iMazing | Manage your iPhone. Your Way.

[Gregzo]

Hi everyone!

I'm Greg, one of the developers of iMazing. We've been around for a while (remember Diskaid?), and somehow haven't started a thread here in all those years... I guess we were waiting for Dark Mode to come into the spotlight!

iMazing is the ultimate iOS device manager. We aim to help our users make the most of iOS devices, and take control over their mobile data. Better local backups, easier transfers, app management (including IPA downloads), advanced recovery and troubleshooting tools... our mission sure covers a lot of ground.

iMazing iOS Backups

iMazing presents a strong focus on backups. You can quickly setup daily automatic backups of your iPhone and iPad, to your own storage devices (including NAS). If you ever lose your device or suffer data loss, you can easily recover just about anything not just from one image of your device, but from a whole history of backups, à la Time Machine:

Local backups aren't just about keeping your data safe (and encrypted, of course!), they are also a way to increase your ownership over your data. From your backups, iMazing can export the following:

• Messages and iMessages to PDF and CSV. Attachments.
• Photos to HEIC and JPG (conversion of HEIC to JPG possible).
• Call History to CSV. Voicemail recordings (Visual Voicemail).
• Safari History and Bookmarks to HTML and CSV.
• Calendars to iCal and CSV.
• Contacts to vCard and CSV.
• Notes to PDF and TXT.
• Voice Memos to M4A.
• Any raw file.

Backups can be restored to your devices too, and you can choose what type of data and which apps are restored.


iMazing Transfers

iMazing is also a great tool to transfer content between your iOS device and your Mac or PC. The keyword here is simplicity: just drag and drop a file or a folder, to or from iMazing. Oh, and it works via Wi-Fi too!

• Push music tracks to the Music app. Recover music from an old iPod.
• Add ringtones or recover them.
• Add photo albums, extract photos from synced albums.
• Push PDF documents and eBooks to Books. Move downloaded books to your computer.
• Quickly copy Voice Memos to your Mac.
• Manage files and folders of file manager apps like GoodReader, Documents and FileApp.

In our 2.7 release, we introduced a tool which further simplifies pushing documents and media to iOS. Drop files and folders to iMazing, and it will automatically identify compatible apps on your iPhone or iPad. We call it Quick Transfer, and it's pretty neat:

iMazing for the Geeks

We have lots of geeky tools for you to play with, some of them potential life savers:

• Update or reinstall iOS.
• Exit recovery mode. Kill the setup assistant.
• Edit backups and restore them for tweaks - at your own risk
• Back up user data of apps. Restore just the backed up data.
• Fully functional device console. Access to iOS log files.
• Advanced battery and device info.

These tools aren't just for show - they've actively helped hundreds of users solve a nasty (and interesting!) APFS and Unicode related bug last year.

iMazing Free

2 years ago, we removed all time limitations from our free trial. The result is that iMazing is effectively partially free. No signing up, no registration, just download iMazing and enjoy the following:

• Unlimited backups. Browsing backup contents.
• Manage apps: install, uninstall, download your IPAs.
• Battery and device info.
• Device console.
• Transfer ringtones, both ways.

iMazing Links

Official Website
Team Blog
User Guides
YouTube Channel
Tech Support

Your questions, feedback and suggestions are welcome!​

 

[Mr_Brightside_@]

I used iMazing to help fix a super frustrating iOS Photos bug.

A question: in iOS 12/11, can iMazing extract only parts of an iOS (iTunes) backup, then add them to another? I sometimes like to do a clean install of iOS, and migrate over only my Camera Roll and text messages/attachments. I've done this in the past but have had some issues doing so with iOS 11.
Is this an option?

 

[Gregzo]

I used iMazing to help fix a super frustrating iOS Photos bug.

A question: in iOS 12/11, can iMazing extract only parts of an iOS (iTunes) backup, then add them to another? I sometimes like to do a clean install of iOS, and migrate over only my Camera Roll and text messages/attachments. I've done this in the past but have had some issues doing so with iOS 11.
Is this an option?

Oh, yes, I remember that one. Clever use of iMazing, for sure!

Our backup editing tools still work just fine in iOS 11 and 12. So you can create composite backups. The issue is more likely with what kind of dependencies exist between the various parts you are stitching together - iOS can detect incoherences and refuse the restore, partially or entirely.

The best strategy is to take a backup of the target device, already signed in to the relevant accounts, and then inject data from another backup into that.

