iCloud stores your music, photos, documents, and more and wirelessly pushes them to all your devices. Automatic, effortless, and seamless. iCloud automatically and securely stores your content so it’s always available to your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, or PC. It gives you access to your music, apps, latest photos, and more from whichever device you happen to be using. And it keeps your email, contacts, and calendars up to date across all your devices.
Sometimes you may encounter an issue with iCloud Backup. The table below contains alert messages you may encounter on your iOS device if you have an issue with iCloud Backup. This article focuses primarily on issues with creating backups; if you are having trouble restoring an iCloud backup.
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Troubleshooting specific alert messages
Note: If you have trouble remembering the text of any messages you receive, you might want to take a screenshot on your iOS device. You can take a screenshot in iOS by simultaneously pressing the Home and Lock buttons. The screenshot will then be saved to your Camera Roll or Photos collection.
| Backup Alert Message |
Explanation / Resolution |
| “Your iPhone will no longer back up to your computer automatically when you sync with iTunes.” | This is a standard message that occurs when you enable iCloud Backup. It means that automatic iTunes backups will no longer occur when you plug your iOS device into your computer via USB. You can still manually back up data via USB cable by right-clicking (or Control-clicking) the device in iTunes and choosing Back Up in the menu. |
| “You must be connected to a Wi-Fi network to start a backup.” | iCloud Backup requires a Wi-Fi connection to successfully back up to iCloud. Make sure your iOS device is able to connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi. |
| “This iPhone hasn’t been backed up. Backups happen when this iPhone is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi” | This is a status message advising that an iOS device has never completed a backup. Automatic backups occur when your iOS Device is plugged in, screen locked, and connected to Wi-Fi. |
| “This iPhone hasn’t been backed up in 2 weeks. Backups happen when this iPhone is plugged in, locked, and connected to Wi-Fi.” | This is a status message advising that an iOS device has not completed a backup in a specified number of weeks. The number of weeks varies with how many weeks have passed since the iOS device successfully backed up. Automatic backups occur when your device is plugged in, screen locked, and connected to Wi-Fi. |
| “Turn off Airplane Mode or use Wi-Fi to enable iCloud Backup.” | Airplane Mode can prevent your iOS device from connecting to the Internet. iCloud Backup requires a Wi-Fi connection to back up to iCloud. Make sure your iOS device is able to connect to the Internet over Wi-Fi. |
| “This iPhone is currently being restored and will automatically back up when it is done.” | A backup cannot occur while a background restore is occurring. This message indicates that the iOS device is still being restored in some manner, such as apps or songs are still downloading. Wait for the restore to complete before attempting a backup. |
| “This iPhone cannot be backed up because there is not enough iCloud storage available.” | This message is displayed when there is not enough storage space available in your iCloud Storage to complete your backup. Options are offered in the dialog to manage storage space. Alternatively, you can purchase more storage. If you received this message during a backup, or after recently being unable to complete other backups, you should examine and delete any incomplete backups. |
| “An additional 100 MB is required to back up this iPhone.” | This is displayed when the most recent backup attempt for your device does not complete. The amount used here, 100 MB, is an example, the actual number will vary in relation to how much additional storage is required to complete the Backup. When you actually receive the error, you will be provided an exact amount e.g. 150 MB, 20 MB, 1 GB. To resolve this error you should manage your existing Storage quota, clear off older backups, or purchase additional storage space. |
| “This iPhone has not been backed up recently because it has not finished being restored. Would you like to finish downloading any remaining purchases and media before backing up, or delete them along with any app data?” | Your iOS device has been trying to complete a restore for 3 days. This can occur if you are attempting to restore a very large or problematic data set and the restore has been interrupted due to network connectivity issues. Also this can occur when purchases and/or the Camera roll are unable to complete a restore. |
| “iCloud Backup is unable to access the account ‘benv@me.com’. Review your account information in Settings.” | iCloud is unable to authenticate the password for the account entered in iCloud Settings (benv@me.com is just used as an example here). This most commonly happens if you reset your password and have not updated it in iCloud Settings on your iOS device. This can also occur if authentication is failing for other reasons, such as being unable to connect to the iCloud authentication servers. |
| “This iPhone cannot back up to iCloud without a verified email address.” | This message occurs if you have an unverified iCloud account entered in iCloud Settings on your iOS device. To resolve this, check the email account your iCloud Apple ID is associated with. Verify you are using the correct address with the verification email sent to you by Apple. |
| “There was a problem enabling iCloud Backup.” | There are various reasons that this can occur. If you receive this alert, wait and try again later. If you receive a more specific alert message as well, make any required adjustments and try again. If you continue to receive this generic alert, contact iCloud Support for assistance. |
| “Backups for appname cannot be turned off at this time.” | This message occurs if enabling Backup for an app on your iOS device does not complete successfully. Wait a few minutes and then attempt to enable Backup for the app again. If you continue to receive this alert, contact iCloud Support for assistance. |
| “Backup Not Supported” | This message is displayed in Settings > iCloud > Backup under an app that is not being backed up to iCloud from your iOS device. An app-specific issue is preventing the backup from occurring. You may wish to contact the application’s vendor for more information, or contact iCloud Support. |