How to Fix “iTunes Could Not Backup iPhone” Error Message

Regular backups of iPhone 6, iPad Air, or other idevices with iTunes may run into an error with iTunes displaying the message that it is not capable of backing up the iOS device. You may experience errors when backing up manually all your data to your computer or Mac with iTunes. Error message appears such as “iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the iPhone disconnected” even when your device is connected to the computer, you did not jailbreak your iPhone, and you are using the original USB cable. Sometimes you couldn’t backup the iPhone because an Error occured.

Here are some solutions on how to fix the problem: for iOS 9.2, iOS 9.0

Solution 1: Restart your iPhone and make sure that your device is disconnected from your computer without any USB cable attached when you do it. Once you are done, try to reconnect your device to computer and back up again.

Solution 2: Reset your Device. Back up your entire phone’s data to iCloud. Go to Settings App, choose Reset then Reset Network Settings.

Resetting your network data will not delete any of your apps and games. It only deletes connection details such as WiFi passwords and details of cellular data. When you are finished, reconnect your device to iTunes.

Solution 3: Disable temporarily your WIFI syncing option in iTunes. Just open iTunes while your device is connected to PC or MAC, go to Summary and uncheck the “Sync with this device over WiFi” option.

Solution 4: Erase your old iTunes back up. You can rename or save the old backup so iTunes can start accepting the latest backup.

For PC:  C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup. USERNAME is the name that you are using when logging in. For my username(simon), you have to change “username” to your own username for it to work.

For Mac:  Launch finder and choose Go to folder in Go menu. Paste ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ into the form.

Copy your files and move it to different folder on your Mac or PC, then restart iTunes and try backing up again.

Solution 5: Change your USB cable from USB 2.0 to USB 3.0. This is for people who are using a device between iPhone and computer, or those who are not using original cables. Remove any connector or hub which is used in between and directly connect your device to the computer.

Solution 6: Restore your current backup in iTunes. Plug your device to your Mac or PC. Launch iTunes and click Restore button. This solution will delete your new apps and games that were not backed up but will restore your device from an old back up.

Common iTunes Restore Error Message on backup :

Because the backup was corrupt or not compatible
Could not restore the iphone because the backup session failed
Could not restore the iphone because the backup session failed
Could not restore the iphone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible
Could not restore the iphone because the password was incorrect
Could not restore the iphone because the iphone disconnected
Could not restore the iphone because not enough free space is available
itunes could not restore the iphone because it is locked with a passcode

Common Fixes to Not Being able to Backup

-Are you running the latest version of iTunes?

Click on Help on iTunes Menu-Check Latest Version

Method #2 on Common itune fixes

In iTunes click on Help -> Diagnostics -> check do you have Network Connectiviy Issues, Device Connectivity tests & Device Sync Tests

One of the most common problems with not being able to backup is storage space. Do you have enough free space in your computer and iCloud? If you don’t have enough space the backup will always fail.