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I had a similar problem caused by a partial backup stored in iCloud. I deleted all iCloud backups and things were fine after that.

Issue is, we don't have anything to delete. Everything already has been deleted.
 
Alright so here is an unfortunate update. I did not turn off or delete my backup on my 6s, but it is now refusing to backup to iCloud. Something is definitely wrong with the server side of iCloud backup.
 
Same here.



As a side effect, setup doesn't allow me to turn off the backup functionality for certain apps on my iPad. So i doubt it's only and outbound (server) problem.


I have exactly the same problem as described here. Can't backup. Cannot choose which apps get to backup and if I switch off backup it will not let me toggle it back on without signing out and back in again.

I deleted all my iCloud backups which may have led to this situation or been part of the cause.

My iPad restored and set up as new had the same issue. Backs up fine if I create a new account for iCloud so my suspicion is as a few are alluding to, I think it's messed up on the server side.

Is there a way to raise this with Apple without going into a store or calling them? I don't want to waste my time if they don't have a fix but it's important they are aware how many users are having this issue.
 
I have exactly the same problem as described here. Can't backup. Cannot choose which apps get to backup and if I switch off backup it will not let me toggle it back on without signing out and back in again.

I deleted all my iCloud backups which may have led to this situation or been part of the cause.

My iPad restored and set up as new had the same issue. Backs up fine if I create a new account for iCloud so my suspicion is as a few are alluding to, I think it's messed up on the server side.

Is there a way to raise this with Apple without going into a store or calling them? I don't want to waste my time if they don't have a fix but it's important they are aware how many users are having this issue.
Someone posted Apple is aware of this issue. Until a solution is found I'm just fine backing up my iPhone 6s and iPad 3 to itunes (encrypted backup). Everything else besides this is working for me in iCloud.
 
This thread reads like the blind men describing the elephant. Our descriptions cover several different aspects of the current iCloud backup issue(s). In the end, the iCloud backup issue(s) may boil down to a single flaw. Or it may turn out to be many different flaws that require specific configurations and usage patterns to produce the issue(s).

FWIW the problem with our iPhones (that I reported in post #57 of this thread), where the automatic iCloud “Backup failed: Saving asset failed at path "/var/tmp/tmp.28.PW5Gne" or some other location, has not happened since I updated them to iOS 9.2.1. Specifically -- I’ve had two clean backups of both iPhones since updating them to iOS 9.2.1. But the iCloud backup problem with our iPad Mini, where the automatic backup of “Usage calculated successfully: 34.5 MB” fails with the error “Backup failed: Error saving record <blah blah> to server: Quota exceeded “ even though the iCloud System Pref reports over 3GB available, has not changed after updating to iOS 9.2.1. YMMV.

Lastly: If you are not monitoring the console log of your iDevice (using the free Apple Configurator 2 OS X app) when you are having problems (e.g. changing settings, backing up, etc.), you are missing out seeing what is actually going on and having the smoking gun to send to Apple Support.

—GetRealBro

Edit: You can ignore my suggestion that the iOS 9.2.1 update might be a possible solution to the backup problems. My iPhone 6s took 3 attempts to complete its backup this afternoon (1/25/16). I'll post details separately later.
 
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This thread reads like the blind men describing the elephant. Our descriptions cover several different aspects of the current iCloud backup issue(s). In the end, the iCloud backup issue(s) may boil down to a single flaw. Or it may turn out to be many different flaws that require specific configurations and usage patterns to produce the issue(s).

FWIW the problem with our iPhones (that I reported in post #57 of this thread), where the automatic iCloud “Backup failed: Saving asset failed at path "/var/tmp/tmp.28.PW5Gne" or some other location, has not happened since I updated them to iOS 9.2.1. Specifically -- I’ve had two clean backups of both iPhones since updating them to iOS 9.2.1. But the iCloud backup problem with our iPad Mini, where the automatic backup of “Usage calculated successfully: 34.5 MB” fails with the error “Backup failed: Error saving record <blah blah> to server: Quota exceeded “ even though the iCloud System Pref reports over 3GB available, has not changed after updating to iOS 9.2.1. YMMV.

