Top 4 Best Ways to Backup iPad to iCloud/iTunes/External Drive

Summary: When you want to make a copy of your important information on your Pad, what tools would be your thinking point? iCloud? iTunes? Another iPad or iPhone? Or other third-party tools? This page will show you all of them to direct you in detailed steps to backup iPad.

• Solution 1. Backup iPad to iCloud with Wi-Fi network
  • Backup iPad to iCloud manually
  • Backup iPad to iCloud automatically
• Solution 2. Backup iPad on iTunes
• Solution 3. Backup iPad to computer/external drive with iOS Data Backup & Restore
• Solution 4. Backup iPad to Mac/iPad/iPhone with FoneTrans

Solution 1. Backup iPad to iCloud with Wi-Fi network

iCloud is the free built-in tool provided by Apple to make backup. How does iCloud work to backup iPad? Keep reading to get the answer.

Before you make iPad backup to iCloud, you need to connect your iPad to a Wi-Fi network.

Backup iPad to iCloud manually

Step 1 Go to "Settings" > Scroll down and tap "iCloud".

On your iPhone, go to "Settings" > "General" > Scroll down the screen to the bottom and tap on "Reset" > "Erase All Content and Settings".

Step 2 Tap "Storage & Backup" > "iCloud Backup" to turn it on, and tap "Back Up Now" to backup your Pad.

After making the iCloud backup, you can check the progress and confirm the backup completed by tapping "Settings" > Your name > "iCloud" > "Storage & Backup" > "iCloud Backup" > See the data and time of your last backup under "Back Up Now".

Backup iPad to iCloud automatically

If you do not want to backup iPad with settings every time, then you could follow the steps as below to backup iPad automatically to iCloud.

Step 1 Go to "Settings" > Scroll down and tap "iCloud".

Step 2 Tap "Storage & Backup" > Slide "iCloud Backup" to ON.

You will be able to store your copy information on its cloud with free 5GB. If you need more iCloud storage, you can buy more from your iPad. Plans start at 50GB for $0.99 (USD) a month.

You may need: How to restore iPad from iCloud backup.

Solution 2. Backup iPad on iTunes

If you do have lots of data to backup on iPad, but do not want to spend more on it, then you could consider backing up iPad to iTunes on your computer (Windows or Mac). The storage on your computer will be enough for you to backup iPad.

Step 1 Run iTunes on your computer and meanwhile connect your iPad to computer with USB cable. If a message pops up to ask for your iPad passcode or Trust This Computer, just follow the onscreen information.

Step 2 Click your iPad icon to see the Summary information. Click "Back Up Now" under "Manually Back Up and Restore".

iTunes is the free app that enables you to backup iPad, but you could not view the backup details on your computer except for the music file.

Tips:

1. You can check the iPad backup successfully by looking under Latest Backup to find the date and time.

2. If you have confidential data on iPad, then you could create the encrypted backup by checkmarking "Encrypt local backup" to set the password.

You will not miss: How to restore iPad from iTunes.

Solution 3. Backup iPad to computer/external drive with iOS Data Backup & Restore

From the above two ways, you will note that whether you use iTunes or iCloud to backup iPad, you will find they have disadvantages that, iCloud has limited free storage of 5GB to store data while iTunes gives you no option to view the backup data. So here, we will get the third way to back up iPad to computer with iOS Data Backup & Restore.

Step 1 Connect iPad to computer

Run FoneLab on your computer, click the main menu and select "iOS Data Backup & Restore" > "iOS Data Backup". Meanwhile connect your iPad to computer.

Step 2 Scan iPad

Here two options are given to you to make iPad backup.

Standard backup and encrypted backup. Select one and click "Start" to start to scan your iPad data.

Step 3 Bakup iPad data type

In the pop-up window, select the data that you want to make backup and click "Next" to select the destination on your computer to save the iPad backup file.

In this way, you will see and save the iPad backup easily on your computer. And if you like, you could move the iPad backup to other external drivers. But you may note that you you could only use this software on your Windows computer, for Mac users, you have to seek for the next solution

Solution 4. Backup iPad to Mac/iPad/iPhone with FoneTrans

As mentioned before, if you hope to backup iPad to Mac, then here FoneTrans will do you a favor. FoneTrans is the iOS transfer to help you backup iPad to Mac or other iOS device like iPad iPhone X.

Firstly, you need to download this software on your computer.

Here four ways of backing up iPad to iTunes, iCloud and external drive have been shared here. If you want to backup your iPad data to Android device, then you had better read this post: How to transfer contacts from iPad to Android.