How to Back Up Your Phone Data Before a Factory Reset
A factory reset can help fix persistent phone problems, remove unwanted settings or prepare a device for resale. However, there is one important thing you should do before resetting your phone: back up your data.
A factory reset usually erases information stored locally on your device, including photos, videos, downloaded files, messages, apps and personal settings.
Imagine resetting your phone only to discover that your family pictures, important contacts or years of WhatsApp conversations are gone. Unfortunately, this can happen when people assume their information is automatically saved somewhere.
The good news is that you can protect most of your important information by backing it up before resetting your device.
Whether you use an Android phone or an iPhone, this guide explains how to save your data and check that your backup is complete before proceeding.
What Should You Back Up Before a Factory Reset?
Before starting, identify the information you cannot afford to lose.
Here are some important categories to check:
| Data | What to protect |
|---|---|
| Photos and videos | Camera pictures, recordings and downloaded media |
| Contacts | Saved phone numbers and email addresses |
| Chats, pictures, videos and voice notes | |
| Messages | SMS, MMS and other important conversations |
| Documents | PDFs, Word files, spreadsheets and downloads |
| Apps and settings | App information, preferences and device settings |
| Important accounts | Email addresses, passwords and recovery details |
Remember that not every app saves its information automatically. Some apps require separate backups or account synchronisation.
How to Back Up an Android Phone
Android phones, including Samsung, Tecno, Infinix, itel, Xiaomi and Google Pixel devices, offer different backup options.
The exact menu names may vary depending on your phone model and Android version, but the following steps cover the main methods.
Step 1: Back Up Your Phone With Your Google Account
Google provides a backup service that can save supported phone data and settings to your Google Account.
Follow these steps:
Open your phone's Settings.
Find and tap Google.
Select All services, if displayed.
Under Backup and restore, tap Backup.
Confirm that you are signed into the correct Google Account.
Turn on the backup option if it is not already enabled.
Tap Back up now to start a manual backup.
Depending on your device, the backup may include supported app data, call history, contacts, device settings and SMS or MMS messages.
Not every application supports backing up all its data, so you should check important apps separately.
Google notes that a backup can take time to complete, sometimes up to 24 hours. Check the backup details rather than assuming it has finished.
Step 2: Back Up Your Photos and Videos
Your general Android backup and your Google Photos backup are not necessarily the same thing.
To protect your pictures and videos:
Open the Google Photos app.
Tap your profile picture.
Select Photos settings.
Tap Backup.
Turn on backup if it is disabled.
Confirm that the correct Google Account is selected.
Wait for the backup to finish.
Afterwards, check that your photos and videos appear in Google Photos when accessed through the same account.
Important: Google Accounts generally include 15 GB of free storage shared across Google services such as Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos. If your storage is full, your backup may not complete until you free up space or purchase additional storage.
Step 3: Back Up Your WhatsApp Chats
Your WhatsApp conversations may not be included in your normal Android phone backup.
You should create a separate WhatsApp backup.
Follow these steps:
Open WhatsApp.
Tap the three dots in the top-right corner.
Select Settings.
Tap Chats.
Select Chat backup.
Choose the Google Account you want to use.
Select whether to include videos.
Tap Back up.
Wait until the backup process finishes and check the date and time of the latest backup.
Your WhatsApp backup is linked to the Google Account and phone number used to create it. You will generally need the same account and number to restore your chats.
If you use end-to-end encrypted backups, make sure you can access the required password or encryption key before resetting your phone.
Step 4: Save Important Files to Google Drive
Some files may not be included in your normal device backup.
These could include:
Documents in your Downloads folder.
Important PDFs and certificates.
Work-related files.
Voice recordings.
Files saved from messaging applications.
To save them:
Open the Files or My Files app.
Locate the documents you want to keep.
Select the files.
Choose Share or Upload, depending on your file manager.
Select Google Drive.
Choose a folder and upload the files.
Open Google Drive afterwards to confirm that the files are available.
You can also transfer files to a computer or external storage device.
How to Back Up an iPhone
Apple provides two main backup options: iCloud and a computer.
You can use either method or both for additional protection.
Step 1: Back Up Your iPhone to iCloud
Follow these steps:
Open Settings.
Tap your name at the top of the screen.
Select iCloud.
Tap iCloud Backup.
Turn on Back Up This iPhone if it is disabled.
Tap Back Up Now.
Keep your iPhone connected to Wi-Fi until the backup finishes.
Check the last successful backup date and time on the same screen.
