tablet. In your Google account data settings, you can adjust which apps sync. Samsung Cloud has similar options for its Galaxy devices.
Apple handles data syncing between its devices through its iCloud service. You can configure which apps you want to sync in your iCloud account settings.
Other options
You don’t need to use the backup tools that come with your phone. Third-party applications for online backup, such as iDrive or iBackup, are available by subscription. If you prefer to keep your iPhone backups on your computer, software like iMazing for Mac or Windows ($60) or AltTunes for Windows ($35/year) are alternatives. Droid Transfer for Windows ($35) is among the Android backup offerings.
If losing your camera roll is your biggest nightmare, Google Photos, iCloud Photos, and other services like Amazon Photos and Dropbox can be set up to automatically back up all your images and keep them in sync across your connected devices.