iOS 7 update backup won't restore

Phew!!!! Finally.....

I had the exact same problem, I actually think the reason is that AVG removed a file from the backup... anyway, I backed up my iphone4S to itunes, and then tried to update to IOS7. It encountered a problem, and then I had to restore, and it wouldn't restore, gave me the exact same error: unable to restore iphone from backup because the backup was corrupt or not compatible, so after trying all sorts, I saw Kelly Wilkerson

& toobii'spost above, about decypher, and I gave it a go.

I was a bit annoyed that after appearing to be a free trial it does make you sign up & pay before you can actually fix the damaged backup, but at least it allowed me to scan the backup and check that it did need repairing first. Anyway, I installed decipher tools and paid the $29.99 - and YESSSSSSSS it worked! It was very fast & simple, and I wish I'd found this about 2 hours ago!!

Thanks Kelly & Toobii...

Kev

It helped me too!!!!!! THANK YOU!!!!

i have the same issue. except my ipod touch 5g ios 7.1.2 backed up fine./ i restored it, and tried to restore my ipod from its backup and it gives me he same stupid message. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS ERROR?!?!?!?!?!?!

Do both devices have the same iOS on them? If not, then you will have to update the one with the older iOS.

You just need to look at the entires right before your question!

They refer to what Kelly Wilkerson wrote near the bottom of page 7. Download that tool, run it... It will tell you what's wrong and offer to fix it if you buy the software, which I think is perfectly fair. (I suppose you could edit the Info.plist according to their list of things that need to be fixed; I was lazy and just paid the $30.)

I FOUND IT OUT!!!!!

1. Download ibackupbot from trustworthy source

2. once downloaded run it

3. it will automatically scan for backups saved to your computer. a whole bunch of messages saying ERROR cannot read device info. forget those and just keep pressing okay. i promise it will not cause any damage to your device.

4. right click the backup you want on your device in the top left of the screen. (make sure ibackupbot has recognized your device)

5. select clean backup (all this does is get rid of the corrupted files that itunes wont let you take care of.)

6. now go to VIEW > OPTIONS > SELECT ITUNES RESTORE ENGINE

7. Now right click the backup you cleaned. and press restore to ipod. it works. it restores your ipod to the so called corrupted backup. i dont know how i figured this out. mostly a whole bunch of clues from google. If you have any questions email me at

I HOPE THIS HELPED do not be afraid to email me. or too lazy. i will check my email if you have any issues.

I'll just weigh in as well, as a grateful, annoyed user.

I was eligible for a free new battery under Apple's replacement program. Dutifully backed up last night before heading to the Genius Bar this morning. They made me erase all my content before replacing the battery, so when I got home, I had to restore from backup. But when I tried.......disaster. The "corrupt backup" message that everyone's encountered.

I read this whole thread and various other ones searching for an answer. Tried all the proposed solutions with no luck. And in the course of doing so I even made things worse, deleting some of the files in the backup folder. Finally decided to give Decipher's tool a go for $30, thinking it might be a scam. And at first, it didn't work any better than what I'd done manually.

But then I realized maybe my futzing was partially responsible, so I restored the backup directory from this morning from my Time Machine, reran Decipher's tool, and whaddya know. Worked perfectly.

So, I'm totally grateful that Decipher decided to make the tool, and totally furious that Apple just doesn't care enough about this problem to do anything about. So yeah, pretty annoyed that my "free" battery ended up costing me $30, but that's totally Apple's fault. Decipher came through.

Sure you can restore from the backup of the iPhone with the limitations that you already spoke about.

You cannot restore a newer backup to and older iOS device, so if the phone backup is iOS 7 and the iPad is iOS 6, you will have to update the iPad to iOS 7 before you restore from the backup.

Sorry, but while everything you say is correct, you haven't understood the problem.

The backups, even old backups, are corrupt so the restore fails. Not because of the iOS version, but because (in my case) the Info.plist stated incorrect file lengths (and a file that wasn't part of the backup anymore).

The tool solved this; I'm sure you can just edit the plist file to do the same.

SInce this is a new phenomenon, I suspect that someone at Apple added a few more checks during the restore.

Hi friend, you can use MobiKin Doctor for iOS to backup iphone data before upgrading to ios 8. It can help you extract and save data or files from iphone to computer. You can have a try. More visit: http://goo.gl/SpQ8HC

isaiah_arrazola wrote:

i have the same issue. except my ipod touch 5g ios 7.1.2 backed up fine./ i restored it, and tried to restore my ipod from its backup and it gives me he same stupid message. DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW TO FIX THIS ERROR?!?!?!?!?!?!

I got a very useful tutorial to solve this kind of problem, you can restore iPhone from backup easily and find back all the data of your iPhone, including photos, messages, contacts, videos, etc. you can have a try!

Lucky me, getting my iPhone 4s replaced for free since the battery was swelling! I did a backup, handed over my phone, and brought the new one home. Except it wouldn't sync, I got the corrupt message. Brought my macbook into the apple store after work the next day, and they took THREE HOURS to sort through the situation.. updated my macbook's OS, attempted multiple restores... and repeatedly got the message that "iTunes could not restore the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that is being restored." I was totally frustrated with the whole experience, zero success, a complete waste of my time. I left as the store was closing with an apple genius telling me I was essentially out of luck. Well I got home and read through some of these apple discussions and discovered Decipher Backup.. was skeptical at first, but desperate to get my photos, notes, and contacts back - paid the $30 and ran the program.. and like that EVERYTHING was restored within 15 minutes. Thanks for nothing Apple. Decipher for the win.

Hello All.. This product worked AWESOME for me.. I know this thread may be a little old, but I had this same issue and nothing helped me until I purchased Backup Repair Tool.. My corrupted backup was repaired and I was able to restore my backup to my phone and not loose all of my precious information.

Hours of my time alone is worth the cost of this product.. not to mention my data and sanity. If you cannot afford $30 then your data and time must not be worth saving. They have a money back guarantee if not satisfied so it was a no brainer for me.

I was so excited to get my data back on my phone that I then purchased all of the other items this company sells as well.

Thank everyone who gave helpful information on this topic otherwise I would not have been successful with my corrupted phone.

It could only be better if Apple bought out this company so they would be rich and then include their technology in future releases of iTunes

iPhone6 Plus w/ ios 8.11 to iPhone 6s Plus w/ ios 9.2