Make sure you have enough available iCloud storage. If your storage is full, the backup may not complete.
Step 2: Check Your Photos and Videos
If you use iCloud Photos, your pictures and videos sync separately from the main iCloud device backup.
To check:
Open Settings.
Tap your name.
Select iCloud.
Tap Photos.
Check whether Sync this iPhone is enabled.
You can also open the Photos app and check the synchronisation status.
Do not assume your photos are safely stored just because iCloud Backup has completed. Apple explains that photos already synced through iCloud Photos are not duplicated in the normal iCloud device backup.
READ MORE: How to Stop Apps From Tracking Your WhatsApp Status Views
Step 3: Back Up Your WhatsApp Chats
WhatsApp has its own backup process on iPhone.
Follow these steps:
Open WhatsApp.
Tap Settings.
Select Chats.
Tap Chat Backup.
Select Back Up Now.
Check the latest backup date and time.
You can also enable automatic backups and choose whether to include videos.
Make sure iCloud Drive is enabled and that WhatsApp has permission to use it. You also need enough available iCloud storage.
If you use an end-to-end encrypted WhatsApp backup, keep its password or encryption key safe.
Step 4: Back Up Your iPhone to a Computer
If you prefer not to rely entirely on cloud storage, you can create a backup using a Mac or Windows computer.
On a Mac:
Connect your iPhone to your Mac using a USB cable.
Open Finder.
Select your iPhone from the sidebar.
Choose the option to back up all your iPhone data to the Mac.
Select Back Up Now.
On Windows:
Connect your iPhone to your computer.
Open the Apple Devices app, or use iTunes where applicable.
Select your iPhone.
Choose the backup option.
Click Back Up Now.
Consider enabling encrypted local backups if you want supported sensitive information, such as Health and Activity data, to be included.
READ MORE: How to Check and Reduce Your Data Usage on Android
How to Make Sure Your Backup Is Complete
This is one of the most important steps before resetting your phone.
Do not assume that a backup is successful simply because you tapped a button.
Use this checklist:
- Confirm the correct Google Account or Apple Account is being used.
- Check the date and time of your latest successful device backup.
- Open Google Photos or iCloud Photos and verify that your pictures are available.
- Check that your contacts are synchronised or saved.
- Confirm that your WhatsApp backup has completed.
- Open Google Drive, iCloud Drive or your computer backup to check important files.
- Make sure you know your account passwords and can access your recovery methods.
- Confirm that you have enough cloud storage for the backup.
If possible, open your cloud storage from another device or a computer to verify that your important files are accessible.
Never reset your phone while an important backup is still uploading or showing an error.
What Happens After a Factory Reset?
Once you have confirmed that your backup is complete, you can proceed with the factory reset.
After the reset, your phone will return to its initial setup state.
During setup:
Connect your phone to a reliable Wi-Fi network.
Sign in with the same Google Account or Apple Account used for your backup.
Follow the on-screen instructions to restore your saved information.
Select the appropriate backup where prompted.
Allow the restoration process to finish.
For Android, the option to restore device data usually appears during the initial setup process. Photos backed up to Google Photos can be accessed by signing into the same Google Account.
For iPhone, you can restore from an iCloud backup during setup by choosing the relevant restore option.
Some applications may need to be downloaded again, and some may require you to sign in separately.
Common Backup Mistakes to Avoid
Before you reset your phone, avoid these mistakes:
1. Assuming everything is automatically backed up: Some apps and files require separate backup settings.
2. Forgetting WhatsApp: Your WhatsApp chats may not be included in your normal device backup.
3. Using the wrong cloud account: Backing up to an account you cannot access later can make restoring difficult.
4. Ignoring storage limits: A full Google or iCloud account can prevent new backups from completing.
5. Resetting before synchronisation finishes: An interrupted backup can leave important files missing.
6. Forgetting passwords and recovery details: You may need your account credentials and verification methods to restore your information.
7. Assuming a SIM card contains all your contacts: Some contacts may be saved only on your device or in a cloud account.
READ MORE: How to Find a Lost Phone Even When It's on Silent
Finally
A factory reset can be useful when troubleshooting a phone, but losing important information in the process can create an even bigger problem.
Before resetting your device, take time to back up your photos, videos, contacts, WhatsApp conversations, documents and other important files.
More importantly, verify that your backups are complete and that you can access the accounts where they are stored.
A few minutes spent checking your backup today could save you from losing years of memories tomorrow.