Keep Apple devices in sync
- Wireless Backup For Mac
- Best External Backup For Mac
- Wireless Backup Hard Drive Mac
- Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Drive
- Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Drives
- Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Disk
Backup your Mac with a portable or desktop hard drive. Safekeep all of your music, photographs, movies and more. Buy online with fast, free shipping. How to back up your Mac with Time Machine. We have a step-by-step guide to backing up with Time Machine here, but essentially you just need to do the following. Plug in hard drive or SSD. LaCie Mobile Drive - Best for travellers and best overall RRP: From $74.99 (1TB) to $169.99 (5TB) Best Price s. Seagate Backup Plus Ultra Touch - Best for MacBook owners RRP: $89.99 (1TB), $109.99 (2TB) Best Price s. Seagate Firecuda Gaming Dock - Best for desktop storage. Seagate 4TB Backup Plus USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive for Mac STDS4000400. Type: External; Dimensions: 0.81' x 3.07' x 4.51' Weight: 0.54 lb. Package Contents: Seagate Backup Plus portable drive for Mac 18-inch (45.72cm) USB 3.0 cable Seagate Dashboard backup software. Quick start guideHFS+ driver for PC. Requires Internet connection.
Enjoy full-way data transfer with AnyTrans for iOS.
There's never too many photos on iPhone, right? Wrong. When it comes to backing up your iOS device, endless photos, messages, and files can suffocate your internal storage on Mac.
The first way to solve the problem is pretty straightforward: Keep your iPhone or iPad clean. It became a bit easier with the release of iOS 13, which allows removing similar shots and clutter from your Photos gallery automatically. If you take your gallery cleanness seriously, you can go further and install a smart duplicate finder like Gemini on your phone. Whether you're an Instagram husband/wife, or simply love good photography — this is a pro-level tool to save your disk space.
iPhone Backup to External Storage
Get the best Mac apps to backup and transfer data from iPhone, iPad, iTunes, iCloud to external drives without any loss.
But what if photos are not the problem? Sometimes it's about text docs, mail attachments — lots of small files that become heavier and heavier as they pile up. It will take hours of work to free up storage space manually. So we suggest you don't. You can solve the problem by changing iPhone backup location instead.
In this guide, we'll tell you everything about where iPhone and iPad backups are stored by default, how to move them to an external drive, and what's the best Mac tool for running direct iOS backups.
Wireless Backup For Mac
How to change iPhone backup location on Mac
There are two Apple ways to backup iOS devices to Mac — using iTunes or iCloud. None of them is very easy. We've prepared detailed instructions on how to locate and move iPhone backup to an external drive both ways. If you follow these, nothing could go wrong.
Locate iOS backups in iTunes/Finder
Here's how you find a list of iOS backups if you use iTunes:
- Click on the Spotlight Search button in the menu bar
- Type the following command: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
- Hit Return.
The mechanism is a bit different if you're searching for a specific backup. In this case, go to iTunes > Preferences > Devices. Control-click the selected backup and select Show in Finder from the drop-down menu.
Note that if you're using macOS Catalina or later, you'll have to locate backups via Finder, while newer operating systems don’t have iTunes in its original form:
- Open a new Finder window
- Select Go > Go to Folder
- Type the command ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
- Hit Go.
- Access your Backup folder from there.
An important thing to remember is that you shouldn't copy or extract specific files from your Backup folder — this might lead to your files being ruined. What you have to do is to copy and transfer an entire folder.
Locate iOS backups in iCloud
If you use iCloud for iPhone backups, you don't have to suffer from the low storage problem. Once your iPhone or iPad files are backed up, you can simply delete the backups. None of your valuable data will be damaged.
How to remove backups from iPhone or iPad and turn off backup for your device.
- Go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud
- Click Manage Storage > Backups for iOS 11 and iCloud Storage > Manage Storage for iOS 10.3
- Select your device name
- Delete Backup > Turn Off and Delete.
On your Mac:
- Apple menu > System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud
- Select Manage and click on the Backups
- With the backup selected, click Delete to remove the backup. Confirm that you would also like to turn off Backup if needed.
Backup iPhone to external hard drive
For those who backup via iTunes/Finder, the journey isn't finished. Now it's time to backup iPhone to USB drive, an external hard drive that won't affect your storage on Mac. This should be done very carefully. Any attempt to extract files from the backup folder or using the wrong name of a hard drive may end up in a failure.
Also, let us warn you in advance that you shouldn't delete a backup after you move it to the new storage location. Before you do anything to your old iOS backups, make sure you set iTunes to backup from the hard drive. Let's go through it step by step.
