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I backup my phone to iTunes but need to back up my pc. I can do pictures as I can just copy those from the phone but what about the contacts, texts etc that are backed up to iTunes? Where is that stored?

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  • Are you asking about the location on a Windows computer?
    – Keith Smiley
    Jul 18, 2013 at 1:00

2 Answers 2

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From Locate backups of your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch:

iTunes places the backup files in the following places:

  • Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

  • Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

    Note: To quickly access the Application Data folder, click Start, and choose Run. Type %appdata% and click OK.

  • Windows Vista, 7, 8, 10: \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

    Note: To quickly access the AppData folder, click Start. In the search bar, type %appdata% and press the ↩ Return key.

20230805: "new" folder

Windows 10: \Users\(username)\Apple\MobileSync\Backup\

Apple might have made this the new default since a while, I can also find this folder listed at iTunes Backup Location: Where Does iTunes Store Backups?. In a new installation of iTunes on a computer that has never stored a backup before, it took this "new" folder.

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  • I gather than you are not supposed to say thank you particularly on here but thank you so much. I can now replace my hard drive after the backup of the backup! :)
    – madfish
    Jul 17, 2013 at 21:26
  • @madfish If the answer helped you achieve what is necessary, vote it up and tick it as being correct.
    – Simon
    Aug 23, 2013 at 12:23
  • Just a note that on my Mac, these files are split apart and named in a way that they're not human-readable.
    – Eric Hu
    Nov 17, 2015 at 7:34
  • 2
    What about windows 10
    – user1605665
    Dec 27, 2016 at 2:35
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For Windows 7 & 8 (from my knowledge):

  • Start iTunes and attach the iPhone.
  • Click on your phone icon and then select the Info tab on the top menu.
  • Note the drop down menu SYNC CONTACTS WITH.
  • Choose Windows Contacts.
  • Make sure everything else is unchecked.
  • Then go ahead sync your phone.
  • This creates and or updates a Contacts Folder in your Windows User's folder called Contacts.
  • The info in here looks similar to a file but the columns show contact info.
  • Select an entry and OPEN IT (double click or right click and choose open.) - An edit window opens. When you sync the Windows Contact folder and your iPhone you will be able to get a pretty cool reconciliation feature for the differences between the two lists.
  • This works well and I know I have my contacts on my computer and backed up with all my other stuff.
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