How to Backup iPhone to Time Capsule via Time Machine

I’m new to Mac, and I’ve invested in a shiny Apple AirPort Time Capsule for fear of data loss. I know I can backup the entire Mac using Time Machine. But how about data on my iPhone? Is it possible to backup iPhone to Time Capsule as well? If so, how to do that?

The short answer is — no, you can’t use Time Machine to directly back up iPhone data to Time Capsule or an external hard drive.

Why?

Because Time Machine and AirPort Time Capsule are designed to work with Mac computers only. They do not support backing up data from iOS devices (iPhone or iPad), nor can you restore iPhone data via Time Machine. It just does not work that way.

But…There’s an Indirect Way!

First of all, you back up your iPhone to your Mac. Then use Time Machine to back up the backup files to Time Capsule or an external hard drive.

How to Quickly Back up iPhone to Mac

Step 1: Connect your iPhone to your Mac via the lightning cable.

Step 2: Open the Finder app on your Mac. On the left sidebar, locate your iPhone under Locations.

Step 3: In the Backups section, select Back up all the data on your iPhone to this Mac, and click the Back Up Now button to continue.

Step 4: Follow the rest instructions to complete the process. A new iPhone backup file will be saved on your Mac. You can use it to restore the device whenever you want.

You can also watch this short video for detailed instructions:

Another Solution: Back up Your iPhone to iCloud

Well, I don’t quite recommend this method because iCloud only offers 5GB of storage for free.

And iCloud storage can get filled up very quickly, because these days as camera technology improves, the quality and size of iPhone photos increase as well.

If you have already purchased iCloud storage, here’s how to back up your iPhone to iCloud automatically or manually.

Step 1: On your iPhone, locate the Settings app, tap to open it. Scroll down and tap on iCloud.

Step 2: Scroll down and find Backup, tap on it.

Step 3: Here you go. By default, the iCloud Backup is turned on (with green color). If the color is gray, tap to switch it on. Also, you can tap the “Back Up Now” option to make a backup manually.

This way, iCloud will back up your iPhone data such as photo library, accounts, documents, Health data, Home configuration, and settings.

I hope you find this answer useful. If you can’t find some of your files or the backup file fails to restore your data, try a third-party iPhone data recovery software. Make no mistakes, backup is king!