How to backup iphone to mac without icloud preferably external hard drive?

Time machine is the best way to backup iphone to mac without icloud.

A simpler solution worked for me: I use a third-party backup utility that allows me to select an external drive right away. It's convenient, no need to dig through system folders, and copies can be easily transferred between Macs.

Using libimobiledevice is a great, free, and open-source way to help with how to backup iPhone to Mac—especially if you're comfortable with command-line tools. It provides a set of utilities that can communicate with your iPhone without needing iTunes, making it handy for advanced users who want more control over their backups.

How does it help with how to backup iPhone to Mac?

• You can use tools from libimobiledevice (like idevicebackup2) to create backups of your iPhone directly on your Mac.
• It’s especially useful if you want a free, open-source alternative to iTunes or want to automate backups via scripts.

Basic steps to use libimobiledevice for backup iPhone to Mac:

1. Install libimobiledevice on your Mac. You can do this using Homebrew:

brew install libimobiledevice

2. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable.

3. Trust your Mac on your iPhone if prompted.

4. Open Terminal and run:

idevicebackup2 backup ~/path/to/backup-folder

Replace ~/path/to/backup-folder with the location where you want to save your backup.

This command will create a full backup of your iPhone's data in the specified folder.

Do you know the "rsync over SSH" Method? This method treats your iPhone like a remote Unix server, using the secure copy protocol. It requires a jail broken iPhone.

How to backup iPhone to Mac:

1. On your jail broken iPhone, ensure OpenSSH is running and note its IP address on your local Wi-Fi network.

2. On your Mac, open Terminal.

Use the rsync command (a powerful, built-in Unix tool) to copy the entire /private/var/mobile/ directory (which contains all user data) to a folder on your Mac. A basic command would look like:

bash

rsync -avz -e ssh root@[iphone-ip-address]:/private/var/mobile/ ~/Desktop/iPhone_Backup/

4. This creates a raw, non-encrypted, but complete file-level copy of your user data partition.

It's a geeky, non-Apple method using the Mac's Unix backbone. It's not a restorable backup in the traditional sense, but a forensic disk image. About how to backup iPhone to Mac, for most users, the standard encrypted Finder/iTunes backup is superior, but for your quest into the obscure, these paths are valid and free.

Moving the backup folder to your external drive is a helpful method if you want to how to backup iPhone to Mac more efficiently and safely. Here's a simple explanation of how it works:

When you backup iPhone on Mac, the backup files are stored in a default location on your Mac's internal drive. If your internal storage is limited or you want to keep your backups organized, you can change the location of these backup files by moving them to an external drive.

Here's how to do it:

1. First, find the current backup folder on your Mac. Usually, it's located in ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/.

2. Next, copy the entire Backup folder to your external drive. This keeps all your backup data safe and organized outside your Mac’s internal storage.

3. Then, create a symbolic link (a kind of shortcut) from the original backup location to the new folder on your external drive. This way, when your Mac runs the backup process, it thinks it's saving to the default location, but actually, the data is stored on the external drive.

By doing this, how to backup iPhone to Mac becomes more flexible, especially if you want to save space or keep your backups on a different device.

How to backup iPhone to Mac? Follow these simple steps based on your macOS version:

For macOS Catalina (10.15) and later:

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac using a Lightning or USB-C cable.

2. Open Finder.

3. In the sidebar, locate your iPhone under Locations.

4. Click on your iPhone.

5. If prompted, Trust this computer on your iPhone and enter your passcode.

6. Under the General tab, select Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac.

7. (Optional) Check Encrypt local backup if you want to secure your backup with a password.

8. Click Back Up Now.

9. Wait for the backup to complete.

For macOS Mojave (10.14) or earlier, If you want to know how to backup iPhone to Mac:

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a cable.

2. Open iTunes.

3. Click on the device icon in iTunes.

4. Under the Summary tab, choose This Computer for the backup.

5. (Optional) Check Encrypt local backup.

6. Click Back Up Now.

7. Wait for the process to finish.

To perform a complete and secure backup of your iPhone to your Mac, utilising Finder's native backup feature is the most stable, free, and risk-free official solution. Requiring no third-party software, it supports full data backups with encryption protection, making it an essential step before changing devices or upgrading your system.

How to back up your iPhone to your Mac

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac using an Apple original or MFi-certified cable.

2. When the Trust This Computer prompt appears on your iPhone, tap Trust and enter your password. Likewise, when a similar prompt appears on your Mac, click Trust.

3. Open Finder and select your iPhone under ‘Locations’ in the left pane.

4. Navigate to the ‘General’ page and tick the box for ‘Back up all of the data on your iPhone to this Mac’.

5. Click Back Up Now to initiate the backup and await completion of the progress bar.

6. Upon completion, verify the ‘Latest Backup’ timestamp on the same page to confirm successful backup.

7. Backup files are stored by default on your Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/.

Important Notes:

• Before backing up, please use an official data cable, keep your iPhone unlocked, set an easy to remember encryption password, and ensure your Mac has sufficient storage space.

Finder backup is the most reliable and comprehensive official method for backing up your iPhone to a Mac. It offers straightforward operation and high security, suitable for all users prior to system upgrades, device replacement, or resets. By following the steps to connect, trust, back up, and verify, you can fully preserve all iPhone data and prevent accidental loss. Mastering how to backup iPhone to Mac effectively safeguards against data loss and is an essential foundational skill for every iPhone user.

Time Machine is mac's native system-level backup tool, capable not only of comprehensively safeguarding your entire Mac's data but also automatically incorporating local iPhone backups. It represents the most hassle-free and enduring solution for backing up your iPhone to your Mac. Set it up once for long-term automatic synchronisation, eliminating the need for repeated operations.

1. Prepare an external hard drive, format it to a Mac compatible format, and connect it to your Mac.

2. Open System Preferences on your Mac, locate and enter the Time Machine options.

3. Click “Add Backup Disk”, select the connected external hard drive, and confirm setting it as your Time Machine backup disk.

4. Enable Automatic Backups. Your Mac will automatically commence its first full-disk backup.

5. Ensure your iPhone has completed at least one local backup to your Mac via Finder.

6. Time Machine will subsequently update backups automatically at scheduled intervals. All new iPhone local backups will be synchronised to the external drive, completing the entire process of how to backup iPhone to Mac.

7. To restore data, access the Time Machine interface to retrieve Mac data and iPhone backup files from specific points in time.

Drawbacks

• The initial backup is extremely time-consuming, dependent on hard drive speed and data volume.

• Requires additional external storage hardware, incurring hardware costs.

• Cannot restore iPhone data independently; requires restoring the entire Mac system first.

Time Machine’s system-level automatic backup feature fully automates how to backup iphone to mac, making it the best solution for long-term users who value data security. As long as the external hard drive remains stable, it provides dual backup protection for both Mac and iPhone data, completely eliminating the risk of data loss.