If you're having trouble with a specific type of data, let me know! It's an interesting subject, for sure.

 

[posguy99]

I do wish iMazing was smart enough to look at its app library, realize that what it had wasn't the same version as what was on the phone it was backing up, and go get that version from the app store. Right now it's a manual process that I don't keep up on.

I do recognize that wouldn't be trivial... if you were backing up two phones, with differing app versions, how would you handle that?

 

[Gregzo]

I do wish iMazing was smart enough to look at its app library, realize that what it had wasn't the same version as what was on the phone it was backing up, and go get that version from the app store. Right now it's a manual process that I don't keep up on.

I do recognize that wouldn't be trivial... if you were backing up two phones, with differing app versions, how would you handle that?

Thanks for the feedback!

We did think of that, and it would be doable but yes, non-trivial. For automatic downloads to be fully usable, we'd need all sorts of configurable rules:

• Do we keep previous downloaded versions or update them?
• Do we download ALL updates or just updates of specific apps?
• And since we can only download the very latest version of any given app, what do we do when the user has v1.0 in the library, v1.1 on the device, and v1.2 is available on the App Store?

That said, we are working already on improvements to managing updates with iMazing, eta is our next update in a couple of weeks hopefully.

• Check for Updates in the Library tab will show you a list of available updates. You'll be able to download them all, or just selected ones, with an option to delete downloaded previous versions to prevent library bloat.
• Check for Updates in the Device tab will also show you a list of available updates. The option there will be to download and install all or selected updates, with the possibility to keep the downloads in the Library.

That should make your life quite a bit easier

 

[Release]

I love iMazing but is there any way to limit the amount of backups? I've turned off archiving because it was taking up too much room on my drive.

 

[Gregzo]

I love iMazing but is there any way to limit the amount of backups? I've turned off archiving because it was taking up too much room on my drive.

Hi! sure, that's in the Options panel of each device, Backup Archiving. You can set iMazing to automatically delete backups after 2 weeks.

Bear in mind that iMazing backups don't take much extra space: we only store new and modified files in each version. The Finder incorrectly reports a larger disk usage because it counts hard linked files :facepalm:

 

[posguy99]

I love iMazing but is there any way to limit the amount of backups? I've turned off archiving because it was taking up too much room on my drive.

I gotta ask... what's "too much room"? Backups are small, relatively speaking.
[doublepost=1539386436][/doublepost]

That should make your life quite a bit easier

Looking forward to it!

 

[Apple_Robert]

iMazing 2 (Universal License) is on sale right now for $19.99. The license works for Mac and Windows.

https://www.cultofmac.com/582428/mac-apps-busycontacts-busycal-imazing-waltr/

 

[Release]

I gotta ask... what's "too much room"? Backups are small, relatively speaking.
[doublepost=1539386436][/doublepost]

Mine seemed to be doing full backups so it was taking up GIGS of space (both the Phone and iPad are 128 models).
Maybe I had it set up wrong? Sorry, I'm not in front of the machine right now so I can't be more specific with the numbers.

 

[edalzell]

Can iMazing copy app data that's NOT available (dev hasn't turned on file sharing)?

My daughter wants to get a new ipad but doesn't want to lose some game progress. Progress is only stored locally and not avail in iExplore etc.

 

[Release]

This is what I'm getting. 207 gigs is relatively small? It's one iPhone and one iPad. Is that normal? Can I use iCloud as a backup location?

 

[JackDaAppleLover]

This looks like a free ad.

 

[MacDawg]

This looks like a free ad.

Looks like a highly informative thread with direct support from the developer to me

 

[ScienceIsReal]

Yes, but it shouldn't be in the form that it is. Someone should have asked a question first.

 

[MacDawg]

Yes, but it shouldn't be in the form that it is. Someone should have asked a question first.

Not according to the Forum Rules

We offer the chance for unpaid software promotion by developers because we think having developers participate directly benefits our forum community. These privileges apply only to software developers for App Store apps, Mac App Store apps, and other Macintosh software, not to manufacturers or distributors or sellers of accessories or to individuals or organizations hired to help promote products.

https://macrumors.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/201294426-Guidelines-for-Software-Developers

 

[Gregzo]

Can iMazing copy app data that's NOT available (dev hasn't turned on file sharing)?

