This guide shows you how to do so using iOS 13 and macOS Catalina (or later).
First, you should probably know where the backup is stored on your Mac.
It’s not hard to find.
Connect your phone to your rig with a USB cable so it appears in your Finder.
It will appear under theLocationsheading in the Finder.
If you use an older version of macOS than macOS Catalina, use iTunes to find your iPhone instead.
Long-press theControlkey and grab the backup name you want.
It may be named “Backup” or it may be a long string of letters and numbers.
In the drop-down menu, selectShow in Finder.
You’ve successfully tracked down the backup.
This step is pretty simple.
verify your external hard drive is plugged in!
Go to the Finder window that displays your iOS backup.
It will either be called Backup or consist of a series of numbers and letters.
Drag it to the external hard drive underLocationsin the Finder sidebar.
You may have to slide in your administrator password to do this.
Rename the iOS backup folder on the external hard drive toios_backup.
Switch back to the original finder window and rename the old backup toold_backup.
If you are uncomfortable working with the Mac Terminal, that’s probably your safest choice.
Can You Change Where Your Mac Saves iPhone Backups?
If you want, you could permanently change where the Mac saves your iPhone backups.
The process involves being comfortable changing a few background parameters on your Mac via theTerminal command.
Changing Mac’s location for iPhone backups is the trickiest part of this process.
You also need to change some permissions on your Mac first to get to the result.
Update Permissions on Your Mac
Here’s how to change those permissions.
Click theLockto make changes.
Click theplus (+)sign.
Scroll through your applicationsand selectTerminal.
Paste this code, ensuring you change the relevant parts to the name of your external hard drive.
You’ve now made a symlink between the new folder and the old folder that contains your backup.
How Do I Know the New iPhone Backup Worked?
When dealing with backups, you want to be certain that you’ve done it all correctly.
To double-check, chooseBack Up Nowfrom the iPhone location in your finder.
In theLocationssection, select youriPhone.
Uncheck theAutomatically sync when this iPhone is connectedbox.
Don’t forget to manually back up regularly.
FAQ
Toformat a hard drive in Windows, openDisk Management, right-hit the disk, and chooseFormat.
UnderFile system, chooseNTFS.
UnderAllocation unit size, chooseDefault.
UncheckPerform a quick formatso that a “standard format” is performed.
Toback up your Mac to an external drive, use Time Machine.