Lastly: If you are not monitoring the console log of your iDevice (using the free Apple Configurator 2 OS X app) when you are having problems (e.g. changing settings, backing up, etc.), you are missing out seeing what is actually going on and having the smoking gun to send to Apple Support.

—GetRealBro

I already sent log to Apple Support, it is server/ios related issue.
If you don't believe it, delete your backup in iCloud, and try start backup again.
Already have case open with 2nd level support, they agreed there is no reason they know does not allow delete iCloud backup from iOS/OSX, and start new backup in iCloud. In fact, they "recommend" do that at least every time change device.

Sounds like you are part of Apple Support know the exact issue/caause, or you already open case with similar issue we seen, because if you are not neither, are you as same as blind as us?
Maybe you are smarter, but as blind?
 
....Sounds like you are part of Apple Support know the exact issue/cause, or you already open case with similar issue we seen, because if you are not neither, are you as same as blind as us?
Maybe you are smarter, but as blind?
I’m not with Apple. But I have been working with 2nd level Apple Support, as I posted much earlier in this thread.

My iCloud backup problems date back to just after I got my iPhone 6s (on launch day) and upgraded our iPhone 5s and iPad Mini to iOS 9. Last fall, I was truly blind about these iCloud backup issues. But over the last month, I’ve learned from others and taught myself a lot about how iCloud backups work and how they fail. I still have a lot to learn/understand.

FWIW I found out about the Apple Configurator 2 app from a post in this thread. Since then I have kept our iDevices from backing up until I am able to monitor the process and capture the console log. These logs have been very helpful to see the pattern of failed backups vs successful ones.

Today I am building packets of console logs, screen dumps, and graphs of my Airport upload traffic that I will send to Apple Support/Engineering tomorrow. These packets will document both failures and successes on our iPhone 6s, 5s and iPad Mini.

—GetRealBro
 
why oh why doesn't someone make an app that warns you that a backup has failed _immediately after the failure_ and gives you a timestamp of all previous backups?

I mentioned this last autumn on the app developer section.

Backups are so crucial, incredible people find out as much as a month (like me) later that their iPhone hasn't backed up!!

beggars belief actually this is allowed to happen in 2016.
 
I’m not with Apple. But I have been working with 2nd level Apple Support, as I posted much earlier in this thread.

My iCloud backup problems date back to just after I got my iPhone 6s (on launch day) and upgraded our iPhone 5s and iPad Mini to iOS 9. Last fall, I was truly blind about these iCloud backup issues. But over the last month, I’ve learned from others and taught myself a lot about how iCloud backups work and how they fail. I still have a lot to learn/understand.

FWIW I found out about the Apple Configurator 2 app from a post in this thread. Since then I have kept our iDevices from backing up until I am able to monitor the process and capture the console log. These logs have been very helpful to see the pattern of failed backups vs successful ones.

Today I am building packets of console logs, screen dumps, and graphs of my Airport upload traffic that I will send to Apple Support/Engineering tomorrow. These packets will document both failures and successes on our iPhone 6s, 5s and iPad Mini.

—GetRealBro

No one should have to do any of these, it is Apple product, not MS, regardless you have 20 years of IT/Server/cloud knowledge or not. Most important, backup feature is THE (can't be more CAPITAL), most important feature in iCloud.

Apple need to fix it, I should be able to delete my backup 1,000,000 times if I like, and still be able to backup as long as it is within 5GB or purchased size limit, and continue make it as easy for 90+ year old grandma or 5 years old kid as always since day one of iPhone. They should not have to worry about not able to backup, and no one should have to required a Mac or PC for backup, and should not required any data loggin, IT, cloud, server knowledge.
It is part of feature since beginning of iCloud. Yes, one could live with ONLY iPhone without Mac/PC/iPad.....

It is nice to be smart, but this is Apple product, you don't need to be smart to use it.

Added: For anyone work for Apple if you are reading this post, please sit back and think about what make Apple "APPLE!!!!!". It is about user "FRIENDLY!!!!", capital with big smile for 90 years old grandma and 5 years old kid, specially when they don't have to call Apple support and try to supply 2nd level support their "log" file. Come on, Apple!
 
