Free Iphone Backup Software Mac

05-10-2021 admin

Getting a brand-new iPhone 13 or 13 Pro could be something you have been planning for a while. It’s a beautiful device too, with a fantastic display, excellent battery performance, improved camera, as well as the enhanced power of iOS. However, if there is something that many people hate about new iPhones, it’s the tiresome task of transferring and managing data from their old devices.

Fortunately, the challenge of transferring and managing data between devices can be mitigated using the latest iPhone transfer and manager software. Apple recommends three different methods for transferring files and information from an old to a new iPhone.

5 Best Free iPhone Backup Software on Windows & Mac. Apple encourages users to back up their iPhone, iPad, and iPod regularly in case of any data loss. While iCloud backup is quite convenient, many users still choose to back up their iPhone to the computer through iTunes. However, there are some problems in iTunes from time to time.

In this article, we focus on various iPhone transfer and manager software. For each software, we look at the features, strengths, weaknesses, compatibility, and pricing. We have also included a section presenting third-party transfer and manager software for the iPhone. Finally, we present other popular tools that offer features and qualities you may also want to consider despite not being included in our best list.

Free iPhone data recovery software for Windows and Mac. Recover contacts, message, photos, videos, and other contents on your iOS devices or from iTunes/iCloud Backup. Support latest iOS 13 and iPhone 11/11 Pro/XS/XS Max/XR.
Get a trusted software to transfer and save your music, messages, files and data. Safely back up any iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. Powerful and user-friendly, iMazing is simply the best iOS device manager for Mac and PC. Get full control over your iOS device.

Jump to a section:

iPhone migration utility, iTunes and iCloud

Traditionally, there have been three main ways of migrating and managing iPhone data such as contacts, videos, photos, and app information: iPhone Migration, iTunes, and iCloud. Let’s look at the current state of affairs for each method.

Quick Start and the iPhone migration tool

iPhone Migration Utility is an intuitive tool like many of the other apps from Apple. If you want a simple but effective way to transfer content from one iPhone to another, this utility gets the job done.

Apple says, “If you’re setting up a new device using your current device—and your current device is using iOS 12.4 or later or iPadOS 13.4—Quick Start offers the option of using device-to-device migration”. Adding, “This allows you to transfer all your data wirelessly from your current device to your new one”.

As soon as you start up your new iPhone, it will show you an option to transfer data from your old iPhone connected to your Apple ID. In short, you can use the iPhone’s Quick Start with no introduction whatsoever.

iTunes

iTunes has been the recommended iPhone manager for years. However, with the arrival of macOS Catalina, that piece of software is officially dead. We should also mention that the program was never the best way to manage your iPhone, iPad, or iPod.

We are not the only ones who think that iTunes was not the best way to manage your iPhone. Kirk McElhearn writes for Macworld.com, a website that provides tips and buying advice for lovers of Apple products. He says that “it’s true that there are a lot of things in iTunes that don’t work well, or don’t work as they should”.

We had seen more bugs than features in iTunes. Errors were common, and customizability was a nonstarter. You could not rely on iTunes to manage your iPhone. And, to make things worse, there were so few options for transferring data from one iOS device to another.

iCloud

Things aren’t so different with iCloud either. Of course, it’s the official over-the-air way to back up your iOS data. However, there are still some concerns about customizability and control. For instance, you still can’t quite control what you are and what you are not backing up.

As if that’s not enough, the free 5 GB provision is never really sufficient for users. And the last time we checked, not many of us want to spend a few dollars per month to get 50 GB of extra data from Apple. A reviewer on TrustRadius.com agrees: “As much as I love the overall functionality of Apple iCloud, the price I pay is fairly steep in comparison and amount of storage.”

So, to make this long story short, iCloud Backup isn’t reliable for iPhone migration or backup.

Third-party iPhone manager still matters

This can very well be a personal reason at the end of the day. However, we will tell you what we think about the whole scene.

iTunes was discontinued in Catalina: MacOS Catalina marked the end of iTunes. This means that if you are looking to Apple for a solution, you lack a standalone option to control your iPhone on Mac. Apple’s alternative is an underperforming piece of interface inside the Finder. If you’re running a Mac with macOS Mojave or earlier, you can still use iTunes. Still, even hardcore Apple fans will admit that iTunes was an underdeveloped and underperforming iPhone manager.

iCloud can be costly: As much as it offers a convenient option for syncing your old iPhone with iCloud, purchasing iCloud storage can be a costly affair for most people. The worst part is that you will have to keep upgrading over time whenever you need more storage for more data.

