Laddie
Level 1 (5 points)

Q: where is my iPhone backup?

Where is my iPhone backup stored on my Mac?

iPhone 6 Plus, iOS 8.3, 128 GB

Posted on May 18, 2015 11:41 AM

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Laddie

Q: where is my iPhone backup?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 18, 2015 11:44 AM in response to Laddie
    Level 8 (38,305 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 18, 2015 11:44 AM in response to Laddie

    ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup. Now that you know that what do you plan to do with that information? The backup is a SQLite database, not a file. It can't be read by mere mortals without an application designed to access it.

  • by roaminggnome,

    roaminggnome roaminggnome May 18, 2015 11:45 AM in response to Laddie
    Level 10 (97,411 points)
    May 18, 2015 11:45 AM in response to Laddie

    About backups in iCloud and iTunes - Apple Support

  • by Laddie,

    Laddie Laddie May 18, 2015 11:51 AM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (5 points)
    May 18, 2015 11:51 AM in response to Lawrence Finch

    I presume I can delete it (after copying …) and then create a new Backup?  Will that solve my problem perhaps?

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 18, 2015 12:08 PM in response to Laddie
    Level 8 (38,305 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 18, 2015 12:08 PM in response to Laddie

    YYou haven't said what your problem is. To delete it go to iTunes Preferences, Devices, click on the backup name and click Delete.

  • by Laddie,

    Laddie Laddie May 18, 2015 12:17 PM in response to Lawrence Finch
    Level 1 (5 points)
    May 18, 2015 12:17 PM in response to Lawrence Finch

    In another discussion, I asked about repeated iPhone 6+ disconnects from my iMac (everything running the latest software).  In yet another discussion, the suggestion was to remove the backup and start over.  Might that work?

  • by Lawrence Finch,

    Lawrence Finch Lawrence Finch May 18, 2015 12:39 PM in response to Laddie
    Level 8 (38,305 points)
    Mac OS X
    May 18, 2015 12:39 PM in response to Laddie

    It might help. The problem could also be an app on the phone that has corrupt data in its database. A backup will fail if it encounters bad data. As you have a Mac it is unlikely that you have an antivirus on it, but some antiviruses can interfere with backups also.

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece May 18, 2015 12:48 PM in response to Laddie
    Level 5 (7,808 points)
    Notebooks
    May 18, 2015 12:48 PM in response to Laddie

    The 'delete backups' link in the page that roaming gnome posted is the safest way to remove an old backup.

    Find and manage your iTunes backups - Apple Support

     

    Personally I would keep a copy on another disk (or move the backup to your Desktop). If you also reset the iOS device you will need a recent backup to get your data back. You could try setting it to use wifi backups or iCloud backups if you need a way to be sure you have a copy of the data.

  • by Laddie,

    Laddie Laddie May 18, 2015 4:04 PM in response to Drew Reece
    Level 1 (5 points)
    May 18, 2015 4:04 PM in response to Drew Reece

    I deleted the old backup using the iTunes preferences > Preferences > Devices > Delete Backup. 

     

    I noticed that there were five empty/non-visible backups with no title, and no content also appearing, so I deleted them.  (What I saw was empty lines, pushing the latest update halfway down the dialog box.)

     

    I got one clean sync after doing this.  Now, no more syncing, with the same old 'disconnect' message …

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece May 20, 2015 4:11 PM in response to Laddie
    Level 5 (7,808 points)
    Notebooks
    May 20, 2015 4:11 PM in response to Laddie

    You mention in the other thread trying other USB ports & another cable. If you tried several combinations of those you may need to look at what messages appear as the device is connected…

     

    Open /Applications/Utilities/Console and look at the 'all messages' section of the log list (it may be hidden, use the button in the toolbar to show it). Connect the device & see what messages appear. Select the ones relating to iTunes or Apple mobile backup, copy & paste them here. Please avoid posting hundreds of the same messages.

     

    If you have an Apple store it may be wise to book an appointment - this seems like it could be the Mac to iOS hardware. You can also erase & reinstall iOS to get the device back to a default state - but this is risky if the USB is failing. I would enable iCloud backups to be sure that you have a working copy of your data saved elsewhere.