Your friends are more experienced than you when it comes to technology. So, after a night of discussion on backups, you decided to act. You wanted to secure all your data and photos. So you are ready and have a have a smart phone in hand; you would like to back up your device. You are reading this guide for greater security. You want to know how to create backup copies. But, you’re unsure how to proceed, so you need my help.

All right, if things are actually like this, I cannot help but be happy. I’m really happy to be able to help you solve your technological problem. In this tutorial, we will see together all the basic steps to perform a proper backup. The procedure will cover mobile devices, Windows, and Macs. I want to ensure that you succeed.

How do you say? These premises have intrigued you, and now you’re no longer in the skin, and would you start? I imagine! Okay, so sit up comfortably and take a few minutes of free time to read this guide. Follow my instructions step by step, and you will see that you will not be able to make mistakes. I wish you a good read.

How to create backup copies (Windows)

On PCs running Windows, you can set up your device backup using the Microsoft OneDrive tool. This service will back up your important data. It will prevent loss if your computer has problems or malfunctions. Also, the backup is online. You can access your files from any other computer.

OneDrive lets you sync your computer’s settings. You can restore them if needed. You can also synchronize the folders you want so that you always have your files in the cloud at hand.

The first step in starting a create backup copies with OneDrive is to have a free Microsoft account. This account provides you with a basic 5 GB of storage to store all data.

Also, if you need more space, you can upgrade your account for a fee by adding more GB, up to 1000 GB. You can even subscribe to a plan up to 5000 GB for 5 users. The costs are in standard: from €2/month for the basic plan to €99/year for the most large plan.

Before backing up your files, you must link a Microsoft account to your computer. If you didn’t choose a local account in the first setup, follow the steps I’ll show you next.

Open the Windows Start menu (icon with the flag symbol) located at the bottom left. Then click on the Settings icon you can find in the menu (the gear symbol).

Once the Settings window is open, click on the Account item (symbol of a little man). If you have no Microsoft account, you’ll see “Sign in with a Microsoft account.” Then, follow the on-screen steps. Enter your account’s email and password. If you’ve enabled 2-step verification, unlock access by following the on-screen instructions.

You must verify that all sync settings are on. This will ensure your computer settings are saved in the cloud.

Go back to Windows Settings. Click on Account, then Sync Settings in the left sidebar. Under Sync Settings, move the lever from left to right to activate the option. If you don’t want to sync some options, you can choose from the lower list what to keep active and what to deactivate.

Now it’s time to sync your files with OneDrive. Make sure that Microsoft OneDrive is installed on your computer.

You can check it if there is an icon next to the clock with the symbol of a speech bubble. You can also click the Start button, and in the search bar, type the wordOneDrive. It should so appear on screen the namesake service on which you have to click. If you do not have OneDrive, download it again from this link.

After you download OneDrive, right-click the bubble icon next to the Windows clock in the lower right corner. Then select the Settings item and, from the window that appears, click on the Account tab. Then click the Add Account button and perform the on-screen procedure. This will enable sharing of folders on OneDrive. If you want, you can manually select all the folders to synchronize.

To access online folders, you can use OneDrive integration with Windows Explorer. Open any Windows folder and, from the left sidebar, click on OneDrive. You will then immediately access all the files in your cloud.

After you download OneDrive to your Windows PC, log in with your Microsoft account. It requires your email address and password. Now, you will finally be asked to configure the OneDrive client.

What I tell you to do is check the folders you want to copy in this cloud storage service. This way you will have a backup copy always available online.

All files and folders synced to OneDrive will be visible on your computer. You can find them in Windows File Explorer. Click the OneDrive folder in the sidebar. You can view and add files by dragging them into it.

If you want to deepen the topic, you can read this other mine dedicated to the operation of OneDrive.

How to create backup copies (Mac)

On macOS computers, the iCloud Drive service is available. The latter will allow you to store for free all your data, up to a maximum of 5 GB of space. But, you can extend it by subscribing to a plan subscription. What you need to take advantage of this backup is an Apple ID.

Your macOS device should be set to auto-backup. It was during the initial setup of your computer. In any case, I will show you how to check that the procedure has been carried out correctly on your device.

Open System Preferences, using its icon located in the Dock bar (the gear symbol). Then click on the iCloud item to access the settings for your Apple ID.

In the right section, you can see all the elements to be synchronized. To disable sync for a specific item, uncheck the box next to it.

This synchronization, however, will not allow you to back up the files you have on your computer. For this operation, click on Finder (the face icon). Then, in the left sidebar, click on iCloud Drive.

Then, drag your files into this folder. It will sync them to your cloud. You’ll always find them available.

If you want to deepen the topic, I refer you to my guide, where I discuss the operation of iCloud Drive.

How to make backup copies on an Android device?

Given our busy lives and heavy mobile use, we must back up our devices. They need protection. As? I’ll explain right away. Android and iOS devices have a feature that backs up device settings. I’ll talk about iOS in the next paragraph.

As you know, the create backup copies is a useful tool. It lets you restore all data in an emergency. It also helps recover data if you replace an old device with a new one. Do not forget to do it; it’s also important for your mobile device.

On Android devices, this backup system is managed through a Google account. The apps, managed by the colossus of Mountain View, store the multimedia files.

To proceed with the order, I’ll first explain how to check if your device’s automatic backup is active.

Reach the Android Settings (icon with a gear symbol) and tap on the Account item. If you have not added a Google account, tap Add account and follow the on-screen procedure. If not, tap the Google entry and then tap your account.

Ensure all items are active. This will sync them with the cloud and allow for future recovery.

Instead, use the Google Photos app to auto-backup your media. This includes your gallery’s photos and videos. This app lets you back up all your content. You won’t lose your important memories! You can still explore this topic through my guide on Google Photos.

How to make copies of backups on iOS?

On iOS devices, the procedure is as easy as on Android devices.

Also in this case, to take advantage of the automatic data backup service on your device, you will need to have an Apple ID. You manage the cloud backup service through iCloud. It’s the same service I mentioned before for macOS computers.

Even on iOS, in fact, iCloud allows you to store files and media items free of charge up to 5 GB of space. You can always decide at any time to expand storage by signing up for a paid account.

But, unlike Android, the iCloud space will also back up your multimedia. If you take many photos and videos, you’ll fill your free space quickly.

To check the items you’ve synced when you first set up your iOS device, click the Settings icon and then tap iCloud. Then move the levers from left to right on the items you want to synchronize. In this way, you will have activated the synchronization of data for the related entries.