can you backup on icloud if your phone is disabled

Depends on how many times you tried. If it says "Try again in xx minutes" you can wait it out. If it says "Connect to iTunes" all you can do is restore it.

As for backing up to iCloud, you can't do that from a computer; it can only be done on the phone itself. You would have to go to Settings>iCloud and create an iCloud account, then Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backup on the phone to turn on iCloud backup. But of course, you can't do that with the phone locked.

Hopefully you have an iTunes backup on your boyfriend's computer.

No, but if it disabled from entering the wrong passcode too many times, you can back it up to the last computer it was synced with using iTunes, then restore it to remove the passcode. You will be given the option to restore to this backup at the end of the restore process.

This is covered at the bottom of this article under "If you have previously synced your device using iTunes": http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1212. If you have iTunes 11, go to View>Show Sidebar in order to follow these directions.

If you haven't synced since setting the new passcode, you will have to force the phone into recovery mode to restore it, which will erase the phone, then restore to an existing backup if you have one. (This is done for your own protection to prevent someone from stealing your phone and gaining access to your data when you have a passcode set on the phone.)

Have your boyfriend open iTunes on his computer and go to Preferences>Devices and check the Backups list to see if there is an existing backup of your phone listed there. If he has any trouble identifying which backup is yours, have him hover the mouse over the name of the backup. This will reveal a pop-up showing the phone number and other information of the phone that the backup represents.

If he does find a backup of your phone, it will contain photos in your camera roll at the time of the backup, along with other data and settings as described in this article under "iTunes will back up the following information": http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946.

If he finds an existing backup, you can force your phone into recovery mode as explained in this article under "If you have never synced your device with iTunes": http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1212. At the end of the restore process, your phone will restart and give you the option to restore to the existing backup on your boyfriend's computer.

If you were able to successfully back up to iCloud, you would need your Mac to restore it to your phone. If you were able to successfully back up to iCloud, whcn finished you would still have to force your phone into recovery mode, then restore it using iTunes, then restore your backup over wifi, not using your Mac. (iCloud backups and restoring from iCloud backups are done over wifi, not using a computer.) The only thing you would need to update your Mac for is to purchase more iCloud storage in your account.

If I was you, I would make an appointment to visit the Genius bar at a nearby Apple store to get a second opinion. As I said, I can't guarantee you that you can successfully backup to iCloud or not so it's a risk. I understand your reluctance to follow the guidance you were given by Apple support earlier but perhaps you will have more luck at the Genius bar. Or, if you paid for the support call, you could call back and ask to talk to someone else at no charge as you were clearly told something that is inconsistent with Apple's own documentation on purchasing additional storage here under "Upgrade your iCloud storage plan>Mac OS X": http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4874.

In the meantime, see if you have a backup on your boyfriend's computer as this would guarantee that you have something to restore from.

You're welcome. Hope you get your pictures and other data back.

In the future, be sure to import them to your computer for safekeeping. This isn't done with iTunes of syncing, it's done on a Mac by importing them to iPhotoas explained here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4083.

Alejandra. wrote:

can i back it up to his computer before restoring?

If you synced to that computer while the current passcode was set on your phone, then yes. Also, if you synced with his computer before and you aren't backing your phone up to iCloud, you probably have a backup on his computer as iTunes automatically backs up the phone as the first step in the syncing process.

I'm afraid you'll just be out of luck. With a passcode set on your phone, if you sync to a new computer it will first ask you to enter the passcode to unlock it. After doing this the first time, you have authenticated the phone with that computer and it won't ask again. If you don't know the passcode, it will not let you back up the device. Again, this is by design to prevent a thief from gaining access to your data without the passcode.

Without having synced prior to this with the phone unlocked with the passcode, your only choice is to put the phone in recovery mode and restore it, thereby removing the passcode, and then restore it to an existing backup. If none exists, you have to set the phone up as new and start over.

Of course, your other option is to wait it out until you can try again and see if you can remember the passcode in them meantime.