Q: "the last backup could not be completed"

I noticed my iPhone 3GS has stopped backing up (It is connected to a power source and has WiFi connection).

I tried to manually back up to iCloud, but I get the following message after several minutes; "the last backup could not be completed."

Today, I restored my iPhone and downloaded iOS 5.1. I still have the same issue. I deleted the old backup in iCloud and tried it again - and still the same message.

Any ideas how to solve this?

Posted on Mar 7, 2012 7:29 PM

I have this question too

Q: "the last backup could not be completed"

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by AWArea51,Helpful

AWArea51 Mar 8, 2012 11:00 AM in response to Raziel1
Level 1 (5 points)

Mar 8, 2012 11:00 AM in response to Raziel1

Having the same issue as well. iPhone 4s updated to 5.1 yesterday. Now iCloud backup is having issues. Prior to 5.1, I had PhotoStream turned off. Once 5.1 was pushed out, I re-enabled PhotoStream. Not sure if this is the cause or if there is some kind of bug floating about with 5.1. Reserving judgement for now.

Definitely need iCloud backup to function properly. Anyone else having this issue/resolve this yet?
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by Lexiepex,

Lexiepex Mar 8, 2012 11:22 AM in response to Raziel1
Level 6 (10,477 points)

Mac OS X

Mar 8, 2012 11:22 AM in response to Raziel1

do you have enough free space? On the iPhone.
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by Raziel1,

Raziel1 Mar 8, 2012 11:30 AM in response to Lexiepex
Level 1 (26 points)

Wireless

Mar 8, 2012 11:30 AM in response to Lexiepex

Yes. I have over 25 gigs free.
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by AWArea51,

AWArea51 Mar 8, 2012 12:04 PM in response to Lexiepex
Level 1 (5 points)

Mar 8, 2012 12:04 PM in response to Lexiepex

yep, definitely not a free space issue - 42.7GB available here.
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by Lexiepex,

Lexiepex Mar 8, 2012 12:17 PM in response to Raziel1
Level 6 (10,477 points)

Mac OS X

Mar 8, 2012 12:17 PM in response to Raziel1

Raziel1: 25Gb free space on the iPhone 3Gs????
AWArea51: 42.7 GB on the iPhone????
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by sweitenberg,

sweitenberg Mar 8, 2012 12:29 PM in response to Raziel1
Level 1 (0 points)

Mar 8, 2012 12:29 PM in response to Raziel1

Same problem with my iPad 1 and iOS 5.1, but this is not an iOS 5.1 issue, because I had the same problem with iOS 5.01. I was not able to backup since I have used iCloud.
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by AWArea51,

AWArea51 Mar 8, 2012 12:43 PM in response to sweitenberg
Level 1 (5 points)

Mar 8, 2012 12:43 PM in response to sweitenberg

Did you ever resolve it - if so, how?

Thx.
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by sweitenberg,

sweitenberg Mar 8, 2012 1:06 PM in response to AWArea51
Level 1 (0 points)

Mar 8, 2012 1:06 PM in response to AWArea51

I'm sorry, I never solved the problem.
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by Raziel1,

Raziel1 Mar 8, 2012 5:58 PM in response to Raziel1
Level 1 (26 points)

Wireless

Mar 8, 2012 5:58 PM in response to Raziel1

I'm happy to report, that somehow, it has fixed itself.

I decided to manually do a backup today without the USB cable plugged in - and it worked. I did it three other occasions and it still backed up.

I will see if it will auto backup tomorrow morning plugged in with the screen locked.
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by Bado,

Bado Mar 8, 2012 11:33 PM in response to Raziel1
Level 1 (9 points)

Mac OS X

Mar 8, 2012 11:33 PM in response to Raziel1

Count me in. I have the "Backup could not be completed" error since November.

Yesterday it worked once right after I restored my iPad while iTunes transfered all the data back to my iPad. So it is definitely not a problem on the iCloud side but on the iPad's Apps side.

My guess is that it might be just one app's data which blocks iOS from backing up correctly...

Any ideas?
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by Richard Totaro,

Richard Totaro Mar 16, 2012 3:18 AM in response to Bado
Level 1 (20 points)

Mar 16, 2012 3:18 AM in response to Bado

Same error for me.

I turned off ALL apps and am adding them back one by one. Keynote is the current culprit. But as I am slowly adding apps in one by one, I might find others as I go.
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by donbarrett,Helpful

donbarrett Mar 18, 2012 6:07 AM in response to Lexiepex
Level 1 (5 points)

Mar 18, 2012 6:07 AM in response to Lexiepex

What solved it for me was to do a reset on the phone by holding down the Home and lock buttons simultaneously until the unit reset. Then, I immediately did a backup to iCloud and it worked. I had been getting the message that the last backup couldn't be completed for months. Evidently, there are artifacts in the phone which interfere with the backup which, at least for me, were eliminated by a reset just prior to attempting the backup. Good luck.
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by richpharm,Helpful

richpharm May 30, 2012 4:44 PM in response to Raziel1
Level 1 (5 points)

May 30, 2012 4:44 PM in response to Raziel1

hi!

I've solved it!
0. Plug iphone to USB
1. Turn off in iTunes "backup to iCloud" by choosing "backup to this computer"
2. Sync
3. Go to iCloud and delete all previous backups.
4. Turn on in iTunes "backup to iCloud".
5. In iPhone click backup to iCloud

after few minutes it was done!

Cheers
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by richpharm,

richpharm May 30, 2012 4:46 PM in response to donbarrett
Level 1 (5 points)

May 30, 2012 4:46 PM in response to donbarrett

the method described by donbarrettdidn't work
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