The best and cheapest way to prevent data loss from your iPhone is to make regular backups. As long as there are backups, then when disaster strikes, we can quickly retrieve the lost data without panic. Usually, we can choose to backup iPhone with iCloud or iTunes. Sometimes, however, we may need to backup iPhone to external hard drive.
Why backup iPhone to external hard drive?
On the one hand, the iTunes backup files can occupy a lot of storage space. iTunes will backup almost everything on your iPhone. Everytime an iTunes backup is created, a folder over 7 GB will be added to C drive. To free up space of computer, we can choose to backup iPhone to external hard drive.
On the other hand, we may lose iTunes backup files on computer. In order to free up storage space, we may accidentally delete the backup files. In addition, system crashes, virus invasion and other reasons may also cause the loss of backup files. So it’s necessary to have a copy on external hard drive.
The tool you will need to backup iPhone to external hard drive
Usually, the iTunes backup files are saved in C drive by default. iTunes does not offer the option to choose the backup destination. Although it’s possible to change iTunes backup location, the process is complicated. We should use Windows CMD to force iTunes to save the backup files to another location. But in fact, there’s one third-party backup tool can help you backup iPhone to external hard drive directly.
AOMEI MBackuper is one easy-to-use iPhone backup software for Windows 11, 10, 8, 7 PC. It provides many useful features to let you backup iPhone the way to want.
- Backup the Data You Need. You can choose to backup all content and settings at once or only selected files.
- Fast Speed. Compared with other iTunes, AOMEI MBackupper can help you to process a backup in a very short time.
- Incremental Backup. It allows you to backup newly added data, which helps save time and storage space.
What’s more, you can also preview and select the files before the restoration. And it will not erase any existing data on the device.
How to backup iPhone to external hard drive
Here in this part, I’ll show you how to backup iPhone to external hard drive via AOMEI MBackupper.
Way 1 . Backup all content and settings to external hard drive
If you want to backup entire iPhone like making an iTunes backup, then you can make it via the Full Backup feature of AOMEI MBackupper. It will backup photos, contacts, call history, text messages, memos, calendars, Safari (history, bookmarks), applications (data files, preference), system settings.
Step 1. Launch AOMEI MBackupper > Plug in your iPhone and external hard drive.
Step 2. On the home interface, choose Full Backup.
Step 3. Click Full Backup option on the next screen.
Step 4. If you want to backup private data such as Fitness records, Health and Keychain, please turn on the backup encryption.
Step 5. Choose the external hard drive as the destination and click Start Backup.
When you want to restore the backup, just click Full Restore option to make it.
Way 2. Backup selected files from iPhone to external hard drive
Below are the steps to backup selected files via AOMEI MBackupper. It can help you backup photos, music, videos, contacts and messages.
Step 1. Open AOMEI MBackupper > Connect iPhone and external hard drive to computer.
Step 2. On the home screen, choose Custom Backup option.
Step 3. Click an icon to preview iPhone data > Select the files you want to backup > Click OK to continue.
Step 4. Select the external hard drive and click Start Backup.
When the backup is complete, you can go to the Backup Management page to check and manage your backups.
Final words
That’s all about how to backup iPhone to external hard drive. With AOMEI MBackupper, you can easily backup entire iPhone or selected files. In fact, AOMEI MBackupper is also one iPhone data transfer tool. It can not only help you backup iPhone for free but can also help you transfer data between iPhone and computer & between iPhone and another iPhone/iPad. Don’t forget to give it a try!