iOS 10.3: How To Backup Your iPhone Before Update

Backup your iPhone.

Not only is it a good practice, especially for those of you who keep a bunch of photos, notes or anything else meaningful stored on your phone, it’s going to be vital to keeping all of your data after you update to iOS 10.3. The update doesn’t have an official release date yet but it’s expected soon as it’s already being tested in beta.

Read: How To Use The Magnifying Glass Feature On Your iPhone

Apple is changing the way data is stored. Currently the company uses HFS+ file formats, but they’ll be switching over to a new Apple File System with the new update. The Apple File System will be better than the outdated HFS+ but the catch is that the two formats aren’t compatible with one another, so they won’t be able to sync up.

Apple is more than likely working on a way to make your files convert to the new system seamlessly, but in the event that something doesn’t work the way it should, you want to have your data backed up.

You can either back up your phone by plugging it into your computer and backing it up in iTunes, or backing it up on iCloud.

How to backup your iPhone on iTunes:

Plug your phone into your laptop, or connect it wirelessly and open iTunes. There you will see your iPhone listed along the side bar menu. Click it and choose the backup option. Wait until it is completely done to disconnect.

How to backup your iPhone to iCloud:

Click “settings” and scroll down to iCloud and select it. Scroll down to “backup” and toggle the option to the “on” position. Apple gives you 5 GB of storage for free, and you can purchase more directly from Apple.