How to speed up a slow iPhone backup (via OS X Daily)

I recently tried to update my iPhone to version 4.0 but the backup process of the update was taking FOREVER!

I assumed that the only way to speed it up was to clear out any non-vital data, such as text messages, pics, and etc. I backed up my pics to my Mac using iPhoto and deleted them form the iPhone once done. I deleted all text messages, old voicemails, and removed a bunch of apps i never use and don’t really want/need. Then I shut it down and back on again and put it in airplane mode.

Now the backup portion of the update seems to be going faster, but still horribly slow. Apparently it is doing a full backup without exception (meaning it backs EVERYTHING up even if it was backed up previously and unchanged since).

If you have any tips feel free to post them in the comments below. Otherwise all I have to offer is what I typed above and this link I found: here.

***UPDATE***

I have noticed this seems to be quite a popular post (based on the results I am seeing on StatPress), so I think it important to update you all on how everything went.

I have a friend who works in Technical Support for AT&T. She offered some extra help in figuring out the problem. To make a long story short, this is in fact a problem associated with older phone models (such as the 3G) and here is the process that worked best for me (your mileage may vary)…

What to do

Step 1: Backup your purchases to iTunes. File->Transfer Purchases from |your phone’s name here|

Step 2: Backup your photos. Since I was performing this upgrade on my Mac at work, I used iPhoto to do the backup.

Step 3: Delete all photos from your phone (don’t worry, you already backed them up in step 2 right?).

Step 4: Delete any old/unused apps from your phone. This will decrease the amount of data on your phone which will speed up the upgrade process.

Step 5: Delete any old/nonessential text messages, emails, voicemails, and etc.

Step 6: If you have a ton of music/video on your phone, as long as it is safely backed up to iTunes, go ahead and remove it from your phone.

Step 7: Put your phone in airplane mode. Settings->Airplane Mode->On (this will prevent anyone from calling/texting you which might interrupt the Sync).

Step 8: Turn Off Notifications. Settings->Notifications->Off (this will prevent your apps from sending you push notifications which could interfere with the Sync).

Step 9: Begin the Upgrade process. It should begin by doing a full backup of your iPhone, then proceed to install the new OS, then if everything goes well it will restore your data and apps to your phone.

Step 10: Turn your notifications back on and turn off airplane mode.

Other Notes

If for some reason your phone does not have the data and/or apps on it after the upgrade, first ensure that the upgrade was in fact successful. Go to Settings->General->About->Version and it should say 4.0 (followed by some numbers and/or letters in parentheses). If it says something else, restore the phone to factory settings and try again.

If your phone is upgraded to 4.0 and you are still missing your data/apps then simply re-sync your phone with iTunes and you should be all set.

Another problem people have been having is connection to the network (AT&T phone service and/or 3G/WiFi). My phone had this problem and my friend informed me that this was actually the most common complaint they had.

To fix this, simply put your phone in back in airplane mode, wait a few seconds, then turn airplane mode off again. If this doesn’t work, try powering off your phone then back on again.

Image from daskeyboard.com

Wow has time passed since my last post or what?!

Well I see I still have some readers still hanging on so I should update if nothing but for your sakes. Thank you for sticking around.

I can’t recall if I mentioned this before or not, so I’m going to talk about it now anyway. I purchased a Mac Mini for my business. Why a Mac? Well because it will allow me to develop iPhone apps to sell on the App Store (man I really need to get cracking on that). Yes, I know it is kind of like feeding the beast, but do not worry, I still run Ubuntu at home and even run it on this Mac (yeah, I’m at work) through VirtualBox (I suppose I should post something about that sometime soon). And yes, I’m running Windows XP through VirtualBox too. I’m such a wreck right now!

So, what do I think about my first Mac?

Well to be perfectly honest, I love how smooth the boot and shutdown processes go, and how clean the interface is. I am still getting used to having the menu bar for each application stuck at the top of the screen instead of the top of the application window, but it is growing on me. I thought I would loath it, but I am finding more and more it is quite convenient actually. I also like how clear the display is and I like (for the most part) the dock at the bottom.

I do not, however, like the mouse/keyboard situation. I purchased a PC mouse and keyboard (the Logitech Cordless Desktop LX710 Laser) because I have to have a right click button, and I have big fingers and those tiny Apple keyboards just wont work for me. Not to mention I had planned in advance to use VirtualBox to host Linux and Windows and wanted to have a familiar keyboard/mouse feel when working in those environments.

Everything on the mouse and keyboard work as expected in Linux and Windows (even through the virtual machine), but there are some serious annoyances when it comes to using them in the Mac OS.

PC I/O devices on a Mac

The Home and End keys do not work the same in OS X as they do in Windows or Linux. On Mac they take you to the top of the document or the end (or something, it honestly confuses me when I press them and I really don’t know what is going on). Either way, I can’t stand it. When I press the home key, I want it to go to the start of the line I am currently on (this is huge for coding). When I press the End key, I want it to go to the end of the line I am currently working on… Similarly with Ctrl+Home (sorry, that’s the windows/linux version, on a mac it’s open apple + home or the “Windows” key + home on Windows aka the “Super” key + home on Linux), or Ctrl+End (you get the idea), I expect to go to the beginning or end of the document respectively. Additionally when holding shift and pressing any of those combinations, I expect it to highlight the text between my current location in the document to the respective destination.

Additionally, I want my 4th and 5th mouse buttons to work properly! right now they work just like a “middle click” in the Mac environment.

How to solve this? — Well I’m looking into it. If you have any suggestions, please let me know in the comments!

What next?

Not sure yet. I’m working on some websites and going to be quitting my other job (I’m so burned out and it’s falling apart everywhere), so I will be focusing on this business full time from here on out! I’ll try to keep the updates coming more frequently.

What about Linux?

Don’t worry, I have not and will not abandon my obsession with Linux. The new version of Ubuntu is here! So I am downloading the ISO and will at the very least be booting it up here on my virtual machine to play with and will be doing a complete system wipe and re installation on my laptop at home when I have time (was playing around the other day and found out I was using the 32-bit version of Ubuntu when I could be using the 64-bit, and also still have Vista partitioned there taking up 50GB for nothing!).