iTunes Could Not Backup/Restore the iPhone iPad iPod Because the Backup was Corrupt or Not Compatible

Yesterday I backed up my phone in my laptop with iOS 11 today I got a new phone with latest iOS 12 but when I try to backup says this backup cannot be completed cause backup is corrupt or not compatible. Please help asap!

– Gojart from StackExchange

For most iOS users, iTunes is the best way to back up or restore iPhone, iPad or iPod touch because it is enough fast and safe, and most of the time it works well. However, just like Gojart from Stack Exchange mentioned above, many users reported, they were stuck on an iTunes backup corrupt or not compatible problem when backing up or restoring iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Normally, when iTunes notifies you the iTunes backup was corrupt or incompatible, it has two situations:

1. When backing up iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, an error message pops up and says, “iTunes could not back up the iPhone (or iPad, iPod touch) because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone (or iPad, iPod touch)”. Just like the following screenshot shows:

2. When restoring your iDevice with iTunes, an error message pops up and says “iTunes could not restore the iPhone (or iPad, iPod touch) because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone (or iPad, iPod touch) that is being restored”. Just like the following picture shows:

This iPhone backup corrupt or not compatible problem is very common, it happens in every iOS version (like iOS 9/10/11), on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and almost every iPhone models, like iPhone 5s/6/6s/7/8/X, even the latest iPhone XR/XS (Max). In this guide, we will focus on the iPhone backup corrupt or not compatible problems, no matter which situation you are stuck on, and no matter what device model you are working with, we will offer you several solutions to fix it.

Next, we will talk about the two iTunes backup corrupt or not compatible problems one by one, including what makes them happen and how to fix them. Let’s get it started!

Hot Topic: Common iTunes Backup & Restore Problems and How to Fix Them >

Part 1: iPhone Backup Corrupt or Not Compatible – iTunes Can’t Back Up iDevice

In this part, we will show you how to fix iTunes backup corrupt or not compatible when backing up iPhone iPad iPod. Before offering you quick fixes, we will analyze what makes it happen.

What Makes It Happen: iTunes Backup was Corrupt or Not Compatible When backing Up iDevice

When you are creating a backup of iPhone iPad or iPod with iTunes, this error message – “iTunes could not back up this iPhone (iPad or iPod touch), because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone (iPad or iPod touch)” pops up, what makes it happen?

Normally, this is because there is a problem with the previous backup of your iDevice, and iTunes typically just updates the backups of making an entirely new backup. To fix this iTunes could not back up iPhone/iPad/iPod, we will show you several possible solutions below.

How to Fix: iTunes Backup was Corrupt or Not Compatible When backing Up iDevice

To fix this iTunes backup problem – iTunes could not back up the iPhone (iPad or iPod touch) because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone, normally you have two solutions. One is just like the error message shows “ Delete this backup for this iPhone (iPad or iPod touch), and try again”, and the other one is backing up your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch with an iTunes alternative. We will discuss both of them in detail below.

Solution 1: Delete Corrupt or Incompatible iTunes Backup and Back Up Again

Method 1: Delete Corrupt or Incompatible iTunes Backup via iTunes

Method 2: Deleting Corrupt or Incompatible iTunes Backup By Locating It

Method 3: Correctly Locate Corrupt or Incompatible Backup And Delete It [Recommend]

Before backing up your iPhone iPad iPod touch with iTunes again, you need to delete corrupt or incompatible backup firstly. Here are 3 methods you can apply to delete corrupt or incompatible iTunes backup, as followed:

Method 1:

Delete Corrupt or Incompatible iTunes Backup via iTunes Interface

You know, any wrong operation may lead to new iTunes backup or restore problems, if you want to avoid any wrong operation and correctly delete the corrupt or incompatible backup, please move to Method 3. Before deleting the corrupt or incompatible backup, if you want to check what backed up in this corrupt or incompatible backup, and extract the useful files to computer or directly back to iDevice, you can click here to view backup files and extract what you like.

Step 1: Launch iTunes on your computer (PC or Mac).

Step 2: Click iTunes at the upper left corner of your Mac (on PC: you need to click Edit on the top left corner of your iTunes interface) > click Preferences.

Step 3: Select Devices > find your device in the backup listing > Find and select the incompatible or corrupt backup > Click Delete Backup button > Confirm it and click Delete button.

 If you found it is difficult to delete the corrupt or incompatible backup in the iTunes device list with method 1, you can correctly locate corrupt or incompatible iTunes backup, and then delete it manually by moving to Method 3.

