How to Back Up and Restore Your Phone Using iCloud or Google

Published 2026-10-16 · Marion Phone Repair

Your phone contains years of photos, messages, contacts, app data, and settings that would be painful or impossible to recreate if lost. Whether you are upgrading to a new phone, sending your current phone in for repair, or just want to protect against loss or theft, a proper backup means you can restore everything to a new or repaired device in under an hour. Here is how to do it on both iPhone and Android, plus how to restore when the time comes.

Backing up an iPhone

iCloud backup (automatic, wireless)

iCloud backup is the simplest method and happens automatically if configured:

1. Open Settings, tap your name at the top, then iCloud
2. Tap iCloud Backup
3. Toggle on Back Up This iPhone
4. The phone backs up automatically once a day when it is connected to Wi-Fi, plugged in, and locked (screen off). You can also tap Back Up Now to force an immediate backup

What iCloud backup includes: app data, device settings, home screen layout, iMessage and SMS history, photos and videos (if iCloud Photos is not separately enabled), ringtones, Apple Watch backup, and purchase history. It does NOT back up things already stored in iCloud separately — like iCloud Photos, Contacts, Calendars, Notes, and iCloud Drive files. Those sync independently and are not lost even without a backup.

iCloud storage limits

Apple gives you 5 GB of free iCloud storage, which is usually not enough for a full backup if you have more than a few hundred photos. If your backup fails with a Not Enough iCloud Storage message:

• Check what is using your iCloud storage: Settings, your name, iCloud, Manage Account Storage. Photos are almost always the largest consumer
• You can upgrade storage: 50 GB for $0.99/month, 200 GB for $2.99/month, or 2 TB for $9.99/month. The 50 GB tier is sufficient for most single-device backups
• Alternatively, exclude large apps from the backup: Settings, your name, iCloud, Manage Account Storage, Backups, select your device, and toggle off apps with large data that you do not need backed up (games, streaming apps with offline downloads)

Computer backup (iTunes or Finder)

If you do not want to pay for iCloud storage, you can back up to your computer for free with no size limit:

1. Connect the iPhone to your computer with a USB cable
2. On Mac (macOS Catalina or later): open Finder, select your iPhone in the sidebar. On Windows or older Mac: open iTunes
3. Click Back Up Now
4. Important: check Encrypt local backup before clicking Back Up. An encrypted backup includes saved passwords, Health data, Wi-Fi passwords, and call history that an unencrypted backup does not. Set a password you will remember — you need it to restore

Computer backups are stored on your computer's hard drive. If the computer's drive fails, the backup is lost. For maximum safety, use both iCloud and a computer backup.

Restoring an iPhone from backup

During new phone setup

1. Turn on the new iPhone and follow the setup screens until you reach the Transfer Your Apps and Data screen
2. Choose Restore from iCloud Backup and sign in with your Apple ID
3. Select the most recent backup from the list
4. The phone downloads and restores your apps, settings, and data. This can take 30 minutes to several hours depending on backup size and internet speed. Keep the phone connected to Wi-Fi and power during the restore

Quick Start (direct transfer)

If you have both the old and new iPhone available, Quick Start transfers everything directly between devices over Wi-Fi without needing a cloud or computer backup:

1. Place both phones next to each other
2. The new iPhone displays an animation — hold the old iPhone's camera over it to pair
3. Choose Transfer from iPhone
4. The transfer happens over a direct Wi-Fi connection between the two phones and typically takes 15 to 45 minutes depending on how much data you have

Restore from computer

1. Connect the new iPhone to the computer
2. In Finder or iTunes, select Restore Backup
3. Choose the backup and enter the encryption password if prompted
4. Keep the phone connected until the restore completes

Backing up an Android phone

Google backup (automatic)

1. Open Settings, then Google, then All Services, then Backup (the exact path varies by manufacturer — on Samsung it is Settings, Accounts and Backup, Back Up Data)
2. Make sure Backup by Google One is toggled on
3. Tap Back Up Now to force an immediate backup

What Google backup includes: app data (for apps that support it — not all do), call history, contacts, device settings (Wi-Fi passwords, permissions, display settings), SMS and MMS messages, and photos and videos (if Google Photos backup is enabled). Google gives you 15 GB of free storage shared across Gmail, Google Drive, and Google Photos.

What Google backup does NOT include

This is important to understand because Google backup is less comprehensive than iCloud backup:

• Not all app data: Each app developer decides whether their app supports Google backup. Some apps (especially games) do not back up progress or data. Check individual apps for their own backup/export options
• Music files and downloaded content: Songs stored locally, podcasts downloaded for offline listening, and other locally stored media are not backed up
• Files on internal storage: Documents, downloads, and other files saved outside of app data may not be included. Use Google Drive or a file manager to manually back up important files

Samsung Smart Switch

Samsung phones have an additional backup tool — Smart Switch — that creates a more complete backup than Google backup alone:

1. Install Smart Switch on your computer (available from samsung.com)
2. Connect the Samsung phone via USB
3. Click Backup in Smart Switch
4. This backs up messages, call logs, contacts, apps, settings, home screen layout, and files to your computer. It is particularly useful for Samsung-specific features (Samsung Notes, Samsung Health data) that may not be included in a standard Google backup

Manual backup of photos

Photos are often the most irreplaceable data on a phone. Make sure they are backed up independently:

• Google Photos: Open Google Photos, tap your profile picture, Photos Settings, Backup, toggle on. Photos are uploaded to your Google account and accessible from any device. The free 15 GB fills quickly with original-quality photos — consider the Google One 100 GB plan ($1.99/month) if you have many photos
• Manual copy to computer: Connect the phone via USB, set the USB mode to File Transfer (MTP), and copy the DCIM folder to your computer. This is a complete copy of every photo and video on the device

Restoring an Android phone from backup

During new phone setup

1. Turn on the new phone and follow the setup screens
2. Sign in with the same Google account used for the backup
3. When prompted, choose to restore from a backup. Select the most recent backup from the list
4. The phone downloads your apps and restores settings. Apps install in the background — this can take 30 minutes to an hour on Wi-Fi

Samsung to Samsung (Smart Switch)

1. During setup on the new Samsung phone, choose Smart Switch when offered
2. You can transfer wirelessly (old phone to new phone directly), via USB cable (using an OTG adapter), or from a computer backup
3. The wireless transfer is the most convenient — place both phones near each other and follow the prompts

Before sending your phone for repair

If you are sending your phone in for repair (especially screen replacement or motherboard repair), create a fresh backup first:

• Force a backup immediately before handing over the phone — do not rely on an automatic backup from days ago
• Write down your Apple ID email and password, or Google account email and password. You will need these to restore
• If the screen is too damaged to navigate settings, connect the phone to a computer for a wired backup (if the phone is recognized)
• Do NOT sign out of your accounts or factory reset before repair unless the repair shop specifically asks you to. Some repairs require the phone to boot normally for testing

Backup and restore help in Marion

If you need help backing up your phone before a repair, transferring data to a new device, or recovering data from a phone that will not turn on, Marion Phone Repair can assist with the backup process, ensure nothing is lost during a repair, and help you set up automatic backups so your data is always protected going forward.