CheeseLordOmega

Q: Technical question about software issues and backups

Hi everyone! This is actually my first post to the forums. I have a fairly technical background, and I'm pretty good at troubleshooting issues with iPhones. My question is, as the title states, related to software issues and their propagation through backups (both iCloud and iTunes).

 

Many people who have owned iPhones for a while have encountered at least one software issue of some sort, whether it is on their own device or a friend's device. Maybe the device starts running very slowly, or some apps start crashing frequently or even constantly. Maybe iCloud backups stop working properly. These are all issues you can Google and find others asking about. Usually the solution is to erase the device and restore it from a backup.

 

Sometimes, the backup seems to store the issue, meaning that using that backup just puts the issue right back onto the device. This can even happen when restoring the backup to a different device.

 

My question is this: What is that backup storing that brings the issue back? Is there malformed data that causes sluggishness or crashing apps? I realize there are likely many potential answers to this, and it's more of an academic question than a practical one.

 

Bonus question: Is there a difference between the way iCloud and iTunes Store the backups? Is it possible that one method would be less likely to propagate software issues?

 

Thank you to anyone that can even give a partial answer to this.

 

TL;DR --- Backups sometimes propagate software issues (e.g. sluggishness and crashing apps). Why?

Posted on Mar 5, 2016 8:39 PM

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Q: Technical question about software issues and backups

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  • by sberman,

    sberman sberman Mar 5, 2016 8:57 PM in response to CheeseLordOmega
    Level 8 (39,786 points)
    Mar 5, 2016 8:57 PM in response to CheeseLordOmega

    iTunes and iCloud backups are similar, but iTunes backups contain somewhat more information, especially if you elect to encrypt the iTunes backup, in which case data such as passwords and health data is stored.

    About backups in iCloud and iTunes - Apple Support

     

    Neither iTunes nor iCloud backups need to store apps themselves, as those are retrievable directly from the App Store.  But app data, which may possibly be corrupt if the developer did not strictly follow Apple's rules, is stored in backups.