iCloud update stuck, nothing happens

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iCloud update stuck, nothing happens

Hi everybody!

So until recently, I did not pay much attention to the iCloud, backups, and so on. But I always kept getting messages that my "iPhone 5/iPad hasn't been updated on the iCloud in X weeks", so I wanted to resolve that at last.

The first issue was that there wasn't enough space, so I bought some to make sure that the updates will occur. Unfortunately, every time I click on "Back Up Now", it gets stuck in "Backing up, estimated time remaining...", with no time indicated, or anything at all happening.

I am on iOS7, Wi-fi turned on, plugged into the computer.

Thanks a lot for your help in advance.

iPhone 5, iOS 7

Posted on Jan 20, 2014 8:07 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 1, 2017 11:13 AM in response to randers4

Thanks randers4, this solution seems to have worked for my iPhone 8. I turned all the apps off, then backed up - successfully! Strangely I then went through the process of elimination turning on a few apps at a time and could not find the culprit. All apps are now turned on and all backed up!

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Answer 2

randers4

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Jan 20, 2014 8:47 PM in response to mrbors

This may be caused by a corrupt existing backup that needs to be deleted, or by data on your device that is causing the backup to fail. To troubleshoot these, try deleting your last iCloud backup (if you have one) by turning off iCloud Backup in Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backup, then tap Manage Storage, tap your device under Backups, then tap Delete Backup. Then go back and turn iCloud Backup back on and try backing up again.

If it still won't back up, you may have an app or something in your camera roll that is causing the backup to fail. To locate which one, go to Settings>iCloud>Storage & Backup>Manage Storage, tap the name of your device under Backups, under Backup Options tap Show All Apps, then turn them all to Off (including camera roll) and try backing up again. If the backup is successful, then the camera roll and/or one of your apps is causing the backup to fail and you'll have to located by process of elimination. Turn the camera roll On and try backing up again. If it succeeds, turn some of your apps to On and try backing up again. If it succeeds again, turn some more apps to On then try again; repeat this process until it fails. Eventually you'll be able to locate the problem app and exclude it from your backup.

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Answer 3

mrbors Author

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Jan 20, 2014 9:47 PM in response to randers4

Thanks for the suggestion.

I deleted the backups, and started manually unchecking the items. It now says 5 hours remaining for my iPhone...but I sure hope it will be faster than that! Let's see if it will also work for my iPad.

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Answer 4

randers4

Level 9

63,519 points

Jan 20, 2014 9:48 PM in response to mrbors

You're welcome. The initial time estimate is unreliable, it may be much faster. The accuracy of the estimate impoves as the backup progresses.

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Answer 5

mrbors Author

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Jan 20, 2014 10:26 PM in response to randers4

Well, it seems now it just stops for no reason, other than "the last backup could not be completed" and since I deleted the last backup, I don't have any iClould backups of my phone. D'oh! I backed it up on my computer, but this is quite an annoying situation. I'll try again when I am in a better(?) Wi-fi enviornment.

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Answer 6

randers4

Level 9

63,519 points

Jan 21, 2014 8:29 AM in response to mrbors

If you think you might be having networking problems, you could try things likepower-cycling your wireless router (unplugging it for 15 seconds, then plugging it back in), resetting network settings on your phone (in Settings>General>Reset), updating the firmware on your router, and changing the router's DNS settings to use Google's public DNS (see https://developers.google.com/speed/public-dns/docs/using).

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