Powerful UI: Most of the third-party iPhone managers out there have an excellent User Interface that is optimized for performance. This means you can enjoy the best-in-class features even without expertise.

Additional features: When using iTunes or iCloud, you can’t get out of the Apple ecosystem. However, with third-party alternatives, you get customizable control, selective backup, encryption, and easy file access.

If the tools recommended by Apple don’t seem to be the best in the market, providers of third-party iOS device transfer/manager utility tools did not waste the opportunity to fill in the gap.

Let’s look at some of the best third-party tools on the market today.

iMazing 2: amazing option for iOS management

iMazing is one of the most popular and widely used iPhone manager software out there. It helps you with all things iPhone, like data transfer and migration. We recommend iMazing as the overall best pick, especially if you are primarily looking for an iTunes alternative.

To get an idea of how good iMazing is, you don’t have to rely on our opinion alone. Tim Purcell, Senior Executive at Purcell Consulting, agrees that iMazing is Amazing! What’s the basis behind this conclusion? Purcell says this tool took away his frustration after getting the “iTunes could not back up this phone … because the backup session failed” several times. He reports that the problem was solved by iMazing on the initial attempt.

iMazing is available for both Windows and macOS, and we are testing the Mac version here. We believe that calling iMazing an iTunes alternative short-changes the former. iMazing packs several features that help you manage your iPhone, transfer various data, and even manage iPhone devices in bulk.

Here are some iMazing features we like:

Plug-and-play use: It’s incredibly easy to start using iMazing with your Mac and iPhone. You do not have to install anything on your iPhone. All the installations happen on the Mac/PC. This means you can practically connect any iPhone and manage it using iMazing. The best part? You can connect your iPhone to iMazing using both a wired or a wireless connection.

User interface: The UI of iMazing deserves some serious applause. The program has been designed to offer the best level of control over your iPhone. As mentioned earlier, you can get started as soon as you connect the device. It is easy to navigate and gives access to all the sections you need. For instance, there are individual subsections that make it easy for you to see what you have in Photos, Audio Notes, Messages, Books, etc.

Comprehensive backup: iMazing offers a complete set of options for backing up your iPhone. You can decide what you want to back up, and everything else is super-smooth. There are also additional options like automatic backup, fully encrypted backup, and incremental backup. These add more power to the security of your iOS data. You can even set up a scheduled backup if your device is connected over Wi-Fi.

Ultra-simple migration: iMazing has a dedicated Migration module as well. This is perfect if you want to transfer data from an old iPhone to the brand-new iPhone 12 or 12 Pro. You can connect both devices and select all the content you want to transfer. iMazing will figure out the rest while ensuring the best safety for your iPhone and avoiding possible data corruption.

File transfer simplified: When compared to iTunes, iMazing has a straightforward way of sending files to your iPhone. Quick Transfer, an option on the homepage, allows you to simply drag and drop files that you want to transfer. iMazing will categorize those files and transfer them to your iPhone. Similarly, you can transfer content by dragging and dropping files right there on your iPhone. This includes photos, notes, etc. Also, everything is relatively faster than with iTunes.

Message management: Additional content management options in iMazing also include messages. This means you can access a variety of data stored in apps like Messages and WhatsApp. And, if you need extra security, you can even export the content to an easy-to-access or ultra-secure form. This gives you a more intuitive and safe way to deal with instant messages.

Device management: iMazing packs some other features for device management as well. For instance, you can use the program to deal with iOS installation. You can update, reinstall, or wipe the iOS installation from your iPhone. This is great if you want to update or clean your device before selling it. When you do things like that via iMazing, there is a secondary check that ensures everything went as planned

iMazing Photos and ProRAW support: The latest version of iMazing introduces an entirely new tool to browse and transfer iPhone photos and has even been updated to support Apple’s new ProRAW format. As soon as you click the Photos icon, you can see all the albums stored on the device and iCloud. You even get an option to view the minute details of each photograph and manage them better. You can also browse and export your ProRAW shots, which is hands down amazing.

iMazing configurator: iMazing Configurator is a pretty powerful module that is added to the package. This module lets you control iPhone devices in bulk. You can select a bunch of iPhones and customize them as per your needs. This is a fantastic feature for system administrators and IT professionals. It also has an intuitive design with easy-to-use blueprints and in-depth access to features like profile management.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

Like all other software, iMazing isn’t a perfect tool. There are a few areas that we think could use some improvement:

The iMazing package is too broad sometimes. There are so many features that a lot of us simply won’t use. This sometimes creates a mess.
The free version of iMazing is limited when it comes to the number of files you can transfer.
You might ultimately miss the One-Click Sync feature that was available in iTunes. As things are, iMazing doesn’t offer anything in that respect.

