I am using Apple Devices backup my iPhone to my windows 11 computers.
The question is : How can I tell whether a backup is archived or not?
Thank you
[Re-Titled by Moderator]
Original Title: Windows 11 iPhone backup with Apple Devices
iPhone 16 Pro, iOS 18
On both macOS (Finder) and Windows (iTunes), iPhone backups are overwritten by default when you make a new one. If you want to preserve a specific backup so it doesn’t get replaced, you must manually archive it:
macOS Mojave or earlier / Windows (iTunes):
Once archived, macOS/Windows adds the backup date to the name and it will never be overwritten by future backups. You’d have to unarchive or delete it manually if you no longer want it.
The pic below is self-explanatory
How to create Multiple Backups for the same device.
If you made an Archived backup, you would remember it, since it must be done manually. You would have done this prior to installing the beta software.
If you don't remember making an Archived backup, then you don't have an Archived backup and any previous backups that you made have been overridden by new backups of iOS 26.
Nguyen35 wrote:
I am not referring to iTunes but to Apple Devices.
Ah, I'm not familiar with its options. The new suite of apps is not a viable substitute for iTunes in my opinion. I've tested Apple Music on several occasions. Never got far enough to try installing Devices for syncing or backup. In iTunes a restored backup would show with the date what it was restored, and new backups for that device would get a fresh rolling backup.
tt2
From what I gather (I cannot verify the information), you will see multiple backups in the Apple Devices application with the same device name (iPhone 16 Pro, in your case) but a different date in the 2nd column, when you create an archive.
You could verify this by archiving the same backup twice and see if you get 2 new backups in the list, each with slightly different dates/times.
On a Mac......
Open Finder
Select the iPhone from the list of devices on the left panel
Click Manage Backups
If you have an Archived Backup......you will see 2 backup files for your iPhone
If you have an Archived Backup, the date of the backup will be displayed. This file will not be overwritten by new backups
If you have a regular backup, the date of the last backup is displayed. This file will be overwritten with subsequent backups
I don't have a PC here to test the Devices application, but it appears to be similar to the Finder application.
Hello,
Since the backups are essential for saving all our data, I tried to understand the working of it in particular with the archiving it to to prevent it from overwritten.
I've conducted some tests and arrived at the conclusion:
The only way to know if the latest backup has been archived or not is to observe the next backup operation.
If the precedent backup has been archived the following backup will take a lenghty time since it is making a backup from scratch; if the precedent backup has not been archived, the following backup will zip thru since it will be an incremental one.
Now I have the rest of mind when dealing with backup and archive.
Thank you everyone.
iTunes for Windows doesn't have a manual archive option. See Archive iPhone backup in Windows - Apple Community for more.
tt2
I am not referring to iTunes but to Apple Devices.
Yes I remember clicking on “Archive” when I right click on the backup. But what I would like to see is some confirmation that the order has been taken care of.
How can I check if my iPhone backup on Windows 11 is archived?
