Backup your iPhone with a broken screen

hey i just broke my screen and im expecting a new phone in the mail but i dont want to loose all the stuff i had on my last iphone 5. i tried to back up the phone but itunes wont recognize my phone before i enter the password on my phone. the problem is i cant navigate through my phone because the screen is broken. HELP!!!


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iPhone 5

Posted on Jan 28, 2014 11:27 AM

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Posted on Jul 8, 2015 5:39 AM

Just wanted personally thank you for saving my day and helping me get my pictures backed up!!!!! I actually went to Best Buy and bought the Apple Camera Connector Kit (lightening to USB) to use with my full sized wireless keyboard that I normally use on my PC. Technically this dongle is only supposed to work with the iPAD, but it DID WORK with my iPhone 6 because the Logitech Wireless Keyboard is powered by it's own batteries!!! You could also use a wired USB full size PC keyboard to do the same thing, as long as it's using a powered USB hub, because the iPhone doesnt have enough power to run a full sized keyboard. The iPhone kept saying "unsupported device", but just ignore that because the key strokes I needed worked anyways!! Escape key works to navigate backwards through the menu, directional arrow keys work to cycle through items on screen, letters and numbers seem to work for typing. So on a PC keyboard, it's Control-Alt-Space to click on the selected item on the iPhone. I think ESC can be used to navigate backwards through the menu system as well. Another helpful hint, I was able to get my back light to come on by manually putting a little bit of pressure on the ribbon where it connects to the logic board, enough to see what I was doing anyways. My touch screen never worked though, so it was up to SIRI and using a keyboard! One caveat is that this method will not allow you to sync with iTunes because you can only have one thing plugged into the lightening connector at one time, so you can never click "Trust this Computer". iCloud is your best bet unless you can get a blue tooth keyboard to work.

59 replies

Apr 6, 2016 5:28 PM in response to Brannonfinney

I tried to turn on voiceover with Siri and realised that I had Siri turned off in my settings so at that point I was pretty screwed. I wondered if my touchscreen was still working, so when iTunes told me to enter my password I blindly swiped right and hit my password in the best estimate of where I thought the numbers would be sitting on the screen. This worked for me, so if people are really stuck, think their touchscreen might be working and don't have time/money to buy the keyboard try this out! It might work for others!

May 7, 2016 11:43 AM in response to jbuckner85

This worked for me... Was challenging slow process but figured it out. i was told by Apple and a gadget guy there was nothing that could be done for my iPhone 5c which was turning on and working but the screen was black/non responsive after i dropped it.. No hardware fixes. This allowed me to navigate phone by voice to settings to turn on iCloud. All pics from my son's first two years were saved!!

Aug 6, 2016 12:27 PM in response to jbuckner85

I looked at countless forums and threads after I got my husband's phone wet and the touchscreen stopped working. Most provided very unhelpful responses like the one above ("If you didn't back it up earlier, it's too late now") but using your guidance I bought a Logitech wired keyboard for the iPad and was able to unlock the screen, back up his photos and contacts, all through Voiceover and the keyboard. I also would've never figured out how to "click" on an item without your post so thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sep 2, 2016 7:12 AM in response to MerlinJo

Yep, if it's broken/failed, pretty much. Apple provides multiple methods to backup your phone. If iCloud backups are enabled, it will back up automatically, with no user intervention, when the phone is plugged into power, connected to WiFi, and locked.


If iCloud backups are not turned on, it will be backed up to your computer every time you sync the phone with iTunes.

Sep 2, 2016 7:15 AM in response to KiltedTim

Okay 😟 But thanks a ton! You were super helpful in comparison to my extremely length Customer Care calls that got me nowhere! Appreciate this 🙂 Good day! 🙂


Another question if I may, Iclod allows only 5GB storage. However, I have a 64GB phone and ypou can imagine the number of photos & videos I have. Any alternative to back it up other than icloud?

Sep 29, 2016 1:51 AM in response to ckallday71

When your iPhone/iPad is cracked or shattered by accident and left locked, it becomes important to get data off the broken device such as photos, videos, contacts, messages, etc. Here, this video tutorial will show you several methods to backup iPhone/iPad with broken and passcode-locked screen.


Quick guide:

#1 Check some of important data in iCloud.com like videos, pictures, contacts, notes, reminders when iPhone is broken and lokced

https://youtu.be/EiZf-I1qGrc?t=18s


#2 Recover data from broken/locked iPhone/iPad with iPhoneRecovery software if the iTunes detects your device on computer. Otherwise you'd better get your gadget repaired first.

https://youtu.be/EiZf-I1qGrc?t=50s


#3 Chances are that you’ve previously made a backup for iPhone/iPad with iTunes, then it would be easy to get back your files.

https://youtu.be/EiZf-I1qGrc?t=4m10s

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Backup your iPhone with a broken screen

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