Compatibility and pricing:

iMazing is available for both macOS and Windows. You can connect an iPhone to the computer via USB or Wi-Fi. This makes the tool great because most of the features support direct iPhone access and iCloud backups.

So, you can use iMazing with almost every iPhone, including those running on iOS 13.

A single license of iMazing costs $44.99, and this is a lifetime fee. However, iMazing is now selling its Universal version of the program for almost the same price, $49.99. We would go with the latter option as it supports two devices in total, and the developer offers TheSweetBits readers an exclusive 20% discount here.

[ FURTHER READING:iMazing Review 2021 – What iTunes Should’ve Been ]

AnyTrans: the closest option for fast-forward transfer

AnyTrans for iOS is another excellent option when you are looking for a functional yet straightforward iTunes alternative. While it does not have as many features as we’ve seen in iMazing (see AnyTrans vs. iMazing comparison here), AnyTrans for iOS package is impressive. On any given day, though, AnyTrans for iOS is way better than the misery iTunes ever was.

We are not the only ones that think AnyTrans is a good tool. The tool’s average rating from 106 reviewers on iMobie.com is 4.5 out of 5. One user says, “After a bad experience with a competing software, I had some doubts about trying another one, but I’m glad I did like the AnyTrans software worked the first time and exactly as described.”

It should be noted that AnyTrans for iOS has primarily been made for data transfer. Everything else you get comes in the form of different modules.

Simple user interface: It’s very easy to get started with AnyTrans for iOS. Everything is kept simple, and you have different sections for almost all your data managing needs, including Device Manager, Phone Switcher, iCloud Manager, Backup Manager, and Social Messages Manager. In real-time usage, this comes in quite handy as you can focus on the section you want without other sections interfering in the process.

Advanced backup: There is a variety of methods for backing up your iPhone using AnyTrans for iOS. You can choose one of the three options: Full Backup, Incremental Backup, or Air Backup. AnyTrans gives you extra levels of freedom while restoring backups as well. You can restore selected content from a specific backup and even restore selected files from multiple backups.

Additional utilities: There is an amazing collection of utilities in AnyTrans for iOS, and many of them are quite helpful. The ones we loved most are Home Screen Manager, AnyTrans Drive, Screen Mirroring and Ringtone Maker. All these features work quite seamlessly, providing you the best control of your device. For instance, Media Download utility allows you to download stuff and get them into your device directly.

Transfer with full control: This is where AnyTrans for iOS makes its mark. Compared to other tools we’ve seen, AnyTrans for iOS has an amazing data transfer process. The point is that you can select almost every detail of the transaction, letting you have the best-in-class control. Even here, you have options like Phone to iPhone, Backup to iPhone and Cloud to iPhone.

Flaws nut not dealbreakers:

Here are the areas where we think AnyTrans for iOS could use some advancements:

It comes with a steep pricing plan, which may not be that great for those looking for an affordable iTunes alternative.
It does not offer the level of device-control features that we have seen in iMazing.
Lacks wireless connectivity features.

Compatibility and pricing:

AnyTrans for iOS is available for both macOS and Windows. It supports almost every iPhone that you can find in the market. You need to make sure that the device is connected via USB to your computer. On both Windows and macOS, AnyTrans for iOS exhibits top performance levels.

As far as the pricing goes, the single, one-year license of AnyTrans for iOS costs $39.99, whereas the Lifetime version goes for $49.99 in total. All these give you a single-device license. It’s important to remember this if you are buying in bulk. The app is also included in the Setapp, a $9.99/month subscription that provides over 200 premium applications. So, if you are already a Setapp subscriber, AnyTrans is free to use.

Dr.Fone: an upgrade option with rich functions

If you can’t live with the iMazing or AnyTrans flaws, you can consider the package from Dr.Fone. It’s an amazingly popular software suite from Wondershare. The iOS Toolkit is loved by thousands of advanced and regular iPhone users.

While it’s not a comprehensive iPhone manager like iMazing, Dr.Fone offers several tools that you can use to manage your iPhone. Some of the standard options include data transfer, system repair, phone backup, phone unlock, etc.