How to save iPhone backup to external hard drive:
- Connect your external hard drive to Mac and open it.
- Select the backup folder from the Finder window or iTunes. Usually, the name of the backup folder consists of random numbers and letters, or it's called 'Backup.'
- Drag the entire folder — couldn't emphasize it more — to your external drive.
- Type your admin password.
- Rename the backup folder to 'iOS_backup' and enter the admin password once again to confirm your action.
Now, the most delicate part. It's not enough to create iPhone external storage, you have to tell iTunes where it is to ensure the backups will be done externally from now on. To make that work, you should create a new path — or a so-called symbolic link — for iTunes/Finder.
Before you dive into it, make sure you allow Full Disk Access for Terminal. You'll have to enable it manually if you use macOS Mojave. In this case, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy. Unlock by entering your admin password and click Full Disk Access. Add Terminal to the list of apps with full access permission via the plus button.
Now you're ready to work with Terminal. Make sure you pay close attention to every word you type — Terminal commands can be cumbersome. Open Terminal via Spotlight and type the following command (no rush, you might need to customize it):
ln-s/Volumes/External/ios_backup~/Library/ApplicationSupport/MobileSync/Backup/ 4f1234a05e6e7ccbaddfd12345678f1234b123f
In the command above, 'External' is the name of your hard drive. Possibly, your drive has a different name, so you'll have to change it in the command. The last part '4f1234a05e6e7ccbaddfd12345678f1234b123f' is the name of the backup folder. If you're transferring via Finder, it's very common for this folder to be named 'Backup.' Make sure they match or rename accordingly.
Once your command is accurate, hit Return and quit Terminal. Vectoraster 7 2 1 download free.
You've done everything right if you can find a newly created symlink file with the name of your backup folder in the MobileSync folder. The file icon should have an arrow in the bottom left corner.
Backing up to external drive: How to check it works?
Now when you've backed up iPhone to portable hard drive, run a test to see whether iTunes is really backing up from the new location:
- Connect your iPhone or iPad.
- Launch iTunes or find your device via Finder.
- Select Back Up Now.
- With the backup completed, open the iOS_backup folder on the external drive.
- Check the date and time of the last backup — it should coincide with your recent activity.
Only after the test proves successful can you delete your old backups.
How to backup iPhone directly to external drive
There are two big problems with iTunes backups. And we can understand why you say 'nay' to both of them. First of all, if you're backing up with iTunes or iCloud, you never know what files are covered. While you have to move an entire folder to your external drive, there's no way to check what's inside — not to mention selecting specific files for a backup.
Another thing is Terminal commands can go wrong — and they often do. A single mistake can break the whole process, so you'll have to start all over again. The good news is you can actually back up iPhone to external hard drive without iTunes and iCloud. The tool that you need for that is called AnyTrans for iOS.
AnyTrans is a Mac utility that handles connections across iOS, macOS, and Android devices. And by 'connections' we mean lots of useful things that built-in utilities like iTunes can't handle:
- Transfer media files, including photos, messages, and documents from your iPhone/iPad to Mac.
- Back up your iOS device to an external drive in seconds.
- Preview files that you're backing up and select your custom file types if you don't want to back up everything.
- Preview old iCloud and iTunes backups and transfer files from your old backup directly to an external drive.
As a nice perk, AnyTrans has a built-in media downloader that enables you to download video and audio from 900+ websites, including YouTube and Dailymotion.
The backup process is a four-step deal if you use AnyTrans — instead of complicated Terminal commands. Here's how you back up directly to external drive:
- Connect your iPhone or iPad to Mac and open AnyTrans.
- Click on Backup Manager and view the list of files that can be backed up.
- Tick the boxes next to specific file categories or select all.
- Choose your external drive as the target save location and click on the Next button to start backing up.
That's it. Everything you've backed up will now appear on your external drive. Also, check out information about what do you do if your iPhone wont turn on at all
Let's sum up with a few tips that will help you keep your iPhone data protected:
Double protection
If you're determined to use the built-in tools for your iOS and iPad backups, we recommend to use both iCloud and iTunes/Finder. It's never a waste of time when it comes to ensuring your data security. So in case something goes wrong, you'll have a backup plan. Pun intended.
Move backups across storages
Maybe you have lots of data. Or, you simply prefer cloud storage to storing your files on a local drive. That's understandable. To ensure nothing gets lost in the shuffle, use CloudMounter to mount your cloud drives as local disks and thus, transfer backups across multiple storages flexibly.
There's always a way back
We encourage you to simplify things with AnyTrans. And even if you decide to go with iTunes, note that you can always delete your symlink and try an easier option. To go back to internal backups, type ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup in Spotlight and delete your symlink folder.
