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How do you access backup files without your phone?

I currently do not have my iphone 4 with me, and I was wondering how I could access photos or documents I backed up recently into my Mac. After looking at help guides on the apple support communities, I was led to Library/ Application Support/ Mobile Sync/ Backup. Is this the correct storage area for Iphone backups? Also, these folders in "backup" just have random text with numbers that I cant comprehend.<-- A photo is attached. Any help would be appreciated.User uploaded fileUser uploaded file

iPhone 4

Posted on Mar 19, 2014 1:56 PM

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Posted on Mar 19, 2014 2:04 PM

Yes, those are you backup files.


The only way you can decipher them back to normal is to restore them to an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch).



Here's some additional info:


Reference: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4946

Where are iTunes backups stored on your computer

The folder where your backup data is stored depends on the computer's operating system. Make sure the backup folder is included in your data-backup routine. iTunes places the backup files in the following places:

Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
The "~" represents your Home folder. If you don't see Library in your home folder, hold Option and click the Go menu.


The Camera Roll won't be restored to your device in the following circumstances:

  • You're attempting to restore an iPad, but the Camera Roll backup was made with an iPhone or iPod touch.
  • You're attempting to restore an iPhone or iPod touch, but the Camera Roll backup was made with an iPad.
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Mar 19, 2014 2:04 PM in response to MQVT

Yes, those are you backup files.


The only way you can decipher them back to normal is to restore them to an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch).



Here's some additional info:


Reference: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4946

Where are iTunes backups stored on your computer

The folder where your backup data is stored depends on the computer's operating system. Make sure the backup folder is included in your data-backup routine. iTunes places the backup files in the following places:

Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
The "~" represents your Home folder. If you don't see Library in your home folder, hold Option and click the Go menu.


The Camera Roll won't be restored to your device in the following circumstances:

  • You're attempting to restore an iPad, but the Camera Roll backup was made with an iPhone or iPod touch.
  • You're attempting to restore an iPhone or iPod touch, but the Camera Roll backup was made with an iPad.
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Mar 19, 2014 2:23 PM in response to MQVT

Sizes can vary depending on your camera type, mode, lighting and if you had HDR enabled or not. You best bet if you are going down that path is to just change all the files to .jpeg and then view them as tiles/thumbnails as there are thousands of files.

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Mar 19, 2014 2:17 PM in response to MQVT

You can enable it in iPhoto, but it will only bring you the last 30 days of Photos that successfully uploaded to My Photo Stream (assuming you had My Photo Stream enabled on your iPhone)


Reference: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4486

How long are My Photo Stream photos stored in iCloud?

The photos you upload to My Photo Stream are stored in iCloud for 30 days to give your devices plenty of time to connect and download them.

How do I turn on My Photo Stream?

After your devices are up-to-date and you have set up your iCloud account, it’s easy to turn on My Photo Stream on any of your devices:

Mac: Go to System Preferences > iCloud, then select the checkbox for Photos (or Photo Stream). Click the Options button and verify that the My Photo Stream checkbox is selected. Open the application you want to use with Photo Stream (iPhoto or Aperture) and confirm that My Photo Stream is turned on in that application. You can also adjust your My Photo Stream settings in iPhoto or Aperture Preferences.

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Mar 19, 2014 2:07 PM in response to MQVT

Extracting these items out of your device backup may not be the best way to go. If you enable Photo Stream on your iPhone, copies of your photos are uploaded to iCloud and available to your computer (or other iOS devices you may own). Documents can sync to iCloud as well (depending on the type) and could be accessed in a similar manner. What format of documents are you saving?

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Mar 19, 2014 2:15 PM in response to MQVT

If you are not going to have access to an iOS device, about the only thing you could possibly do is extract photos, but it may take a little work.


Make a copy of your backup folder to an alternate location, then you can use a program to help you add an extension like .jpeg to all the files. Mind you, not all the files are photos, but then you can view them as thumbnails and pick out many of your photos.


Like I said it will take some effort, so I would only do this as a last restore. You can google programs to help you add file extensions to files.

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Mar 19, 2014 2:20 PM in response to MQVT

MQVT wrote:


can I enable photostream via my mac on Icloud, and would that permit me to see my original camera roll?

Yes, but only if your iPhone was sending pictures to Photo Stream. If it was not turned on, then no iPhone pictures would be in the cloud for your Mac to access. And no, you can't enable the iPhone's Photo Stream setting from your Mac, it has to be turned on from the device.

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How do you access backup files without your phone?

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