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Where Are iPhone Backups Stored on My Computer?

By: Kelly Heffner Wilkerson
October 10, 2018 at 04:15 PM

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You may need to access the files for your iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch backups on your computer in order to delete or rename them.

Each backup of a device is typically named by the unique device identifier (UDID). You can find your device's UDID by clicking on the Serial Number field in iTunes (which will switch it to your device identifier.) Some folders will have a date/time stamp after the UDID as well.

If you're using an iPhone XS or XS Max, iTunes won't show you your UDID, so you'll need to use one of our other methods to get your UDID on Windows and Mac here.

macOS

On a Mac your backups are in /Users/your username/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup.

Open Finder, and select the “Go” menu at the top of the screen. Hold the Option key, and select the “Library” menu option from the Go menu. (On OSX Lion and above, Library will only appear with the Option key held.)
From Library, navigate to Application Support -> MobileSync -> Backup.

Windows

On Windows, your backups are stored in *your user account data folder*\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup. The user account data location varies for different versions and configurations of Windows.

Windows 8 and 10: In the Windows search bar type %appdata% (with the percents) and press return/enter. A file browser window will open to the Application Data folder.
Windows 7, Vista, XP: From the start menu, select Run. In the run box, type %appdata% (with the percents) and press return/enter. A file browser window will open to the Application Data folder.
From there, navigate to Apple Computer -> MobileSync -> Backup.

Update May 18, 2018: There is now a version of iTunes available in the Microsoft Store as well as from the Apple website. If you installed iTunes from the Microsoft Store for Windows 10, then your backups are stored in a slightly different location.

Windows 10 (iTunes from the Microsoft Store)

In the Windows search bar paste %userprofile%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup and press return/enter. A file browser window will open to the iTunes backups folder.

I'd be remiss if I didn't say: Make sure you know what you're doing before you muck around in your iTunes backups :)

Write A Comment

Irene Stern Friedman
October 10, 2022
I got a new iPhone 14. I have an M1 iMac. I backed up the phone to the Mac. When I go to the ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/ folder I see one file with a string of numbers as the name. IO thought it would xsay iPhone backup or something more meaningful. Please tell me why.
- Kelly HW
  October 10, 2022
  Hi Irene,
  The iPhone backups are named by their UDID (Unique Device Identifier) rather than a device name or description (that could be the same for multiple iPhones).
  https://deciphertools.com/b...
Paridhi
August 8, 2022
Hello, my wifi is greyed out. Bluetooth isn't working. I have tried to switch on and off, toggle airplane mode on and off, and update the software through my laptop, I am scared to give it for a hardware repair. Any suggestions? Also should I factory reset, will it help?
- Kelly HW
  August 8, 2022
  You can try making a backup and then factory resetting before you send it off for repair to see if it fixes the issue. If it doesn't, then that should mean it's a hardware issue and you're doing the right thing! :)
S Chiu
February 2, 2020
Hi Kelly,
Hope you can help me with my situation. For the oddest reason I cannot seem to find the correct password for my iPhone backup on my Mac. And due to another unfortunate incident, I had to restore my iPhone before I can do a last backup at all The only backup on my Mac is my only hope is there a way to go around the encrypted password to restore my phone? Thank you for your time!
- Kelly HW
  February 2, 2020
  Hi S Chiu!
  I keep a list of my "backup password tricks" here https://deciphertools.com/s... including the instructions for looking up passwords in your keychain manager. I hope one of them helps!
Mike Henry
September 9, 2019
Kelly -- I have the issue that Ivy describes-- my backup was not reflected in Itunes but originally found in the %appdata% file, however, the apple adviser could not solve the issue (allow the file be accessed). Upon a follow up conversation with Apple, the adviser had me uninstall Itunes and reinstall. This, as you mention, moved the backup files to the other directory, %userprofile%, etc. My question is how do I get Itunes to recognize this file so I can access to restore my phone? Thx
- Kelly HW
  September 9, 2019
  Hi Mike,
  Is the backup still in the %appdata%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup folder, or did it move to the %userprofile% folder?
  If it moved to %userprofile%, but still isn't being picked up by iTunes, you could use the free version of Decipher Backup Repair https://deciphertools.com/d... or Decipher Backup Browser https://deciphertools.com/d... just to see if the free trial versions of the programs can see the backups properly.
Ivy
March 3, 2019
Hi Kelly, thank you for the above, I have a quick question. I have a
backup stored in Windows 10, I can see it on my harddrive based on the
information you provided above. However I do not see it on my Itunes
account. I havent been able to connect my backup file on my computer
hard drive with Itunes. If i backup my iphone it creates a new link
between Itunes & Mobilesync/backup but there isn't a way to restore
the older back up (which has 2016-2018 photos/information) vs the newly
created back up which has march 2019 only. Ive tried deleting the new
backup march2019. but Itunes cannot locate the old back up which is just
sitting there *your user account data folder*\Application Data\Apple
Computer\MobileSync\Backup
Do you know how to connect
Itunes with a backup that is stored under the following, *your user
account data folder*\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
Thanks for the help
- Kelly HW
  March 3, 2019
  Hi Ivy,
  I've definitely seen this when iTunes is uninstalled, and then reinstalled from the Windows 10 Microsoft Store. The old backup is still at the old location %appdata%\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup but the new iTunes will only show you what's in the new location %userprofile%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup.
  Close iTunes. Rename that folder inside of %appdata%\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup from the long pile of letters and numbers for the device identifier to something like "2018 older backup" and then move it into the new location %userprofile%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup. Don't rename anything inside of that folder (like the two letter folders or the plist files), but renaming the long string of letters and numbers to something more memorable is fine to do and good to make sure it's not overwritten if you're using the same iPhone still. :) Then after the move finishes, reopen iTunes and the backup should show up now.
jeric23
December 12, 2018
Thank u Kelly. This is the best answer was i looking for. Very informative and easy to understand.
- Kelly HW
  December 12, 2018
  Thank you for the comment and the kind words Jeric! Happy New Year!
AnnFairfax
December 12, 2018
I have a new phone and want to restore the data from my old phone onto it. But, I had to reinstall Itunes, and now it says the phone has never been backed up. I found the backup file on my computer, but how do I make it visible in itunes so I can put it on my new phone?
- Kelly HW
  December 12, 2018
  Hi Ann,
  Are you on Windows 10 by chance? (If not, what operating system are you running?) My hunch is that the original backup was made on iTunes downloaded directly from Apple, but now you're running iTunes from the Microsoft Windows 10 store (or the reverse). In which case, we may have to manually move your backups from %appdata%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup to %userprofile%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup (or the reverse) if you have both folders. Do you remember where you installed iTunes from (downloading from the Apple website or Microsoft Windows 10 Store) when you just reinstalled it?
ASHOK GOYAL
June 6, 2018
my iphone is blocked by ur system because i have put a password with my finger to lock it
not to be used by my grand son
when i was not at home my grand son who is about 7 tryied with other password so many times to unlock my i phone 6 +
but got blocked
pls let me know how to un block it
i have also purchase i cloud storage 50 gb
i have itunes user id and password
thanks
ashok goyal
- Decipher Tools Software
  June 6, 2018
  Decipher TextMessage won't ever block your phone. ;-) If you chose to encrypt your phone via iTunes in the past with a password, you would need to know the password to un-encrypt the backup. We have info on that in our FAQ should it help: https://deciphertools.com/s...

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