Can I take the iphone backup from my Macbook and move it onto an external HD - Or just backup directly to the HD?

How to Move the iPhone Backup

You can't simply drag and drop the backup folder while the backup is being managed by macOS/iTunes, as it could confuse the system. Instead, you'll need to use an alias or symlink to redirect the backup location.2

Here are the general steps:

1. Locate the Backup Folder

The default location for your iPhone/iPad backups on a Mac is:

~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

• To get there quickly:

1. 1. Open Finder.
   2. Click the "Go" menu at the top of the screen.
   3. Hold down the Option (Alt) key. The "Library" folder will appear in the list. Click it.
   4. Navigate to Application Support >MobileSync >Backup.

Inside the Backup folder, you'll see one or more folders with long, alphanumeric names. Each one is a separate device backup.

2. Copy the Backup to the External Drive

1. Connect your external hard drive to your MacBook.
2. Create a new folder on your external drive (e.g., "iPhone Backups").
3. Copy the entire Backup folder (or just the specific device backup folders you want to move) from the location in Step 1 to your new folder on the external drive.3

4.Delete the Original Backup Folder

After confirming the copy is successful on the external drive, delete the original Backup folder (or the specific device folders you moved) from the internal drive location: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/. This is the step that frees up space on your Mac.

Recommended Method (Using a Symlink)

To make sure your Mac continues to save new backups to the external drive, you can create a Symbolic Link (Symlink). This is an advanced step and requires using the Terminal application.

1. Follow Steps 1 and 2 above (Locate and Copy).
2. Follow Step 3 above (Delete the Original).
3. Open the Terminal app (search for it in Spotlight).
4. Type the following command, but do not press Enter yet:
5. ln -s /Volumes/DriveName/Path/To/NewBackupFolder ~/Library/Application\ Support/MobileSync/Backup
6. Replace the path /Volumes/DriveName/Path/To/NewBackupFolder with the actual path to the folder on your external drive where you copied the backup. The easiest way to get the exact path is to drag the new backup folder from your external drive into the Terminal window.
7. Press Enter.

This command creates a link named Backup in the original location that points to the folder on your external drive. Now, when you back up your iPhone, macOS will save the data to the external drive .