A phone at the bottom of a creek is a lot less painful when everything’s backed up.

Quick answer Easiest: Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup, turn on Back Up This iPhone, then tap Back Up Now. After that it backs up on its own when the phone is locked, charging and on Wi-Fi. Or plug it into a Mac (Finder) or Windows PC (Apple Devices app) and back up there. You can do both.
How to Back Up an iPhone
Photo: Ka Kit Pang / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Tools & materials

  • Wi-Fi and enough iCloud storage, or
  • A Mac or Windows PC and a charging cable

Steps

  1. iCloud: connect to Wi-Fi. Open Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then iCloud Backup.
  2. Turn on Back Up This iPhone, then tap Back Up Now and stay on Wi-Fi until it finishes. If it says there isn’t enough space, you’ll need to free up iCloud storage or buy more.
  3. From now on, iCloud backs up automatically when the phone is locked, plugged in and on Wi-Fi. Check the “last successful backup” time on that same screen now and then.
  4. Mac: plug the iPhone in, open Finder, and select the iPhone in the sidebar. Tap Trust on the phone if asked.
  5. Under General, choose Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac. Check Encrypt local backup if you want your Health, Activity and saved passwords (Keychain) included, and write down the password. Click Back Up Now.
  6. Windows: install and open the Apple Devices app, plug in the iPhone, select it, and go to General. Choose to back up all of the data to this computer, optionally encrypt it, and click Back Up Now.
Safety: Don’t lose your encrypted backup password. Without it, that backup can’t be restored.

Good to know

  • iCloud backups are always encrypted. Computer backups are only encrypted if you turn it on.
  • If you use iCloud Photos or Messages in iCloud, those already sync to iCloud and aren’t part of the backup itself.
  • Computer backups don’t include things already in iCloud, Face ID or Touch ID settings, Apple Pay, or Apple Mail data.
  • If you turn off iCloud Backup, Apple keeps your last backup for 180 days before deleting it.