"the last backup could not be completed"

Reboot/reset your iPhone by holding down the home & sleep/wake buttons at the same time until the Apple logo appears then let go & let the iPhone boot up normally. You should now be able to delete the last backup. I've been doing this the past few days though unfortunately I still haven't been able to backup my iPad since updating to iOS 9

Thank you very much for the reply. I tried but remains unresolved 😕

I could delete the copy , but I could not make a new copy via OTA. I'll try from iTunes. It seems that without a backup is impossible that the photos i took with my iPhone to appear on the Mac .

In addition to the not being able to complete the last back-up error, when I try to delete a back-up it tells me I can't at this time. Just trying to back-up to the Cloud so I can easily set-up the new phone that's coming this week!

This worked for me. Thanks!

Thank you! I wasted a couple of hours before stumbling across your answer:) Thanks again!

Ty! I know this is an old post but thankfully I found it and it totally worked 🙂

I solved by:

Disable the Background application refresh

Setting --> General --> Background App Refresh, then disable it.

Apparently there is some application changing contents rapidly faster than the backup time which is causing the backup to fail.

It happened to me after migration from 5s to 6s, the first phone backup after restore is supposed to take hours, and never finished.

this way (disable background app refresh) first backup passed through,then re-enable it and subsequent backups will work.

Disable Background App Refresh during backup

The ultimate solution for "Last backup couldn't be completed" after upgrade to iOS9

I used to have iPhone 5s which has been backing up properly even after iOS9 upgrade,but I received this error after migration to iPhone 6s+

and from search I found that many people suffering this error regardless the phone type, it is all about iOS9 upgrade. so I tried many of the proposed soultions and none worked for me.

I kept trying all possibilities until I found the following scenarios which has provided solution to all devices.

Option 1: (IF you don't want to back up photo to iCloud, otherwise go option 2)

1- Disable iCloud Photo Library

1.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Photos -> disable "iCloud photo library"

2- Delete iCloud Photo Library to free iCloud space. (Don't do this step if you have iCloud photo lobrary enabled on other devices)

2.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Storage -> Manage Storage -> iCloud Photo Library -> Disable and Delete

3- Delete any previous backup of this device.

3.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Storage -> Manage Storage -> iPhone this iphone

3.2- click "Show All Apps" even though it does not make any sense, just do it.

3.3- Wait for the wheel spinning till it is finished

3.4- Goto the end of the page then Click "Delete Backup",keep trying until it is succeeded.

4- Backup again and wait until it fails.

4.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Backup -> Backup Now

4.2- Wait until the backup fails.

5- Execlude Photo Library from next iCloud Backup.

5.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Storage -> Manage Storage -> iPhone this iphone

5.2- click "Show All Apps" even though it does not make any sense, just do it.

5.3- Wait for the wheel spinning till it is finished

5.4- Search for "Photo Library" then disable it.

6- Do the backup again. (this time it will succeed hopefully)

6.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Backup -> Backup Now

6.2- Wait until the backup finish.

Option 2: (you want to back up photo to iCloud, and you have enough iCloud space to accommodate it)

This the tricky part, since iOS9 Apple has separated iCloud photo library from the rest of phone backup.

But there is a bug here, which is:

If not all photos are uploaded to iCloud, the phone backup will try to backup photos same as previous versions, and icloud is failing the backup as it is not supposed to receive photos during phone backup.

The exit of this trap is to confirm all photos are uploaded to iCloud before doing the phone backup.

1- Delete any previous backup of this device.

1.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Storage -> Manage Storage -> iPhone this iphone

1.2- click "Show All Apps" even though it does not make any sense, just do it.

1.3- Wait for the wheel spinning till it is finished

1.4- Goto the end of the page then Click "Delete Backup",keep trying until it is succeeded.

1.5- Repeat steps 1.1 to 1.3 again after previous backup is deleted, then take note of "Next Backup Size",and notice that "Photo Library" is available and enabled.

1.6- Even if you try to disable "Photo Library" it will not accept because there is no previous backup yet.

2- Enable iCloud Photo Library

2.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Photos -> enable "iCloud photo library"

3- Confirm that all photos are uploaded to iCloud Photo library

3.1- Open "Photos" and notice the spinnig wheel at upper right corner near to network name.

3.2- Go agin to Settings -> iCloud -> Photos, and check the update status below "iCloud Photo Library"

3.3- as it will tell "uploading xxx photos", wait until it completely finish.

3.4- if it got stuck at one photo for long time, it might be a large video, just wait.

3.5- if it got stuck for really long time, then try hard rest (power + front button until restart), then redo steps 3.1 to 3.4.

3.6- upon completion the status message will show "Updated Just Now"

4- Confirm that iCloud Photo Library is completed

4.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Storage -> Manage Storage -> iPhone this iphone

4.2- click "Show All Apps" even though it does not make any sense, just do it.

4.3- Wait for the wheel spinning till it is finished

4.4- Notice that "Next Backup Size" now is less than previoes size of 1.5,simply because photos are excluded.

4.5- Notice that "Photo Library" has disappeared from list, simply because all photos are already uploaded.

5- Do the backup again. (this time it will succeed hopefully)

5.1- Settings -> iCloud -> Backup -> Backup Now

5.2- Wait until the backup finish.

Regards

Please feed back

Thanks it worked!

I did tried both options, but it still won't backup.

I've had a chance to chat with apple's rep, he suggested I just start deleting everything, and try to backup each time.

If I ended up wiping all of my photos, apps, and other content and left with no other choise, he suggested I just erase my iphone completely and start from scratch...

Any other ideas or solutions for that?

Any chance to access apple's log file while trying to backup to icl

TThis did not work for me (option 2) and now I feel naked without any backup whatsoever.

This worked for me. Between steps 4 and 5, I had to click the "Sync" button in iTunes to change the settings on the phone before trying another iCloud backup.

So, I've read through the thread, and my OCD wants to compile a single post with all the potential solutions in it. None of them worked for me, though I hadn't tried the A-Bomb (deleting the network settings) or the H-Bomb (return the phone to factory-new, and reinstall everything). Before I went nuclear, I discovered that my VPN was stopping the backup. I turned off my Virtual Private Network, manually instructed the phone to back up to the iCloud ("now, kid") which it did, and I turned VPN back on and all is well. Since I hadn't seen that in the list, I thought I'd mention it.

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