why do i need to use wifi for backing up my iphone or ipad? why does apple care? i pay for unlimited data so see it as pointless having internet at my house. so i need to use an unsecured hotel or coffee shop wifi to backup?

If you own a computer, there is always backing up to iTunes on a computer.

There are other “cloud”, offsite data storage service to store your app data to, like DropBox, BOX, Google Drive, and other offsite services to store data to.

I use iTunes, DropBox for documents and photos/images. Flickr to have duplicate backup of all my iOS device photos/images.

I use a computer and special, wireless mobile hard drives and flash memory drives to store all of my large file size videos and movies.

There are workarounds and other services/ways to put your iPad data elsewhere online.

If everybody is allowed to back up, or update iphones, or ipads over cellular it will tie up cell service for all wireless carriers.

Hi

Just take ipad to a friends house or Cafe.

I use a mifi Mobile router it can run up to 10 devices at once works with any data simcard.

Cheers

Brian 🇬-1F1E7;

This is a user helping other users with tech questions you are not addressing apple here

we users have no idea why apple limit 150MB download or uploads over cellular

one can speculate that around the world it could result in a huge cell bill

advice them to change their ways using their feedback channel Product Feedback - Apple

ward288 wrote:

Should be an option not forced to use it. I have unlimited data and when I did wastefully pay for internet my cell providers service was faster then my WiFi. I already called Apple. Basically I need to use a public WiFi to back up, real smart. Another reason to drop Apple.

If something doesn’t meet your needs, wishes, desires, expectations or assumptions, then you should look for something else. That’s the whole point of choice in consumer products and services. No one product or service will ever satisfy everyone.

If you think anyone here cares whether you use, or don’t use an Apple product (or any other product), you’re sadly mistaken.

ward288 wrote:

And again I don’t have internet because it’s redundent. I mirror my iPad to my television why pay $80 a month for what is basically another cell plan.

As you've discovered, it's not completely redundant. There are things you can't do without it. You may wish Apple operated differently but they don't. Maybe they will change eventually; maybe they won't. Meanwhile, you'll need to deal with things as they are.

ward288 wrote:

Another reason to drop Apple.

You should always buy the tool that best meets your needs.

ward288 wrote:

Either way Apple will probably slow my phone down because my battery is old

Then get a new battery while they're only $29.

Unlimited data with most carriers is speed restricted to well below the maximum speed for cellular data. For example, AT&T limits unlimited data to 3 Mbits/sec, or 0.3 MBytes/second. Consider now a typical 3 GB iCloud backup. That will take 170 minutes (almost 3 hours) over your cellular connection, and anything that causes even a momentary interruption will require it to start over. Even if you can get the maximum, which is typically 10 Mbps, it will still take over an hour. Public Wi-Fi would even be slower in most cases.