How to properly removing iPhone backups from PC to save space

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How to properly removing iPhone backups from PC to save space

Hello all. I think I have seen this issue before but never understood the answer. So I will ask it this way:

The C drive of my Windows PC has 48.5 GB for what I imagine is my iTunes iPhone backup. When I click it, I see "Mobile Sync". Click again, I see "Backup." Clicking again, I see two lengthy alpha numeric strings. Clicking further reveals nothing I can identify. Anyway, along with Dropbox, it has loaded up my C Drive.

Two questions:

Can I simply cut and paste that "Mobile Sync" (or Apple) file from the C drive on my Dell to an External Hard Drive (which I presume would remove it from the C drive and free up 48.5 GB)?
If the answer to 1 is 'yes', would I be able to restore my phone from the external hard drive in the event I should need to?

I appreciate your help, Apple friends.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

iPhone 13, iOS 18

Posted on Dec 30, 2024 2:58 PM

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Answer 1

Dec 30, 2024 5:59 PM in response to RA3822B

Yes
No, you would have to move the backup to where it was on your C: Drive first.

There is no official way to do this, but with some creative use of the command line on Windows or Mac you can make it happen. Basically you move the current backup to the external drive, then put a “symbolic link” to the moved backup where iTunes (or Finder on a Mac) had previously stored the backup. If you do a web search for “move iPhone backup to external drive” there will be a lot of links with “cookbook” instructions.

But note that the reason Apple doesn’t support this is because it makes your backup vulnerable if your PC is hacked.

If Dropbox is the problem, you can change its settings to not sync its entire content to your computer, but to only save it on your Dropbox account. The downside is that you can’t access that content if you don’t have an internet connection.

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How to properly removing iPhone backups from PC to save space

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