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No one should have to do any of these, it is Apple product, not MS, regardless you have 20 years of IT/Server/cloud knowledge or not. Most important, backup feature is THE (can't be more CAPITAL), most important feature in iCloud....
I absolutely agree!

What I should have done, when the iCloud backups began failing, was to just turn them off and rely on the encrypted backups iTunes backups I was already doing. But I got curious and began to diagnose/document the issue to see if it was really a “personal problem” or something more general. The more I learned about iCloud backups the more curious I became.

So I’ll be providing Apple with the diagnostics I had already made for myself: console logs, screen dumps, traffic logs/graphs etc.. And if they help Apple fix whatever is wrong with iCloud backups, it may make me feel that all the time I’ve invested was not wasted.

—GetRealBro
[doublepost=1453698878][/doublepost]
why oh why doesn't someone make an app that warns you that a backup has failed _immediately after the failure_ and gives you a timestamp of all previous backups?....
I got this pop-up on our iPad this evening.

.
BackupsHappen.png


Unfortunately for many of us, Backups do NOT happen -- full stop :(

---GetRealBro
 
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I absolutely agree!

What I should have done, when the iCloud backups began failing, was to just turn them off and rely on the encrypted backups iTunes backups I was already doing. But I got curious and began to diagnose/document the issue to see if it was really a “personal problem” or something more general. The more I learned about iCloud backups the more curious I became.

So I’ll be providing Apple with the diagnostics I had already made for myself: console logs, screen dumps, traffic logs/graphs etc.. And if they help Apple fix whatever is wrong with iCloud backups, it may make me feel that all the time I’ve invested was not wasted.

—GetRealBro
[doublepost=1453698878][/doublepost]I got this pop-up on our iPad this evening.

.View attachment 612314

Unfortunately for many of us, Backups do NOT happen -- full stop :(

---GetRealBro

but it should inform you staight away if backup failed or if backed up not done within a certain time frame i.e. 24 or 48 hours.

Cheers
 
but it should inform you staight away if backup failed or if backed up not done within a certain time frame i.e. 24 or 48 hours.

Cheers
Sorry. I meant that post as sarcasm. The iPad finally warned me several weeks after the problem began. And worse yet, the warning implied that the only reason my iPad had not backed for weeks was my fault for not plugging it in while connected to Wi-Fi with the screen locked :0

I guess it hadn't noticed that I've been capturing console logs of its iCloud backup failures for the last several days :)

---GetRealBro
 
Sorry. I meant that post as sarcasm. The iPad finally warned me several weeks after the problem began. And worse yet, the warning implied that the only reason my iPad had not backed for weeks was my fault for not plugging it in while connected to Wi-Fi with the screen locked :0

I guess it hadn't noticed that I've been capturing console logs of its iCloud backup failures for the last several days :)

---GetRealBro
[doublepost=1453785608][/doublepost]Have the same issue since the last update, my ipad backs up to the cloud, 6s plus does not. Called Apple, got to senior tech who said Apple is aware of this. They think it is a server issue (think), and plan is 9.3 fix. Strange, by daughters 6s updates to icloud no issues. My icloud backup will not turn on. I also did a restore, then setup as a new phone still not back up. Still will not turn on. I have never been saved by the cloud. I always seem to restore from itunes, that seems to always work. Icloud was never good for me when it came time to restore.
 
What’s wrong with this picture?
IMG_1569.jpg


How can a Backup which is only 209MB in size include the 618MB of data in GeoViewer? Not to mention the 88.8 MB in GoodReader, etc..

I was pretty pleased that our iPhone 6s and 5s were automatically backing up to iCloud for the last few days, until I realized that all of the data that I had chosen to backup (green toggles) could not have been backed up.

When I unchecked and rechecked the big three (GeoViewer, GoodReader and LightRoom) the next backup size went from 47.2 MB to 428MB. And it took a couple of attempts to complete :(

—GetRealBro
 
I no longer think all the iCloud backup issues being reported in this thread are strictly server related.

The following screen shots were taken on my iPhone 6s. The first one was taken a few minutes after a successful iCloud backup yesterday afternoon. The middle one was taken this AM. And the last one was taken at 10AM today after I shut down the 6s and restarted it.

