I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 18.6. It has stopped doing automatic backups to iCloud. I have the 200 GB plan with plenty of storage space left. The phone is connected to power, locked, and WiFi turned on, but it doesn’t back up automatically. I noticed this a couple days ago, when it said it had been 2 weeks since the last backup. I tried a hard reset of the phone with no success. Any suggestions? Thanks.
iPhone 13 Pro Max, iOS 18
jla930 wrote: "...The Maximum Capacity is at 83%. I think it’s been hovering there for many weeks. The backups stopped about 2 weeks ago. It has the original battery."
Apple recommends having the battery replaced at around 80% – but bear in mind that Maximum Capacity % is an algorithmic estimate of a chemical process. If you want to rule out the aging battery as the cause, an Apple store can test it definitively:
(Article found by searching Apple's Knowledge Base.)
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jla930 wrote: "...The Maximum Capacity is at 83%. I think it’s been hovering there for many weeks. The backups stopped about 2 weeks ago. It has the original battery."
Apple recommends having the battery replaced at around 80% – but bear in mind that Maximum Capacity % is an algorithmic estimate of a chemical process. If you want to rule out the aging battery as the cause, an Apple store can test it definitively:
(Article found by searching Apple's Knowledge Base.)
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jla930 ~ As your iPhone 13 Pro Max could be almost 4 years old, it's worth checking for a weak, aging battery which can cause various issues. So...
Does your iPhone 13 Pro Max still have its original battery?
And what's the Maximum Capacity % here?...
Settings > Battery > Battery Health & Charging
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jla930 wrote: "...I had no idea that the Maximum Capacity of the battery could affect the automatic backups... "
I can only speculate that a weak, aging battery could affect backups — based on the battery's fundamental importance to all functions of an iPhone.
...Out of curiosity, I've since asked Claude AI HERE and it gave several reasons why a weak battery could affect iCloud backups. See for yourself with this question:
"Could a weak, aging iPhone battery cause automatic iCloud backups to fail?" " ... "Even though the iPhone is being charged?"
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@Alancito, I tried clicking the link you posted, but then nothing happened when I clicked the “Duck.ai” link. But I took your idea and asked ChatGPT, and it said backup failures can happen from a deteriorating battery. So I think I’ll head in that direction and get a new battery. Thanks for your time and assistance.
jla930 wrote: "...nothing happened when I clicked the “Duck.ai” link..."
That 'link' is not a link and distracted you from the text box below it. Anyway, you're welcome and, for completeness, I probably should have also linked to this:
If you can't back up to iCloud - Apple Support
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@Alancito, thanks for your reply. The Maximum Capacity is at 83%. I think it’s been hovering there for many weeks. The backups stopped about 2 weeks ago. It has the original battery.
@Alancito, thanks for the guidance. I had no idea that the Maximum Capacity of the battery could affect the automatic backups. That’s interesting. I will get it tested.
iPhone not backing up to iCloud
