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iPhone XS Max iCloud backup damaged, how to get a new backup?

E

Eagle1337

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 9, 2017
200
222
Denmark
hi all,

i have recently had issues sending a picture from photo app directly via sms. it works if i enable iMessage, but i dont want to use it.

However if i restore as new iphone, the functionality is back. Spoke to Apple Support and they suggested my iCloud backup has an error. then to the 1000$ question - how do i make a new backup which does not have this bug?

The backup has been "with me" since my first iphone 4 - then 5, then 6 plus, then i switched to android for one year, and then i bought a XS Max - however it seems the backup had issues resting one year, as it now has this send picture via sms issue.

But how do i correct this backup? is it even possible? if i start with new iphone (as i had to with the XS Max most likely due to the one year with android), it could only be started as new, but after a while it started to download pictures, contacts, notes and stuff from the account so i guess somehow restored the backup anyhow.

Please let me know if its possible to "start over" on icloud without losing all my game progress, contacts, notes, etc.

thanks guys,
soren
 
I'm not entirely sure if your problem is the backup or the restore. And if you would like to retain this backup for ... future purposes.
So this suggestion is a long shot. Would it help for you if you go to settings -> <your name> -> iCloud -> manage storage -> backups ->select backup, delete backup?
And then create a new backup from your phone. All your settings and information should be on your phone, including game progress. But I'm not sure.
 
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What I would try first is a reset all settings...
And it didn’t restore from backup if you got your contacts etc back.. if you signed into iCloud, it will download notes, pictures, contacts, calendars etc if it’s in your iCloud account.. it won’t restore game data etc. if you have iCloud Photo Library on. It’ll download those pictures or even iCloud messages..
 
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gigapocket1 said:
What I would try first is a reset all settings...
And it didn’t restore from backup if you got your contacts etc back.. if you signed into iCloud, it will download notes, pictures, contacts, calendars etc if it’s in your iCloud account.. it won’t restore game data etc. if you have iCloud Photo Library on. It’ll download those pictures or even iCloud messages..
Click to expand...

Thank you for taking time to reply

I tried to use the online backup when i turned on the new Max, but it could not see any backups available. you know it usually gives you a date you can chose to restore. But there were nothing when i setup the new Max. Hence i just typed in the apple account ID without restoring any backups from icloud, but it still over time managed to get my game data stored in Game Center. Hence i was under the impression it somehow in the background managed to get hold of the data afterall. Last week before i reached out to Apple Support, I reset the iPhone entirely (delete and restore backup). but it didnt change. Apple Support also said to reset all settings so we tried that as well with no luck sadly. Still i can only send a picture by inserting it in the text message, i cant chose to send it from camera / photo roll.
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page404 said:
I'm not entirely sure if your problem is the backup or the restore. And if you would like to retain this backup for ... future purposes.
So this suggestion is a long shot. Would it help for you if you go to settings -> <your name> -> iCloud -> manage storage -> backups ->select backup, delete backup?
And then create a new backup from your phone. All your settings and information should be on your phone, including game progress. But I'm not sure.
Click to expand...

I thought about that, but as the phone does not have that functionality after restoring the backup does it make sense to create a new? i mean, will it not just "backup the missing functionality" once again? However it would be a good try, it cant harm, i think i will give it a shot - thanks a lot
 
He’s correct. That will create a new backup without losing any data.
Just want to double check and make sure you have sms/mms messaging turned on under the messaging tab in settings.. if it is on. Maybe turn it off.. reset device.. and turn it back. Reset device. And see if that fixes the issue.
 
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If iCloud backup is corrupted there is technically no way to fix/tinker it as far as I know. If this option is critical for you, sync as much data as possible with iCloud, make an encrypted iTunes backup, back up data that is not saved in the backup with iTunes or in any other way, double-check that all important information is saved. After this, reset to factory settings and resync everything without restoring a backup. Now delete corrupted backup and make a fresh one.
 
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Minorite said:
If iCloud backup is corrupted there is technically no way to fix/tinker it as far as I know. If this option is critical for you, sync as much data as possible with iCloud, make an encrypted iTunes backup, back up data that is not saved in the backup with iTunes or in any other way, double-check that all important information is saved. After this, reset to factory settings and resync everything without restoring a backup. Now delete corrupted backup and make a fresh one.
Click to expand...

Hi Minorite,

appreciate your input here.

I have never done that before - so it means that i should enable as much icloud sync as possible, take a full backup via iTunes to my computer, and then reset the iPhone and "start as new" and then not go for backup but just let the iphone retrieve data from icloud? I assume the difference is that it will take longer compared to restoring a backup (which is totally ok in this case) and then delete the current icloud backup i have and make a new one?