Compare Data.png


The interesting part is the different sizes of the data for GeoViewer, LightRoom and GoodReader. No data has been added or deleted from these apps in months. Yet iOS 9.2.1 reports large differences in less than 24hrs. FWIW the last one is probably the most correct because the Aerial photos in GeoViewer take up 324MB in OSX.

Note: I had turned off the backup of the data for these three apps as part of an iCloud backup test I did on Jan 7th at the Apple Store. Looking back over similar screen shots I made in my testing, the data for these three apps has not been consistent/correct since then.

—GetRealBro
 
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The issue stems from turning off iCloud backup, removing the old backups, and re-enabling iCloud backup. Something happens with the server and it cannot make a connection, and therefore cannot make a new backup.

This is the EXACT set of circumstances that got me into the "iCloud Backup Failed: There was problem enabling iCloud Backup" situation as well. I called Apple Support about it last night and the representative I spoke with said that this is a known issue and is resolved in iOS 9.2.2 which was supposedly releasing today (apparently he just wanted to get me off the phone).
 
I no longer think all the iCloud backup issues being reported in this thread are strictly server related.

The following screen shots were taken on my iPhone 6s. The first one was taken a few minutes after a successful iCloud backup yesterday afternoon. The middle one was taken this AM. And the last one was taken at 10AM today after I shut down the 6s and restarted it.

View attachment 612617

The interesting part is the different sizes of the data for GeoViewer, LightRoom and GoodReader. No data has been added or deleted from these apps in months. Yet iOS 9.2.1 reports large differences in less than 24hrs. FWIW the last one is probably the most correct because the Aerial photos in GeoViewer take up 324MB in OSX.

Note: I had turned off the backup of the data for these three apps as part of an iCloud backup test I did on Jan 7th at the Apple Store. Looking back over similar screen shots I made in my testing, the data for these three apps has not been consistent/correct since then.

—GetRealBro

Looks like you may have something different going on here. The issue that seems to be affecting most is an "internal server error" in iCloud logs. You're actually backing up, so it seems to be something different.
 
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Looks like you may have something different going on here. The issue that seems to be affecting most is an "internal server error" in iCloud logs. You're actually backing up, so it seems to be something different.
I agree. One fundamental difference is that I didn’t recently delete the iCloud backups of our 2 iPhones. But I did delete the iCloud Backup of our iPad Mini that was backing up to the same account until earlier this month.

And I recently (Jan7) changed which app data was to be backed up on our iPhone 6s. When you do this the warning is that the app’s data in the iCloud will be deleted. So while I didn’t delete the whole backup. I probably did delete some parts of it. And interestingly those app’s data are the only ones not being handled correctly. So this may or may not be linked to the same server issue.

The issue I’m tracking may be much more dangerous than not being able to turn on iCloud backups. In the later case, it is obvious that you need to backup via iTunes until Apple fixes the server issue. But in the my case, the backups continue to happen each night. Even though all of the data selected to be backed up, probably isn't actually being backed up. So many folks may be having the problem I'm tracking and not know it until they try to restore from their iCloud backup.

FWIW my previous post was meant as a warning to others even if their iCloud backups seem to be working OK. Everyone should check the iCloud > Manage Storage pages and confirm that the Backup Size is at least as large as the total of the data marked to be backed up for the top several apps in the list.

—-GetRealBro
 
This is the EXACT set of circumstances that got me into the "iCloud Backup Failed: There was problem enabling iCloud Backup" situation as well. I called Apple Support about it last night and the representative I spoke with said that this is a known issue and is resolved in iOS 9.2.2 which was supposedly releasing today (apparently he just wanted to get me off the phone).

9.2.2 won't fix the problem though, because its occurring on 9.3 as well.
 
9.2.2 won't fix the problem though, because its occurring on 9.3 as well.

Not necessarily true.

Just because there's a higher numbered release out as a beta doesn't mean that issues cannot be fixed and released as an update to the released version of iOS. If Apple has identified the issue, they could put out an update to 9.2.1 to resolve the issue and then roll that fix into the beta process for 9.3.
 
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