A backup is a snapshot of the current state of your iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch.
When you restore a backup, you can:
You can restore backups with iCloud, iTunes, or iMazing.
iCloud | iTunes | iMazing |
---|---|---|
Restore last iCloud backup | Restore iTunes or iMazing backups | Restore iTunes or iMazing backups |
No restore customisation | No restore customisation | Choose what data and which Apps are restored |
Blind restore | Blind restore | Browse backup before restore |
💡 If you do not have an iMazing license, you can restore a backup via iMazing Mini.
Download and install iMazing on your Mac or PC computer
To restore an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch from a backup:
💡 Tips:
- Once you've closed the wizard, you can check the process of your backup by clicking the Operations button in iMazing's upper toolbar.
- To restore a backup to multiple devices select the backup in the left sidebar, and choose Restore backup from the Actions Panel.
The Restore Wizard will give you the option to choose multiple targets devices.
⚠ Important: If after the device reboots, the iOS Setup Assistant fails at the Apple ID Sign In step (error message 'Could not sign in. A server problem is blocking Apple ID sign in. Try again later.'), don't panic!
It's a known issue we have workarounds for here: Troubleshooting A server problem is blocking Apple ID sign in error
The restore options allow you to customise what data and apps you want to restore.
💡 Tip: If you are restoring a backup to a device which has already some data on it, we advise to check the option Erase target device(s). This will prevent potential conflicts with the Apple ID already configured on your target device.
💡 Apps Tip: If you have downloaded some of your apps with iMazing, you'll have the option to install apps from your app library when restoring a backup. This can be a life saver as you'll be sure that you don't have to wait for apps to be downloaded by iOS after you restore a backup, downloads which can take a very long time. Read more about downloading apps before restoring.
Select what datasets you want to restore. Use the Select All checkbox to select or deselect all datasets. The following must be restored:
Dataset | Description |
---|---|
Accounts: | Accounts are all email, contacts, calendars and other cloud service configured on your device. |
Other Data and Preferences: | Other data and preferences are all settings, system files etc so basically all the data not related to a dataset in particular. |
Choose what apps you want to restore, and which ones you want to exclude.
Use the Select All checkbox to select or deselect all apps.
On this screen, you can choose to to restore backups for the selected device, or backup from another device.
name | backup source |
---|---|
Current device backups | lists all backups for selected device |
Other backups | lists the latest backup from other devices |
Find My iPhone includes a feature called Activation Lock that is designed to prevent anyone else from using your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch if it's ever lost or stolen. Activation Lock is enabled automatically when you turn on Find My iPhone.
When Find My iPhone is turned on, Activation Lock prevents iMazing from restoring a backup to your device.
To learn how to disable ativation lock, see How to turn off "Find my iPhone" on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.