There are different types of cell phones and they all have different methods of doing a backup. This article will cover how to back up your smartphone easily and effectively. The first thing to know is that not all cell phones sync with the same app, so you’ll want to pick the proper backup method for your specific needs.
The second thing to understand is that there are different ways you can back up your cell phone depending on its operating system, data type, and personal preferences. For example, if you don’t use cloud storage services, then Google Photos or iCloud Backup might not be the best choices for you. Backing up safely is imperative for protecting your phone from viruses and other malicious software or hardware attacks, such as SIM swaps.
What to Back Up
First, what should you back up? There are three different things you should be backing up on your phone:
- Contacts: The contacts section of your phone is where all the information about all the people and businesses you’ve saved on your phone’s address book lives. If you give someone your phone number, they can find you in the phone’s contact list, which is helpful in case you lose your phone.
- Call logs: Your call logs are an excellent resource for determining who called you and when.
- Text messages: With the introduction of different messaging apps, text messaging has gone down, but they are still very important. If you have sensitive text messages you’d like to save, you can use a third-party app like Evernote.
Types of Backups
The correct way to backup your phone’s data depend on your device’s operating system, data type, and personal preferences. The most common are as follows:
- Cloud storage: Cloud storage is the easiest and most convenient way to back up your phone’s data. Simply install a cloud storage app like Google Photos or iCloud Backup on your phone, and then make sure your device is connected to the internet. The app will automatically sync all your photos, videos, contacts, text messages, and other data to the cloud.
- External hard drive: If you want to back up your phone’s data to an external hard drive, you can buy a portable one for home. Connect it to your phone via your computer and transfer all your datat. When done, you can attach the external hard drive into your computer and transfer the data.
- USB cable: This option is only for backing up your phone’s data if you don’t want to plug in a drive or an external hard drive. Simply get a USB cable and plug one end into your phone’s port and another into a USB port on a computer.
- SD card: This option is best used if you want to back up your phone’s data but don't have an extra drive or external hard drive lying around. Just buy an SD card reader, plug it into a USB port, and then put your phone’s data file on the SD card.
Google Photos and Cloud Storage
Google Photos and Cloud Storage are great choices if you don’t have extensive data to back up and just need a simple and reliable backup option. It’s free to use, and the photos automatically go to the cloud. What makes it great is that you can access your photos from any device.
You can also choose to invite your friends who also use Google Photos and you can back up your photos together. The best part about it is that it’s free and doesn’t require using any cloud storage accounts. All you need is a Google account.
Android Backup and MTP (Media Transfer Protocol)
Android is the most widely used smartphone operating system, so it makes sense it would have the most reliable methods of backing up your phone. Android Backup and MTP are reliable and easy ways to back up your device’s data.
The Android Backup option is a built-in feature for every Android phone. You need to enable it and choose what you want to be backed up. For example, say you want to back up your text messages and call logs in the “Messages” and “Call Logs” sections of your Android phone’s settings, then enable Android Backup and select those two sections.
There are a few ways to do this, and the easiest is to use an app like CyberLink’s Media Transfer Protocol. MTP is a protocol on Android devices to transfer media such as photos, videos, and songs from your phone to your computer. It’s free, doesn’t require any setup, and just requires you to plug your phone into your computer. The app will automatically detect which data you want to transfer, and then you can navigate through the data interface on your computer.
Apple iCloud and Time Machine
If you’re into the Apple ecosystem and like using iCloud Backup, then you’re in luck. It’s the easiest and most reliable way to back up your phone’s data. What makes it great is that it’s free and doesn’t require you to open up any software. All you need to do is plug your phone into your iCloud-enabled computer and then wait for iCloud to back up your data. If you don’t want to use iCloud Backup, you can opt for the less reliable but still effective Time Machine. It’s a feature that comes with every Mac and is similar to iCloud Backup. All you need to do is choose which files you want to back up and then wait for it to back up. Both options are free, don’t require any software or settings to be enabled, and don’t require you to open up your phone.
Final Words
You’ve read about how to back up your cell phone, but what about actually doing it? This article gives you specific backup methods depending on your phone model, operating system, and data type. But before you do that, check your phone with a cellphone repair company for expert advice and guidance on a better option.