My daughter wants to get a new ipad but doesn't want to lose some game progress. Progress is only stored locally and not avail in iExplore etc.

iMazing can package app user data and metadata extracted from a backup, to a .imazingapp file which is then restorable. But some apps purposefully exclude their data from backups, or aren't aware that only the Documents and Library folders are backed up. Such apps are not good candidates for our app data backup/restore feature.

More info in our guide on the subject.

But all in all, it's worth a try: app backup restore is 100% available in our free version, so you don't risk much.
[doublepost=1539700339][/doublepost]

Looks like a highly informative thread with direct support from the developer to me

Thank you.

We've actually had a lot of advice from moderators here before posting this thread. We're well aware that the MacRumors community deserves an ad-free forum, and are posting accordingly.
[doublepost=1539700745][/doublepost]

This is what I'm getting. 207 gigs is relatively small? It's one iPhone and one iPad. Is that normal? Can I use iCloud as a backup location?

The correct size here is 113.99 GB: the Finder is counting hard linked files from the main backups twice. You can use the terminal's du command to get hard link aware size computations:
du -h

You can compare the size of the main backup, and the one in Versions:
Backups/7a6de(...) is 46.84GB
Backups/iMazing.Versions/Versions/7a6de(...) is 58.93GB including 46.84GB of hard links which take nearly zero extra space.
So you get all the backup versions for only 12GB extra, which amounts in average to about a month of daily backups depending on usage. Not that bad!

 

[Gregzo]

I do wish iMazing was smart enough to look at its app library, realize that what it had wasn't the same version as what was on the phone it was backing up, and go get that version from the app store. Right now it's a manual process that I don't keep up on.

I do recognize that wouldn't be trivial... if you were backing up two phones, with differing app versions, how would you handle that?

Good news! We just now released iMazing 2.8 and the better app update management features I mentioned before are live:

It is now much easier to update apps on your iOS device, or download new updates straight to your app library. Learn all about the new Updates windows here: https://imazing.com/guides/how-to-manage-apps-without-itunes#updates

Feedback welcome. Enjoy!

 

[MSastre]

Nice little App! Thanks! So far I've only used the free version to install a custom ringtone on my phone, but it absolutely worked a treat.

 

[Gregzo]

Some pretty cool news to share today: our Quick Transfer feature is now fully available in the free version of iMazing. No strings attached, no limitations... just give iMazing a spin and you'll find that the feature is fully unlocked.

With Quick Transfer, you can drag and drop any kind of file (and folders) to your iPhone or iPad via iMazing, and get a list of compatible apps to choose from. Do you want that PDF in Books or in Acrobat? It's up to you. Should that audio track go to VLC, Music, or be used as a Ringtone? Same workflow.

If you want to know more, we've written a little blog post about it here.

Feedback welcome!

 

[Notechy]

We have some 26000 photos in folders on iMac. We used to sync them all to our iPads and iPhones through iTunes. While this used to work reliably, and does currently, there has been a long fallow period when it did not.

Could we use imazing for this, keeping the photos in their folders, and done in a batch manner - not a folder at a time?

 

[Gregzo]

We have some 26000 photos in folders on iMac. We used to sync them all to our iPads and iPhones through iTunes. While this used to work reliably, and does currently, there has been a long fallow period when it did not.

Could we use imazing for this, keeping the photos in their folders, and done in a batch manner - not a folder at a time?

iMazing's approach is the opposite of sync and hence may not be the most appropriate for your use case. You'll be able to drag all the folders containing your photos in one go, and iMazing will put them all in a single album. But it won't be the right choice to keep multiple albums in sync between your Mac and your iOS devices I'm afraid...

 

[Notechy]

iMazing's approach is the opposite of sync and hence may not be the most appropriate for your use case. You'll be able to drag all the folders containing your photos in one go, and iMazing will put them all in a single album. But it won't be the right choice to keep multiple albums in sync between your Mac and your iOS devices I'm afraid...

Thanks for helpfully honest reply.

 

[Mr Todhunter]

iMazing 2 (Universal License) is on sale right now for $19.99. The license works for Mac and Windows.

https://www.cultofmac.com/582428/mac-apps-busycontacts-busycal-imazing-waltr/

Worth every penny. I love it, but I wouldn’t care less for dark mode.

 

[harriska2]

I had to use it because I couldn’t get my windows 7 machine itunes to put backups on an attached drive. Itunes backups filled my bootdrive making it crawl. The only thing I don’t like about imazing is how it lists photos. I just want to copy off all pictures and videos and delete off the phone and ipad. Imazing scatters them across confusing folders. Although that might be an apple thing.