Two (or 162) for the price of one
Both AnyTrans and CloudMounter are available with a Setapp subscription. Setapp is a package of curated Mac utilities that solve the majority of jobs on Mac. So if you get the Setapp subscription, you'll be able to handle automatic iOS backups, move backups across storages and do 160+ other things.
Setapp lives on Mac and iOS. Please come back from another device.
Meantime, prepare for all the awesome things you can do with Setapp.
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For MAC Owners Who Love Doing More…
If it isn’t the biggest and best wireless hard drive for MAC, then I don’t want it for my precious videos, photos, and backups…
But hey, it’s because I take my work personal.
It’s also because I never stop…
Wireless Storage Lets You Work from Bed
Even before I get out of bed I’m already hitting the keys with new ideas…
You might say I’m obsessed with my work.
And you’d be right because I love to create!
But to fuel my creativity I need space, disk space that is…
WiFi Storage Makes Sense
Lots of disk space which is why having a portable WiFi hard drive makes total sense for me.
Look, for a while I tried to store my files on cheap USB thumb drives.
Hey, they’re big enough and they come 3 in a pack, right?
Then I lost the thumb drive that had an important project saved on it.
I’d spent days working on this project and it really pissed me off so I don’t save my important files on thumb drives anymore…
Alternative for USB Thumb Drive
But now I needed a solid alternative for storing my projects, something that was as easy to use as a thumb drive.
So after some research, and reading lots of product reviews, I figured out that buying a wireless hard drive was the answer to my storage problem.
Allison’s WD Wireless SSD video convinced me…
Here’s a link to see the WD 500GB My Passport Wireless SSD External Portable Drive.
BUT THAT’S NOT ALL – a wireless hard drive has more benefits…
- Simple – I can download 100s of photos from my MAC, iPhone, and DLSR every day for editing and storing.
- Fast – I can directly access and edit video files that would normally take up a huge amount of storage on my MAC. Now I only keep a few working files on my laptop hard drive and copy everything else to external storage.
- Versatile – It allows all my devices to connect using wireless so I can move around while I work (or work from bed).
- Big – I’ve learned the hard way to keep backups of my work. And now I even back up my backups for extra protection.
Look, I could keep on going but you can imagine by now, especially if you also love to create that having gigabytes of easy to access extra storage space is crucial for your job…
Best Wireless Hard Drive for MAC (pick from 10 Best Sellers)
#1 Best SellerWD 4TB My Passport Wireless Pro Portable External Hard Drive, Wifi USB 3.0 - WDBSMT0040BBK-NESN- SD 3.0 card reader for fast media offloads
- Wireless 802.11ac to stream 4K videos and view photos with the My Cloud mobile app on iOS and Android* |*4K streaming requires native player on mobile device with codec support for 4K video files and is subject to mobile device capabilities, hardware and software components and configurations.
- All-day battery (up to 10 hours)* |*Based on streaming HD 720p, 3 Mbps video to one device over Wi-Fi 2.4 GHz single band only. Actual battery life depends on file size, type, format, bitrate, devices connected, Wi-Fi connectivity, settings and other factors.
- Built-in power bank to charge your phone, action camera and more (with output up to 1.5A). Compatibility - Compatible with Windows10, Windows 8.1 or Windows 7, Mac OS X El Capitan, Yosemite, Mavericks or Mountain Lion operating systems. Requires DLNA/UPnPor Plex-enabled devices for streaming
- 2-year manufacturer's limited warranty
- USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 compatibility
- Fast data transfers
- Improve PC performance
- High Capacity; Compatibility Formatted NTFS for Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7; Reformatting may be required for other operating systems; Compatibility may vary depending on user’s hardware configuration and operating system
- 2 year manufacturer's limited warranty
- High speed and large capacity: 2TB storage capacity(HDD), Up to 300Mbps high speed wireless transmission, without geographical restrictions,remote access and manage the storage freely at anywhere by PC/Mobile phone, Point to Point(P2P) confidential transmission to ensure data security.
- Portable: Small size can be carried at any time, Built-in 3800Mah lithium-polymer battery, also can be used as power bank, charge your phones and other USB devices;
- Smart Control: Smart App(IOS & Android supported), smart upload/download, one Click backup, remote access easier. Supports multi-people sharing at the same time; Supports Samba and DLNA Protocol, all smart devices interconnection in the LAN, smart TVs, laptops and mobile phones can share SSKCloud data freely; Divide hard drive to Private Area and Public Area to better retain private information and improve security; One Click backup On Mobile Phones, Tablets ,PCs and iPads.