So i guess what i want to ask is - the only difference from restoring a backup and to let the phone sync from icloud is that its faster to restore a backup, right? or what delta will i see by not using the backup. What about photos will they only reside on icloud and not in my photo folder anymore? might be a lame question, if so my apologies :)

thanks a lot for your suggestion, i think i will go with that one once i understand the process.
 
When you sync data from iCloud it's not restoring a backup, it's just restoring one particular set of data that is saved in the cloud. Almost the same like resyncing files from Dropbox or Google Drive (bad comparison but close enough). Reason for this is that backup includes iOS data and settings which seems to be corrupted in your case, so restoring a backup brings back the bug in question after resetting to factory as it restores settings.

Get additional storage for iCloud if you don't have it (I really doubt 5 GB will be enough), go to Settings > *tap Apple ID* > iCloud and enable switches for all data sets. After this, go to main messengers and check if they need any manual backups. Note that not everything can be saved to iCloud or iCloud Drive, be careful with important data (music, data in file managers, etc.).

iCloud syncs large data only when device is charging and on Wi-Fi, so better leave it charging overnight with a good Wi-Fi. Same after the reset.

Photos will resync to Camera Roll after the reset, same for other data.

Btw data synced with iCloud is not included in the iCloud backup. For example, if you use iCloud Photo Library backup won't include photos. Same for contacts, notes, etc.

p.s. You can use iMazing to restore apps from iTunes backup without restoring full backup (but better just make a backup with iMazing before the reset, it's still free). This feature is fully supported in free version.
 
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[doublepost=1548923711][/doublepost]
Minorite said:
When you sync data from iCloud it's not restoring a backup, it's just restoring one particular set of data that is saved in the cloud. Almost the same like resyncing files from Dropbox or Google Drive (bad comparison but close enough). Reason for this is that backup includes iOS data and settings which seems to be corrupted in your case, so restoring a backup brings back the bug in question after resetting to factory as it restores settings.
Click to expand...

Hi Minorite,

ran in to one last question before i will go ahead - the game center data - is it only stored in the backup, or is it also able to sync back from icloud without restoring a backup? i mean i have some games i have played a lot i dont want to lose the progress. is the progress also syncved to icloud, so that i would get my clash of clans, crs2 etc back after a while when it syncs again?

thank you,
soren
 
Last edited:
Never used it so better ask this as a separate question. From what I understand there should be an option to sync it with cloud (at least there's a switch for this).
 
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Minorite said:
Never used it so better ask this as a separate question. From what I understand there should be an option to sync it with cloud (at least there's a switch for this).
Click to expand...
Cool - ill just keep the backup on the pc and on icloud while checking. if its there, i can delete and make a new icloud backup.

thanks for the help Minorite, will let you know the outcome :)
 
Minorite said:
Thanks and good luck!
Click to expand...

Hi Minorite,

just wanted to share that it worked! Only thing i "lost" was the passwords collected for different sites and apps, and data in a few apps like sleep monitor. And of course i have to download my apps again. All that is really minor. All my game progress, notes, pictures, health data etc has synced without using the backup. Also sms content, etc. And the most important thing, I am able to send pictures via sms again directly from picture folder or camera.

Its so awesome. Ill delete my icloud backup and create a new one from this new dataset. Thanks a lot Minorite, have been struggling with this since i got the Max, your help is really appreciated.
 
Noo it was actually still an issue, its just because iMessage is enabled after a reset by default. When i disabled iMessage the issue came back. Spoke to Apple Engineer, they said its a known bug and that they are looking into a resolution in an upcoming IOS patch..

So - its apparently a known bug the senior apple engineer told me.. so have to have patience.
 
There’s possibly a way to fix a corrupted iCloud backup if you can not replace it with a new backup, and that’s to download a file viewer for iPhones. Some of those Mac apps allow you to log in to your iCloud account and select a backup there to download. After that you can selectively choose what you want to restore. It’s a little shady, but if the data there is really important than this might help.
 
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Eagle1337 said:
Noo it was actually still an issue, its just because iMessage is enabled after a reset by default. When i disabled iMessage the issue came back. Spoke to Apple Engineer, they said its a known bug and that they are looking into a resolution in an upcoming IOS patch..

So - its apparently a known bug the senior apple engineer told me.. so have to have patience.
Click to expand...
And Apple bugs, again... Good to hear you still have your backup though!
 
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