How to back up your phone before you hand it in for repair

Handing your phone to someone for a repair involves a level of trust that's worth taking seriously. A good technician won't access your personal data, and at The Fone Club we don't — but phone repairs can occasionally go wrong, and having a backup before you drop off means your photos, messages and contacts are safe regardless of what happens.

Here's the fastest way to back up both iPhone and Android.

Backing up an iPhone

iCloud backup (quickest)

Go to Settings, tap your name at the top, then iCloud, then iCloud Backup. Tap Back Up Now. Your phone needs to be connected to Wi-Fi. The first backup can take a while if you haven't done one recently — subsequent ones are much faster. When it finishes, you'll see the date and time of the last successful backup at the bottom of the screen.

iCloud gives you 5GB free, which often isn't enough for a full backup if you have a lot of photos. You can buy more storage cheaply (50GB is $1.49/month), or use the iTunes/Finder method below instead.

Back up to a Mac or PC (no storage limit)

Plug your iPhone into your computer with a cable. On a Mac running macOS Catalina or later, open Finder and select your phone in the sidebar. On older Macs or Windows, open iTunes. Click "Back Up Now". This stores the full backup on your computer, with no storage limits.

When the backup finishes, Finder/iTunes shows the date and time. Check it before you unplug.

Backing up an Android phone

Google One backup

Go to Settings, search for "Backup", and find the Google One Backup option. Turn on backup if it's off, then tap "Back up now". This backs up your app data, contacts, call history, device settings and SMS messages. Photos and videos are handled separately through Google Photos.

Google Photos

Open the Google Photos app. Tap your profile photo at the top right, then Photo settings, then Backup. Make sure Backup is on and tap "Back up device photos" if you want to force an immediate sync. Google Photos gives you 15GB free across all Google services, and you can buy more if needed.

What doesn't back up

WhatsApp messages, by default, back up separately through WhatsApp's own backup system (to iCloud on iPhone, or to Google Drive on Android). Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup and back up manually before your repair.

Banking and authentication apps often can't be backed up for security reasons. If you use an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator), check whether you've enabled cloud backup within that app — or note your recovery codes before handing the phone over.

What to tell us when you drop off

If you've done a fresh backup, tell us when. If there's data you're particularly worried about (photos that aren't backed up anywhere, important conversations), let us know and we'll flag it in the job. We won't access your data, but knowing what matters to you helps us make the right call if we hit an unexpected complication.

The Fone Club is at Majura Park Shopping Centre, Canberra Airport. Walk-ins welcome, or book a time online.