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Can you backup an iPhone on a Mac directly to an external storage device?

I am trying to backup my iPhone on my Mac, however I do not have enough space to back it up directly to my computer. I do however have an external storage that has plenty of space. Is there any way to do this?

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 11.5

Posted on Sep 16, 2021 11:04 AM

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Posted on Sep 16, 2021 7:29 PM

This is not an option provided by Apple. Some claim they have set up special links to make this work, but what you really want to ensure is not just that you can trick your Mac into doing this, but that you can trick it to go in the other direction when you need it to.


There are two options here. One is to backup to iCloud. The second is to temporarily move enough off your Mac to complete the backup normally, then move the backup off to an external drive. To go the other direction, you have to again make room, move the backup back, and then use it to restore.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 16, 2021 7:29 PM in response to oman1943

This is not an option provided by Apple. Some claim they have set up special links to make this work, but what you really want to ensure is not just that you can trick your Mac into doing this, but that you can trick it to go in the other direction when you need it to.


There are two options here. One is to backup to iCloud. The second is to temporarily move enough off your Mac to complete the backup normally, then move the backup off to an external drive. To go the other direction, you have to again make room, move the backup back, and then use it to restore.

Can you backup an iPhone on a Mac directly to an external storage device?

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