Before installing iOS 18, make a proper backup of your iPhone

If you own an iPhone starting with the iPhone XR, you’ll soon be able to install the latest version of iOS 18. In addition to announcing the new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models at its September event, Apple has marked September 16 — a Monday — as the official release day for iOS 18. That means it’s time to get your current phone ready, whether you’re updating its software or upgrading to the new iPhone 16. And for that, you need a good backup of your data.

But it’s not just any backup—you need a specific type of backup that will make your life easier in the unlikely event that you need to revert back to iOS 17. With this solid backup, you’ll feel more secure when taking advantage of new iOS 18 features like improved text messaging, improvements to Apple Maps, and iPhone-to-Mac mirroring in macOS Sequoia.

Why archiving is necessary before installing a new version of iOS

You’re probably used to using iCloud Backup to regularly back up your data. It runs in the background (while you’re sleeping and charging your device) and has the least backup friction, as long as you have enough space in your iCloud drive. Go to Settings > (Your Name) > iCloud > iCloud Backup and turn on Back up this iPhone if not active yet.

However, when it comes to downgrading to a full version of iOS, such as from iOS 17 to iOS 18, iCloud backup introduces a problem: You can’t restore from that cloud backup if you go back to iOS 17. And unfortunately, iCloud only keeps the most recent backup — you can’t choose from previous iterations of backups. If you try to use an iOS 18 cloud backup to restore back to iOS 17, you’ll get an error. (Creating a backup is also an important step when installing the iOS beta.)

Therefore, you need to make a backup copy on your computer.

Is it worth encrypting your local backup?

Before you create this backup, you should decide whether you want to enable one of the options, Encrypt local backup. For security purposes, this feature encrypts your data to prevent someone who has access to your computer from accessing it. This option also keeps sensitive information in a backup, such as saved passwords and personal data in the Health and Fitness apps.

The downside is that it requires you to create a separate password for your backup. If you forget or lose that password, the entire backup will be useless. So you should save that password somewhere you can easily recover it from. In the context of backing up iOS 17 as a backup for installing the iOS 18 beta, you’ll have to decide if that’s an acceptable trade-off.

Create a local iPhone backup on your Mac

To perform this type of backup, all you need is some disk space and a little patience:

1. Connect your iPhone to your Mac.
2. Open a new Finder window (select File > New Finder Windowor press Command-N).
3. In the sidebar on the left, select your iPhone Locations.
4. If you want to encrypt your data, click Encrypt local backup select the checkbox and set a password.
5. On the General tab, click Back up now.
6. Crash Manage backups.
7. Right-click (or Control-click) the backup you created and select Archives.

Marking a backup as an archive prevents it from being overwritten by another local backup or automatically deleted if your Mac runs out of space.

Create a local iPhone backup on Windows

The iTunes app is still the main channel for working with a connected iPhone on Windows. Open iTunes and do the following:

1. Connect your iPhone to your Windows computer.
2. In iTunes, click iPhone button in the upper left corner.
3. Crash Abstract.
4. If you want to encrypt your data, click Encrypt local backup option and set a password.
5. Crash Back up now.
6. Crash Manage backups.
7. Right-click on the backup you created and select ArchivesTaking this extra step protects your backup from being overwritten by another local backup or automatically deleted if your computer is low on space.

Once you have created a backup, you can start using the iOS 18 beta with the confidence that if you ever need to revert back to iOS 17, you’ll be able to get your iPhone back up and running quickly.