If you look at the Dr.Fone reviews on Trustpilot, you will agree that this is a great tool. It has a 3.9 out of 5 rating, with 70% of the reviewers rating it as excellent. One reviewer writes, “This program, like others from Wondershare, made it easy and solved the problem of transferring WhatsApp from an android to iOS. Intuitive, simple, and very fast!”

App start: Probably the first thing you’ll notice when you open Dr.Fone is its modular design. Unlike iMazing, it does not come with the core software inside. Instead, you can download modules such as Phone Manager and Data Recovery as you wish. For professional users, this is quite a handy feature. You don’t need to install anything hefty on your Mac. In each module, however, you can find a variety of features. For instance, if you just want an iPhone backup solution, you can download that module alone.

Phone backup: Just like iMazing, Dr.Fone also offers advanced iPhone backup options. Although you do not get different backups, you can select what you want to back up. Dr.Fone also allows you to restore the backups to your device or another iPhone later.

Advanced IM transfer: Do you want to safely transfer all your Instant Messages from your old iPhone to the new one? Dr.Fone has got you covered there as well. Compared to other similar software, Dr.Fone offers better control. For instance, it allows you to back up and restore messages from apps like WhatsApp, Viber, and WeChat. You can restore the messages to an Android device as well.

One-click phone transfer: Dr.Fone also can transfer data from one device to another in a single click. You have to connect both devices via USB and open up the Phone Transfer module. Dr.Fone takes a few seconds to understand what’s inside the source device and then shows you a list of content that you can transfer. Once you have selected the files, you can hit the Start Transfer button, and you are ready to go.

Multi-source data recovery: Dr.Fone comes with a fully-fledged module to help you recover lost/deleted data from your iPhone. You can even select what you want to recover from the smartphone, and you can also choose the data source. That is, if you wish, you can use Dr.Fone to recover data from an iCloud or iTunes backup. This is a helpful feature if you often clean up your iPhone.

System repair and screen unlocker: Both these modules are beneficial from the accessibility point of view. As the name suggests, you can use the system repair module to repair an iPhone device or unlock the iOS screen. Both these processes are intuitive. You don’t need any kind of prior experience to use them. Dr.Fone also has a data eraser feature included in the package, which helps shred files securely.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

Here are a few things that we think Dr.Fone should fix.

Fone does not offer an option to connect your iPhone wirelessly. This option would increase the overall convenience of the app.
Compared to iMazing, many modules in Dr.Fone are pretty slow. We believe it’s a compromise made for advanced control.
Fone could make improvements to the UI to make it a bit more interesting.
Despite the advanced features, Dr.Fone doesn’t have options to manage iPhone devices in bulk.

Compatibility and pricing:

Dr.Fone iOS Toolkit is available for both Windows and macOS. As far as the iPhone support goes, it can work with most devices in use right now. We also tested Dr.Fone with the iPhone 6s and discovered that it works well. Of course, you get iOS 13 support.

You can use most of the features in Dr.Fone for free. However, if you need better control and power over your iPhone, you will have to purchase the full version by paying $135.95. It’s more expensive than iMazing, but the advanced features make the cost reasonable.

Dr.Fone, however, offers flexible options when it comes to the pricing plan. You can purchase individual modules by paying a lower fee. For instance, if you just need the Phone Transfer module (iOS and Android), you only pay $35.00.

Other options worth mentioning

If you are still reading because you haven’t found the iPhone transfer and manager software that works for your specific needs, here are a few more options you can consider:

EaseUS MobiMover

Coming from the trusted house of EaseUS, MobiMover is another worthy consideration if you are looking for useful iPhone transfer software. It’s not a management suite but rather a standalone iPhone transfer software, so you may not find the management-focused features found in iMazing or AnyTrans. Nevertheless, the transfer experience is relatively smooth.

The full version of EaseUS MobiMover allows you to transfer data between your PC, Mac, and multiple iOS-based devices. This tool’s main disadvantage is that it only comes with USB connectivity and doesn’t provide any wired options. It comes, though, with additional features such as the screen unlocker and file shredder. Altogether, if managing files is your priority, you can go with EaseUS MobiMover.

EaseUS MobiMover is available for Mac and Windows. The full version costs $39.95 per year for macOS and $29.95 for Windows.

iExplorer

Another tool made for both Windows and macOS, iExplorer is designed to enhance the way you manage an iPhone. When compared to other tools we have reviewed above, iExplorer has a UI that resembles what we’ve seen in iTunes. This can be both a good and a bad thing, depending on your needs. We also think that it feels a little challenging to set up iExplorer.

