12-27-2011, 06:42 PM

I had to restore my iPhone a little while ago due to a failed update and in doing so I lost everything. Luckily I backed up my iPhone before I updated my iPhone. I used to be able to restore from backup but now that I'm in iOS 5 I can't do that. If I go to preferences>Devices I can see the backup of my iPhone but their is no way to restore my iPhone to it.

The backup of my iPhone is there but Apple won't let me restore to it, how should I go about doing it?

12-29-2011, 12:51 AM

Originally Posted by 35g700

I had to restore my iPhone a little while ago due to a failed update and in doing so I lost everything. Luckily I backed up my iPhone before I updated my iPhone. I used to be able to restore from backup but now that I'm in iOS 5 I can't do that. If I go to preferences>Devices I can see the backup of my iPhone but their is no way to restore my iPhone to it.

The backup of my iPhone is there but Apple won't let me restore to it, how should I go about doing it?

You certainly should be able to restore from your backup, even if the version of iOS is newer than the one you backed up with. What makes you think that you can't do so now?

EDIT: if you are trying to do this over wi-fi… plug it in.

12-29-2011, 01:05 AM

Plug your device in via USB. It should show up in the middle of the sidebar on the left side of the iTunes screen. Ctrl-Click (right-click) the device. Select 'Restore from Backup'.

Although you can view your backups in Preferences, I don't think there is a way to restore from the Preferences box.

01-01-2012, 11:16 PM

Originally Posted by 35g700

I had to restore my iPhone a little while ago due to a failed update and in doing so I lost everything. Luckily I backed up my iPhone before I updated my iPhone. I used to be able to restore from backup but now that I'm in iOS 5 I can't do that. If I go to preferences>Devices I can see the backup of my iPhone but their is no way to restore my iPhone to it.

The backup of my iPhone is there but Apple won't let me restore to it, how should I go about doing it?

i have the same problem! iam trying to find a solution from 3 days and i cant, i cant restore from back up, even i cant see the Restore from backup word in the devices
any idea?

02-12-2013, 11:13 PM

Originally Posted by 35g700

I had to restore my iPhone a little while ago due to a failed update and in doing so I lost everything. Luckily I backed up my iPhone before I updated my iPhone. I used to be able to restore from backup but now that I'm in iOS 5 I can't do that. If I go to preferences>Devices I can see the backup of my iPhone but their is no way to restore my iPhone to it.

The backup of my iPhone is there but Apple won't let me restore to it, how should I go about doing it?

I lost my iphone4s and i really need to get the contacts there. i know itunes do automatic back up, but when i clicked restore from back up from the new iphone4 i got, the back up of my old phone wasnt there. but when i checked in the devices in the preference box, it is there. why is it not showing when i restore it? how can i restore the back up? help pls?

02-16-2013, 11:11 AM

Originally Posted by marielle0420

I lost my iphone4s and i really need to get the contacts there. i know itunes do automatic back up, but when i clicked restore from back up from the new iphone4 i got, the back up of my old phone wasnt there. but when i checked in the devices in the preference box, it is there. why is it not showing when i restore it? how can i restore the back up? help pls?

It might be because of different versions of iOS.

What version of iOS was running on the iPhone 4s?

What version of iOS is running on the iPhone 4?

10-14-2013, 09:24 AM

This is not possible within iTunes, which deals with backup and restore as a single block. Keep in mind that syncing apps is different from a backup and restore - so you could remove some apps to free up space and try the restore.

The backup is stored under ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/, but the files not in an easy-to-use form.

If you wish to explore your backup and see what can be selectively extracted or used, there are some paid applications to do that (check the free trials to see if they're helpful): like: Vibosoft iPhone backup extractor app. iPhone Backup Extractor - Extract iPhone Backup File from iTunes Mac/Windows

10-14-2013, 09:25 AM

Originally Posted by Fibo011235

It might be because of different versions of iOS.

What version of iOS was running on the iPhone 4s?

What version of iOS is running on the iPhone 4?

I am trying to restore a new 16 GB iPhone from my old 64 GB backup, and am getting the error message that the old backup is too large (for the record, I don't believe it's very much over 16 GB)...the old phone is broken, so I cannot try to make a new backup smaller (this was one solution I found here).

10-15-2013, 07:56 AM

Originally Posted by Johnsally

I am trying to restore a new 16 GB iPhone from my old 64 GB backup, and am getting the error message that the old backup is too large (for the record, I don't believe it's very much over 16 GB)...the old phone is broken, so I cannot try to make a new backup smaller (this was one solution I found here).

Easy solution ... take the 16GB iPhone back, exchange it for a 32. Problem solved.