[Fixed] iTunes Cannot Backup iPhone iPad Because an Error Occurred

Question: “I’m trying to backup my iPhone before upgrading to iOS 12. Right now it’s running iOS 11. After pressing ‘Back Up Now’ button in iTunes I’m getting this error message: ‘iTunes could not back up the iPhone because an error occurred’.”

Most of us rely on iTunes to backup our iPhone, iPad or iPod for it saves the backup file on computer so we won’t worry about data loss. However, iTunes is a huge and complicated program to run and we may bump into some error message like: iTunes could not back up the iPhone because an error occurred. And sometimes, you may just see the “Back Up Now” is greyed out, and even get nothing prompts.

So, if you do happen to run into an iTunes backup error like the above user, try the following solutions to fix this problem of iTunes could not backup the iPhone. Or just have a try on an iTunes alternative to successfully backup your iPhone/iPad/iPod in an easy way.

Part 1. How to Fix iTunes Cannot Backup iPhone Because an Error Occurred

When you meeting the messages of “iTunes could not backup the iPhone because an error occurred”, try following solutions to fix the error easily.

1. Restart your computer (Mac or PC) and iOS device (iPad, iPhone and iPod touch).

2. Quit iTunes and re-launch it to backup again.

3. Make sure you are using Apple matched USB cable or lighting port.

4. Delete corrupted backups. Just launch iTunes > iTunes > Preferences > Devices > Delete the Backup.

5. Install the latest version of iTunes.

6. Make sure you have at least 5 GB space on computer because iOS backups require at least 2 to 3 GB free spaces.

7. Clear temporary files with MacClean like apps.

8. Rename backup files. To locate the iTunes & iOS backup files on your computer you can refer to this quick guide.

9. Manually delete backup files from AppData/Roaming/Apple Computer/MobileSync/backup.

10. Find and delete the null named apps (empty app name or blank icon) on your iPhone: Settings > General > Usages > Manage Storage. Then trying backup with iTunes again.

Part 2. Fix iTunes Could Not Back Up the iPhone with an iTunes Alternative

If the above solutions are not working for you, while, the #1 iTunes alternative – AnyTrans for iOS can also help you backup your iPhone iPad or iPod in an easy way.

• Just 1 click, it helps you backup your iPhone to iTunes Library/computer/another iPhone. The backup you made with AnyTrans can also be detected in iTunes.
• Besides backing up like iTunes do, it also allows you to selectively backup data to computer. Which means that you can only choose one or more specific types of data like photos, videos, contacts, messages, etc. to back up to computer in a viewable format.
• With AnyTrans, you can locate and view the data in all your backups directly, which is not be allowed by iTunes.
• You can also use it to sync data from computer to iOS device, as well as sync data from iOS device back to computer, which is iTunes can’t do for you.

Now, Free Download AnyTrans for iOS on your computer firstly, and then follow the simple steps below to backup your iPhone with ease.

Option 1. How to Make an iTunes Backup with AnyTrans

Step 1. Launch AnyTrans and connect your iPhone to the computer. Click on the Backup Manager as we show. You can see it detect all the backups on this computer. Then, click on the icon to start making a new backup for your iPhone now.

Step 2. Waiting for the backing up process. The time depends on the Internet speed and the size of the data on your iPhone.

Step 3. Once the backing up process is completed, you will see the Completed Page. After that, you can click “View” button to locate and preview data in backup directly.

Option 2. How to Backup iPhone Selectively

If you want to selectively backup iPhone data to computer rather than make a whole iTunes backup, you can click “Device Manager” and go to the category page, select the data you really want to make a backup, and click To Computer button to transfer selected data to the computer for preservation.

Option 3. Back up Music/Videos and More to iTunes Library

Besides, you can also backup music, videos and more from iPhone to iTunes Library directly. Here take music for example. On the category page of AnyTrans for iOS, click on Audio and select music, then select the songs you want to backup to iTunes library, and click on the Send to iTunes icon.

Also Read: How to Fix iTunes Invalid Response Error >

The Bottom Line

After reading this guide about how to fix iTunes could not backup the iPhone because an error occurred, hope your problem already fixed. If you feel this article is helpful, you can share it to help more people having the same issue with you. By the way, as you can see from above, AnyTrans for iOS makes your life easy. Even in the latest iTunes 12.7, there is no Tone tab any more, but you can still use it to add ringtones to iPhone without effort. And more amazing functions, it’s worth having a try on AnyTrans for iOS.