- Centralize all your data: Support IOS, Android, Windows, MAC, all have proprietary client software. Centralize all photos, videos, music and files in one safe place and easily access. With USB Host Port , supports all kinds of USB storage devices, such as USB Disk, Card reader etc. and managed by SSKCloud App/Software
- Function expansion: Supports USB 3.0 high speed transmission.Supports wireless relay and bridging function; ➤ SSKCloud App Download Website:http://eng.ssk.cn/
Best External Backup For Mac
#4 Best SellerSeagate Backup Plus 5TB External Hard Drive Portable HDD – Light Blue USB 3.0 for PC Laptop and Mac, 1 year MylioCreate, 2 Months Adobe CC Photography, 2-Year Rescue Service (STHP5000402)- Store and access 5TB of photos and files with Seagate Backup Plus Portable, an on-the-go USB drive for Mac and Windows
- The perfect compliment to personal aesthetic, this portable external hard drive features a minimalist brushed metal enclosure
- Great as a laptop hard drive or PC hard drive, simply plug in via USB 3.0 to back up with a single click or schedule automatic daily, weekly, or monthly backups. Reformatting may be required for use with Time Machine.
- Edit, manage, and share photos with a one-year complimentary subscription to Mylio Create and a two-month membership to Adobe Creative Cloud Photography Plan
- Enjoy long-term peace of mind with the included two-year limited warranty and two-yr Rescue Data Recovery Services
- Easily store and access 2TB to content on the go with the Seagate Portable Drive, a USB external hard drive
- Designed to work with Windows or Mac computers, this external hard drive makes backup a snap just drag and drop
- To get set up, connect the portable hard drive to a computer for automatic recognition no software required
- This USB drive provides plug and play simplicity with the included 18 inch USB 3.0 cable
- Enjoy long-term peace of mind with the included one-year limited warranty and one-yr Rescue Data Recovery Services
- Designed for Mac and Time Machine ready
- Usb-c and USB-A compatible
- Password protection + 256-bit AES hardware encryption.Operating temperature: 5°C to 35°C
- Western Digital Discovery software for Western Digital backup, password protection and drive management
- Superspeed USB port; USB 2.0 compatible
- Auto backup with included WD Backup software and Time Machine compatibility
- Password protection with hardware encryption
- Trusted storage built with WD reliability
- USB 3.0 port; USB 2.0 compatible
- 3-year manufacturer's limited warranty
- USB-C ready, USB 3.0 compatible
- Innovative style with refined metal cover
- Password protection with 256-bit AES hardware encryption
- Formatted for Mac
- 3-year manufacturer's limited warranty
Wireless Backup Hard Drive Mac
Silicon Power 1TB Rugged Portable External Hard Drive Armor A30, Shockproof USB 3.0 for PC, Mac, Xbox and PS4, Black- Military-grade shockproof.
- SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface, backward compatible with USB 2.0
- Cable storage design for simple cable carrying.
- [For Windows User] The A30 is pre-formatted as NTFS, so you could use it directly on Windows. [For Mac Users] Reformatting will be required for Mac operating systems
- 3 year manufacturer warranty.
- Travel with a massive capacity of up to 5TB in an ultra compact portable external hard Drive
- For those who have a need for Speed, seamlessly connect to usb 3. 0 computers and transfer content Fast with speeds of up to 130MB/s
- Trek confidently with an external Hard Drive that offers all terrain durability of drop, crush, and water resistance
- Take advantage of a complimentary one month membership to the Adobe creative cloud all apps plan for access to awesome photo and video editing apps
- Enjoy long term peace of mind with the included two year limited
Last updated on 2020-11-02 at 08:43.
Which is the best wireless hard drive?
You’re probably wondering which wireless hard drive I use, right?
Like I said, I like the Western Digital Passport with the 500 GB SSD for extra speed that lets me connect using WiFi or with USB.
But you can also get the same wireless hard drive with a large hard drive that isn’t SSD.
Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Drive
I like to store my work files on my drive but you can use the storage for anything.
Which wireless hard drive did you choose?
Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Drives
Actually, they’re all pretty good choices but I’ve always had pretty good luck with Western Digital. Plus the Passport works great with my MAC.
But hey, I’m still interested in knowing which portable drive you think is the best wireless hard drive for MAC owners… Smart converter pro 2 mac free.
Read about NAS storage devices…
Mac Wireless Hard Drive Backup Disk
- Best NAS for Home Backup – Network storage for doing full backups of your desktop for safekeeping.
- Best NAS Drive for Media Streaming – Network storage for storing and streaming a lot of large videos.