How to back up iPhone photos to iCloud

Asya Karapetyan
Asya Karapetyan
Content marketer, who specializes in Mac how-to guides
August 21, 2024

For iPhone users, iCloud offers a seamless solution to back up photos, ensuring that even if the device is lost or damaged, the memories remain intact. In this article, we’ll cover how to back up your photos to iCloud, how to restore photos from iCloud, and explore alternative methods for backing up your iPhone photos.

back up iPhone photos

Contents:

  1. How to back up photos from iPhone to iCloud
  2. How to restore photos from iCloud
  3. Alternative ways of backing up photos from iPhone

Before we start

Every iPhone user has tons of similar pictures, but usually, we need only one or a couple of images in each series of photos. Since you’re going to back up your photos tp iCloud, we recommend first cleaning up useless duplicate pics from your iPhone. You can easily do this with a free application from Nektony called Phone Cleaner for Media Files.

Phone Cleaner will help you clean up similar photos and find the largest media files to free up space in your storage.

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How to back up photos from iPhone to iCloud

Before starting the process to upload photos to iCloud, ensure that iCloud is enabled. To do this, do the following:

  1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap on your name at the top to access Apple ID settings.
  3. Select iCloud.
  4. Make sure that iCloud Photos are toggled on. This option automatically uploads and stores your entire library in iCloud, allowing you to access photos and videos from all your devices.
iPhone screens showing how to turn on iCloud backups

Check your iCloud storage:

  • Open Settings → tap your Apple ID name → iCloud → tap Manage Storage or iCloud Storage.
  • Ensure you have enough space in your iCloud account. If necessary, you can upgrade your storage plan.
  • iCloud backups require a Wi-Fi connection. Ensure your device is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network.

Your photos will be backed up automatically when your iPhone is connected to Wi-Fi, plugged in, and locked. If you want to back up immediately, do the following:

  1. Go to Settings on your iPhone.
  2. Tap your name at the top of the screen.
  3. Select iCloud → iCloud Backup.
  4. Tap Back Up Now.
iPhone screens showing how to start backing up

How to restore specific photos from iCloud

Unfortunately, Apple doesn’t offer a way to directly restore specific photos from an iCloud backup to your iPhone. However, there are a couple of workarounds you can try. For example, you can download them from iCloud.com to your computer and send them to your iPhone. Here’s how:

  1. Open a web browser on your computer and go to iCloud.com.
  2. Sign in with your Apple ID.
  3. Click on the Photos section.
  4. Browse through your iCloud photos and select the ones you want to download.
  5. Click the Download button (a cloud with an arrow pointing down) to save the selected photos to your computer.
    6. Downloading photos from iCloud
  6. Transfer the downloaded photos to your iPhone. If you have a Mac, you can do this using AirDrop. If you have a Windows-based computer, use the USB cable to connect devices and export photos.

Alternative ways of backing up photos from iPhone

While iCloud is a popular choice for backing up photos from your iPhone, there are several other reliable alternatives. These methods ensure your photos are safely stored and easily accessible. Below are some alternative ways to back up photos from your iPhone.

Backing up iPhone photos to external hard drive

  1. Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable.
  2. Open the Photos app on your computer (Photos on Mac or Windows Photos on PC).
  3. Select the photos you want to back up.
  4. Choose the option to Import the photos.
  5. Once imported, copy the photos to your external hard drive.

Backing up iPhone photos to Google Photos

Google Photos offers a great alternative for backing up your iPhone photos. Here’s how to back up iPhone photos to Google Photos:

  1. Download Google Photos from the App Store on your iPhone.
  2. Open the app and sign in with your Google account.
  3. Enable Backup & Sync in the app settings to automatically upload photos from your iPhone to Google Photos.
    4. iPhone screens showing how to turn on backing up to Google Photos
  4. You can also selectively back up photos. For this, select the photos and tap on Back up at the bottom of the screen.
    5. Selectively backing up photos

If you want to ensure your photos are backed up, open Google Photos and check for the latest uploads.

How to stop Google Photos from backing up iPhone

  1. Open the Google Photos app.
  2. Tap on your profile picture or initials in the top right corner.
  3. Go to Photos settings → Backup & Sync.
  4. Toggle off Backup & Sync.

Conclusion

By following these methods, you can ensure that your photos are safely backed up and easily accessible. Whether you choose iCloud, an external hard drive, Google Photos, or another cloud service, the best way to back up photos from your iPhone depends on your personal preferences and needs.

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