Method 2:

Deleting Corrupt or Incompatible iTunes Backup By Locating It

Except deleting incompatible or corrupt backup with iTunes interface, you also can delete it by locating it. To locate it, you must know where iTunes backups store on computer firstly. According to this iMobie post shows, the iTunes backup files are stored:

• On Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
• On Windows Vista, 7, or 8: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
• On Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

Now we have known where iTunes backups store on your computer, then we will show you the steps to delete the incompatible or corrupt iTunes backup. And this method will show you how to delete all the backups of this device (instead of the only corrupt or incompatible backup), if you do want to delete this one, please move to Method 3.

Step 1: According to the storing path mentioned above, open the backup folder.

For Windows users, you need to open the folder one by one.

For Mac users, they need to Right-click Finder from the dock, then select Go to Folder, and then input: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/. At last, click OK to open this folder.

Step 2: You will enter the Backup folder with one or more folders named by your devices’ unique identifiers.

Step 3: Normally, most of us don’t know what the exactly identifiers of our device are. To help you delete the right backup, you can click the Serial Number of your iDevice in iTunes when your iDevice is connected to iTunes, and then the Serial Number filed will switch to your device identifiers.

Step 4: Then delete all folders match the identifier in the iTunes backup folder from your computer.

Method 3:

Correctly Locate Corrupt or Incompatible Backup And Delete It

If you want to quickly find and delete the corrupt and incompatible iTunes backup instead of all backup files, you can use PhoneRescue – iPhone iPad data recovery, which is able to pick out all corrupt and incompatible backups on your computer in simple clicks. The corrupt or incompatible backup will be marked with an exclamation point so that you can find and remove it correctly.

In addition, it can also be one nice iTunes backup extractor. To prevent data loss you can use it to extract your wanted files from these corrupt or incompatible backups before deleting.

For correctly locate corrupt or incompatible backup on computer, you just need to do the following steps:

Step 1: Go to the PhoneRescue download page to get the latest iOS version for your computer, or you can directly download the app via hitting the below buttons. And after, install and run it on your computer.

Step 3: PhoneRescue for iOS will scan your computer and list you all the iTunes backups. And the corrupt or incompatible backups will be marked with exclamation point, just like the following screenshot shows. Select the corrupt or incompatible backups you want to delete, click the Search icon to directly open this backup’s folder on your computer, then delete all of them. If you are not sure whether this backup contains important files, you can view backup files firstly and extract what you like from it before performing deleting. Click here to view and extract iTunes backup files >

Solution 2: Back Up iPhone/iPad/iPod with An iTunes Alternative

After trying all methods listed above, if you still fail to fix this iTunes backup was corrupt or not compatible problem, you can try to back up your iDevice with an alternative to iTunes – AnyTrans for iOS, as a wonderful iOS content manager tool, which allows you to make an iTunes backup without iTunes, and back up selected contents from iPhone iPad to computer or iTunes library. We will show you in details on how to back up your iPhone iPad with AnyTrans for iOS.

1. Make an iTunes Backup with AnyTrans for iOS.

As an iTunes alternative, AnyTrans for iOS also can be used to make an iTunes backup. The backup is as the same as iTunes’s – can be recognized by iTunes, and used to restore iDevice in iTunes. When I changed my computer, the Back Up Now button in iTunes was greyed out, and can’t be clicked. I made an iTunes backup with AnyTrans for iOS, and it also be recognized by iTunes, and the backup date also showed in Latest Backup (Just like following screenshot shows).

To make an iTunes backup with AnyTrans for iOS, you just need to perform these steps: Download AnyTrans for iOS on your computer > Install and Run AnyTrans for iOS > Click Backup Manager Tab > Click Back Up button.

2. Backup iPhone iPad Content to iTunes Library

If you just want to back up some media contents from iPhone iPad to iTunes library, like Music, Playlists, Apps, Ringtones, Movies, etc. (they are also not included in iTunes backup), you can make it in one click with AnyTrans for iOS.

To backup music, ringtones, movies, etc. from iPhone iPad to iTunes library, you just need to: Download AnyTrans for iOS > Install and Run it > Click Device Manager Tab on homepage of AnyTrans for iOS > Click Content to iTunes > Select the categories you want to back up to iTunes > Click button to start transferring. Read the detailed guide here >

3. Selectively Back Up iPhone iPad Content to Computer

Except backing up iPhone iPad content to the computer, iTunes library, AnyTrans for iOS also allows you to selectively back up anything you like to computer, like Messages, Ringtones, Contacts, Photos, Music, Videos, iBooks, Apps, Notes, etc. Just like the following screenshot shows, to back up the contents you like, you just need to Download AnyTrans for iOS, install and run it > click Device Manager tab > Click button > Select the contents you want to backup > Click To PC/Mac button.