If you are asking whether iExplorer does the job, the answer is yes. Once set up, iExplorer offers a decent set of features. However, the lack of advanced features is noticeable. Think of iExplorer as a version of iTunes that has a better UI and fewer bugs inside. iExplorer is available for Windows and macOS, and the basic license starts at $39.99.

WALTR PRO

The reason WALTR PRO will appear on any respectable list of the best iPhone transfer and manager software has to be its simplicity. Many also like that video, audiobooks, music, iBooks, and television shows can be moved from one device to the other wirelessly. The software supports both Windows and macOS.

The great thing about WALTR PRO is that you can use it to send any audio or video file, no matter the format, to an iOS device. Even during the days of iTunes, many fans of this software’s predecessor, WALTR 2, recommended the software simply because it allowed users to bypass iTunes altogether. The new version also makes it possible to copy a video or album without the need to do a full sync.

To use WALTR PRO, you will need to pay $29.99 per year for one device. A lifetime license for a single user is $59.95.

CopyTrans Manager

CopyTrans Manager is a Windows-only iPhone manager that doubles as an iTunes alternative. It works with iPhone, iPod, and iPad devices. Among other purposes, users primarily turn to this tool to add music to their iPhones. When compared to other tools, CopyTrans Manager is more focused, we’d say. That also means you cannot expect fancy features from the package.

If you are an audiophile and want to create a great music library, CopyTrans Manager is the best shot you have here. There are no options for backup or restore. At the same time, you can edit and manage all your music playlists with great expertise. With all these features, CopyTrans Manager gets the job done.

CopyTrans Manager is available for Windows and is free to use.

MobileTrans

MobileTrans is a bit different from the tools we have covered above. While the tools mentioned earlier in this article offer some kind of management options, Wondershare MobileTrans is made explicitly for data transfer between two devices, be it iPhone or Android-based devices. Also, this product provides an extreme level of compatibility in terms of the manufacturers and OS versions.

If you are moving from an Android-based device to an iPhone or vice versa, MobileTrans is a superb option available in the market. The simple interface allows you to connect two devices, select the data you want to transfer, and then execute the transfer process. Although you may miss management features, the transfer speeds are pretty impressive.

The basic MobileTrans is free to use, but the full version costs $39.99 for Windows and $59.99 for Mac per year.

PhoneTrans

Iphone Backup Tool

The developers of PhoneTrans indicate that their main aim was to bridge the gap between Android and iOS systems. This makes PhoneTrans the right software for transferring files and data between devices from different brands. If you are an iPhone user, the software is very useful because it can help you circumvent Apple’s restrictions when attempting to transfer and manage data between Apple devices and those made by other manufacturers.

While the developers of PhoneTrans promise a free app, don’t take them for their word. Reviewers indicate that you can only use the app for free for up to seven days. After that, you will have to pay $40 to continue using the software.

Aiseesoft FoneTrans

With Aiseesoft FoneTrans, you can export various types of data. The developers of the software call it the ‘Intelligent iOS data transfer’. To get an idea of what you can do with this tool, think albums, audiobooks, contacts, ePub, music videos, voice memos, and PDF documents transferred between your computer and your iPad and iPhone. The tool supports macOS and Windows.

One of the great features of Aiseesoft FoneTrans is its ability to de-duplicate data. This means that the software will help you merge all the contacts that actually belong to the same person but were entered as different people in your phone, allowing you to delete any repeated files without hassle.

Aiseesoft FoneTrans has three packages. For a single-user license, you pay $39.96. The multi-user license allows three PCs and will cost $57.09, while the commercial license goes for $199.00, allowing for up to 30 computers. All the fees will give you lifetime access to the software.

Box

Whether you have an iPhone or any other device, one of the options you can check out is Box. The designers of Box say that their unique selling point is the simplicity of the software. For instance, all you need, to transmit files of any size to anywhere, is a link. This means that you don’t necessarily need a Box account to use the software.

The software promises users that they can preview over 120 different formats without downloading the file first. This feature makes it an excellent solution if you are worried about space when transferring high-resolution images, big videos, or graphics-heavy decks.

Box comes with a free individual plan, with paid plans starting at $11.50 per user per month. Business plans start at $5 per user per month.

The bottom line

We think these are the best iPhone transfer and manager software options that you can use to replace iTunes. We have tried to include diverse iTunes alternatives so that you can make the right choice. For instance, we believe iMazing is the go-to option for most people, while Dr.Fone seems to be the better choice for advanced users.