Cannot restore because the backup was corrupt or not compatible

YES! Thank you! I had the same problem when upgrading to a new phone (Iphone 8 from iPhone 6s) - once I updated the software on my new 8, I was able to use my previous backup. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I was afraid I had lost everything.

When I got the dreaded "cannot restore because backup is corrupt or not compatible" message as I was trying last night and this morning to transfer all my info from my old iPhone 6 to my new iPhone 8, I spent hours trying EVERY thing mentioned in this thread and others related to the topic and NOTHING worked. So I finally coughed up the $30 and bought the Decipher Backup Repair. Within just a few minutes, the corrupted backup had been fixed and the restore finally worked and my new phone was up and running. I agree with others here who can't believe Apple doesn't offer their own fix for this apparently very common issue.

Indeed, it is astounding that Apple sells a $1400 phone (the iPhone X) with outdated iOS which creates headaches in setting it up. With absolutely no guidance or instructions to update iOS before restoring from another backup. I spent over a day figuring this out as i struggled to use my new iphone, requiring me to carry my old and new phone for the day, as the old had the apps and data but no longer cell signal which had migrated to the new phone. Apple is a real low-quality control organization across the board.

After much trial and no success at Apple, I updated, restored, erased, set up as a new iphone, etc,.....eventually grabbed the right back up to restore from on Itunes (a few still didn't work)....It finally worked!!! Apple techs should know this...

Had the same problem but was an EASY fix as others said. Went from an iPhone 6 to an 8 Plus, backed up on iTunes before purchasing the phone. The new phone was running iOS 11.2.2 but iTunes on my computer had updated and said iOS 11.2.5 was available. Once I downloaded the update to my phone, then hit restore, it sync'd

Late response to this I know, but in case new users see this, I wanted to correct something vital to help others.

Regarding the password that was on your backup in your personal computer, only you could have set that up. It's called an encrypted backup. It's offered in the iTunes app you installed locally to your computer, upon backing up your devices.

You simply forgot it, as you probably backed up the first time ages ago. Very common for users to forget this, as it's rarely needed and we all tend to click boxes without reading carefully. I never encrypt mine. My Apple ID security for iTunes is plenty for me, and I already have numerous passwords I have to remember.

With this in mind, future forum users, please note that if you encrypt your backup with a password in iTunes, you must remember it. No one can recover that, and if you cannot recall what it is, there is no way to restore a backup that is encrypted. The encryption password is rarely needed and in turn, easily forgotten. Best practice if you elect to encrypt your backups is to write the password down somewhere safe & somewhere you know you'll be able to reference for a long time.

Hope this helps prevent any frustrations and surprises in the future ~

We too, like 1000's of others, encountered the dreaded "iTunes cannot restore.....corrupt backup".

It had to be my wife's iPhone 7.........

I am stunned that Apple would unleash on the unsuspecting iPhone owner world such a failing piece of software functionality as the iTunes backup / restore.

As a 45+ year veteran of the software engineering / computer engineering industry I cannot understand how or why this "corrupted backup" problem exists.

When we did the backup, iTunes did not tell me it was corrupt!!! How was I supposed know??

Why not validate the backup during the backup?

How the heck does a backup get corrupted in the 1st place?

Come on, I can think of several ways to ensure that a backup is valid.

I had to find out the backup was corrupt when I tried to use that backup to restore my wife's phone after we took advantage of the iPhone battery update for our iPhone 7s. Her phone somehow failed to survive the battery replacement so Apple gave her a new phone.

I spent the $29.99 for Decipher Backup Repair. It worked great! Well done!

So Apple, apply a couple of software engineers to fixing this.

I just had this issue, and was also freaking out. I have an iPhone 8+, had an issue and had to get another 8+, and after I setup my phone manually and downloaded the most recent iOS (which my old phone was backed up to) it allowed me to restore my new phone. Hope this helps someone!

Apologies to all that have tried to help-This message is to Apple.

Am I not being clear!? I am not trying to back up a new device from a previous device-I am simply trying to back up an existing device! The old back-up has disappeared & I am getting the corrupt back-up error. What is not clear to you geniuses in my messages??? I have 2 iPhones, 2 iPads, the watch & a Mac so I guess I have spent over $6000 on Apple products so why am I spending weeks, weekends looking at other users stories & YouTube tutorials none of which work?

Apple fix this-It is your product, your technology & my patience is worn out. Somebody needs to contact me & take ownership of this. Complacency ended BlackBerry & Google has a great range of products as well as Samsung so from this thread there seems to be a revolution. IPhone X $1000 failure so take note & do something & do it fast!

I had the same issue this morning trying to restore my new iPhone 8 Plus from my backup for my iPhone 6Plus. I updated the new phones operating system and it worked as well. Thank you for the advice!

SOLUTION!!! I had the same issue when I last updated my iPhone 6S as I was about to get the X. Tried everything that was suggested and no luck until I did a Google search to find the corrupted files and came across a great app that was only $29 and it worked perfectly!!

https://deciphertools.com/

Lifesaver!

Well I did update the O/S before I did the backup. Recommended by Apple and my friends.

What I do not understand is this problem of corrupted backups is a frequent issue.

So frequent that at least 3 companies are making money selling "iOS backup recovery tools".

As a 45+ year experienced computer systems / software architect, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND why this problem exists at all !!!

AND I do not understand why Apple has not fixed this very problematic bug.

Come on, at the very least Apple should invoke the method the Restore() uses to check and report the "...backup corrupted..." when the Backup() is finished.

Then we unsuspecting iOS users would know immediately that the Backup file(s) where corrupt and we could try another backup right then!

This is simple, any new hire software engineer could do this.

Apple has to determine root cause here and fix the problem.

I hate to bring up a problem without offering a detailed solution but I do not have access to Apple's source code.

Backups are important. Lifesavers even.

-Richard

Exactly, Chris. It's a compatibility issue which makes sense, since new phones aren't shipped out with the latest update. Thus, it's almost always likely the former device will be on a different and more recently updated version.

Simply update the device when you purchase it, which is wise regardless.

Thank you-I agree.

My issue is that it’s not a new device it’s an existing device that had previously been backed up but the back no longer exists & I get the corrupted back-up error. I have tried everything people have suggested but so far Apple themselves have offered no support.

Fortunately I do know someone with access to the source code but I would not put them in the position to help me-Apple needs to come out with a solution & fix this

Just want to say thank you for this answer. I, too, just bought an 8 + and got the same error. A bit of panic to say the least. I ended up setting up the phone as a new phone, updated iOS, reconnected it to iTunes and the restore ran flawlessly...