How to Transfer Contacts from iPhone to Computer for Backup >

How to Transfer Photos from iPhone to Computer >

How to Transfer Music from iPhone to Computer >

How to Transfer Text Messages from iPhone to Computer >

Part 2: iPhone Backup Corrupt or Not Compatible – iTunes Can’t Restore iDevice

If you are stuck on this iTunes backup corrupt or incompatible problem when restoring iDeivce, in this part we will show what makes it happen and how to fix it. Let’s get it started!

What Makes It Happen: iTunes Backup was Corrupt or Not Compatible When Restoring iDevice

iTunes could not restore your iPhone/iPad/iPod and remind you “This iTunes backup was corrupt or not compatible”, two reasons make this happen.

When you are creating a backup with iTunes, it may happen some errors but didn’t give you any message. So you thought you have made a backup with iTunes successfully, however, when trying to restore your device with it, only to find you have a corrupt backup.

It also happens when you try to restore your iPhone/iPad/iPod touch with an incompatible backup. This is because of different iOS versions. For example, if you upgraded your iPhone 6s to iOS 11, or even the latest iOS 12 or iOS 12.1, and make a backup with iTunes, and then you downgrade it to iOS 10.3.2, without doubt, you can’t restore your iPhone with the iOS 11/12 backup, because this is not compatible with your iPhone.

Now that you have known that using iTunes to restore iDevice with a corrupt or not compatible iTunes backup isn’t feasible. Then, next, we will show you an iTunes alternative to help you restore from a corrupt or not compatible iTunes backup.

How to Fix: iTunes Backup was Corrupt or Not Compatible When Restoring iDevice

Since you can’t restore iDevice with a corrupt or incompatible backup in iTunes, so you need an iTunes alternative to make it. Based on your needs, here we recommend you one iTunes backup extractor – PhoneRescue for iOS, which makes it possible for you to restore your iDevice with this corrupt or incompatible backup.

Don’t Miss: Top Best iPhone Backup Extractors List

Moreover, this method brings you more benefits. This “restore” is not the same as the traditional restore, you can view iTunes backup files, select and extract what you like from iTunes backup to your iPhone iPad iPod touch directly. More than anything, this method won’t replace or wipe any current data on your iDevice.

Most importantly, PhoneRescue is produced by Apple officially certified software manufacturer. It guarantees 100% safe & clean, 100% risk-free, and 100% works for you. Then, how to restore iPhone iPad with corrupt or incompatible backup via PhoneRescue? The restore steps are followed:

Step 1: Free download PhoneRescue and choose download for iOS on your computer, install and open it.

Step 3: PhoneRescue for iOS will scan your computer and list all the iTunes backup stores on your computer. And the corrupt or incompatible backup will be marked with exclamation point. Select the backup you want to restore with your iDevice, and then click the right arrow button.

Step 4: Select the files you want to extract from iTunes backup, and then click OK button.

If your iTunes backup is encrypted, please enter your password to decrypt and verify your backup so that PhoneRescue for iOS can scan your data. If you, unfortunately, forgot your iPhone backup password, you can have a try on all possible passwords or with the aid of some iPhone backup unlocker software to get it back.

Step 5: Preview the files in iTunes backup, and select the categories or items you want to extract to your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch by clicking To Device button (Note: Please connect your iPhone iPad to the computer before clicking To Device button). In this guide we take the message as an example, you can extract all the supported files from corrupt or incompatible iTunes backup. And you also can extract the files directly to the computer by clicking To Computer button.

Just as you can see from above, PhoneRescue for iOS can help you easily fix iTunes can’t restore iPhone iPad with corrupt or not compatible backup issue, and enables you to preview & restore what you really want, without further data loss. Simultaneously, when you encounter data loss or some iOS system problems, PhoneRescue also can do you a favor. Now,  download and enjoy the full function with the trial version, then you can solve your problem easily.

The Bottom Line

We have talked about how to fix iTunes backup corrupt or not compatible problem above, no matter you are stuck on this problem when backing up iPhone/iPad or restoring iDevice. In a word, if you just want to fix this error, you can find and remove the corrupt or not compatible with backup by following Method 3. If you want to make a new iTunes backup, you can follow Solution 2 in Part 1. If you aim to restore data from backup, you can follow the method in Part 2.

Except stuck on the problem of iTunes backup is corrupt or not compatible, when backing up or restoring your iDevice, you may be failed due to other reasons, like the firmware files are not compatible, having not enough space on iDevice, the device is not eligible for the requested build. Absolutely, you may also meet many kinds of other problems when backing up your iPhone iPad to the computer with iTunes, like iTunes can’t recognize your device, having not enough space on the computer, iTunes backup can’t be saved on the computer, etc. If you meet any problem mentioned above, check this iMobie guide to fix it with ease. By the way, if you have other solutions, be free to tell us and other iDevices users by leaving a comment.