I think the internal logic is that their “backup” is a way to restore your phone in the event of a catastrophic loss (phone fell in a lake, fell out your 30th-floor window onto the pavement, etc.). From that point of view, and from the point of view that people could be cranky that they’re paying for storage twice for the same items, it makes sense. Anything that can be downloaded from the Internet can be re-downloaded in the new phone setup process.
Calling it a “backup” is where I take issue with it. This is both because it fails to cover a number of the standard use cases for backups, and because their security model makes it so difficult for third party software to handle it.
This is one of many situations where it would actually be nice for Apple to have some configuration available. A setting that tells the iPhone to back up everything, including cloud synced data, including app data, including app binaries, etc. would largely solve the problem.
Apple apparently doesn’t believe in real backups. They don’t provide a solution for the iPhone or iPad. And they don’t allow a third party to offer a true backup app either.
My brother who uses PCs for work/personal backs up his iPhone to his windows laptop via a USB-C cable.
But even with the USB-C cable, does he actually get access to all of the files? I know that via iTunes back in the day, a fair bit of stuff still got excluded.
Note all of the things that aren’t included, including Photos and anything that’s already stored in iCloud. It would appear that this isn’t any better than Apple’s default phone-based backup, except maybe if you’re encrypting the backup. Then you’ll get a few extra things.
It’s interesting that they note a backup isn’t the same as a sync, but then proceed to tell you they don’t back things a number of things that are only synced to iCloud.
Backups from your computer
A computer backup of your device, which is not the same as a sync, includes almost all of your device’s data and settings. A backup from a computer doesn’t include:
Content from the iTunes and App Stores, or PDFs downloaded directly to Apple Books
Content synced from your Mac or PC, like imported MP3s or CDs, videos, books, and photos
Data already synced and stored in iCloud, like iCloud Photos, iMessages, and text (SMS) and multimedia (MMS) messages
Face ID or Touch ID settings
Apple Pay information and settings
Apple Mail data
Activity, Health, and Keychain data (to back up this content, you’ll need to create an encrypted backup)
I’ve used iMazing in the past, mainly to export data, and the video/data on their website matches what I remember of the product. It’s similar to backing up to your Mac but much more versatile. It worked as advertised at that time.
Its licensing was tied to specific devices when I was a user and, as I recall, did not transfer when I replaced my iPhone, etc. It now appears to be a subscription.
I use iMazing to backup my iPad and iPhone and it works great I can review and look at old backups to recover files and more. I really like it enough to keep paying for a subscription.
Yes, I’m still using the (mobile, not Mac) device bound license and have a few free slots left, so I can still buy a new iPhone or iPad and use that license instead of the subscription.
I do currently use imazing to back up my iPhone and iPad, but I’m not sure (now) how complete that backup is (given the discussion in this topic).
This thread is super-helpful. I’ve switched to a trial of Arq and figure if it works I won’t renew my Backblaze license (which is conveniently up for renewal end of May).
Question: how can I tell that it is in fact backing up Dropbox and iCloud? And do I need to do anything in the app’s settings to ensure it does back up the cloud storage?
I did this to verify that Backblaze was NOT backing up my Documents folder after I turned on syncing of Documents and Desktop folders in macOS. I put a small markdown file in my Documents folder “Does backblaze backup this file on Documents.md”. I let the Backblaze backup run and verified that it did NOT back this up. I then signed up for Arq and let it backup my MacBook that has this same file. Then you can login to the Arq website and browse your files here: Arq Login
As you can see, Arq did backup the file that Backblaze could not.
If you encrypt your backup files in Arq they can’t be seen in the destination folder. You have to look in the Arq desktop application to see the backed up files.
So it’s not even consistent. It is most definitely backing up mine. I just found the most recent file in my Documents folder — 2nd April — and confirmed that Backblaze has the same version in the cloud.
I wonder if your exceptions are different, possibly on account of having installed Backblaze and then turning on syncing of D & D.
Echoing others – I did a test restore of my Arq to make sure it was snagging the files I wanted it to. I download all my files locally so I didn’t have to use the feature where it temporarily downloads my files.
SUPER happy with Arq! I have it running on both my and my wife’s computers without issue.
