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If you own an Apple Watch, backing up its data is always a good idea. In case your watch gets damaged or lost, you wouldn’t want to lose your personal information along with it, right? The process of backing up your Apple Watch is relatively simple and straightforward, with only one aspect that can be a little confusing—the storage of health and activity data. For legal reasons, Apple can only support this process if you encrypt it first. This comprehensive guide will walk you through the simple steps of back up and restore for an Apple Watch.
Back Up an Apple Watch
Backing up your Apple Watch is an automatic process related to its companion iPhone, which makes the task easier for you. The Apple Watch always backs up to your iPhone, and you don’t have to do anything for it to happen. It happens automatically and in the background, without any user intervention. The only time you may need to manually initiate a backup is when you want to disconnect the watch from the iPhone, a process that ensures the iPhone backs up when it is within Bluetooth range. However, this step will erase your Apple Watch, so think twice before you do it.
It’s worth noting that the Apple Watch is not a completely independent product and relies heavily on the iPhone. Therefore, everything saved on it is also stored on your iPhone. The backup includes your settings, the app data, music and playlists, and photos saved on your watch. However, this backup does not include credit or debit cards used in Apple Pay or your watch passcode.
Restore an Apple Watch from a Backup
If you want to restore your Apple Watch from a backup, make sure that your iPhone with which it was paired is saved in an iCloud or encrypted iTunes backup first. Then, unpair the Apple Watch, which will create a new backup on the iPhone. After that, pair your watch with your iPhone again and select “Restore from Backup” instead of “Set up as a new Apple Watch.” You’ll then be able to proceed with the setup process as usual.
How to Back Up Health and Activity Data
This step is crucial as Apple can only support health, medical, and fitness data if it is encrypted. When backing up your iPhone to iTunes, make sure to encrypt your backup. If you create an unencrypted backup, all of your Apple Watch training data, running times, and performance data will not be saved. The iCloud backup is also valid, but it’s the unencrypted iTunes backup that creates a problem. You can create an encrypted backup and an unencrypted one in the same way, with the only difference being that you need to select the encryption option in the former. You’ll also need to create a password that you won’t forget.
FAQs
1. Is it important to back up my Apple Watch?
Yes. Backing up your Apple Watch ensures that all of your personal data and preferences remain safe and secure. This way, you can easily access it without losing any information in the event that your watch gets lost or damaged.
2. Can I restore my Apple Watch from an iCloud backup?
Yes, you can restore an Apple Watch from an iCloud backup. To do so, you’ll need to ensure that your iPhone is backed up to iCloud, then unpair the watch and pair it with the iPhone again. When setting it up, choose “Restore from iCloud Backup” instead of “Set up as a new Apple Watch.”
Backing up your Apple Watch is a straightforward process, and it only takes a few steps to ensure that your personal data and settings remain safe and secure. Following the steps in this guide, you should be able to make sure that your Apple Watch data is backed up automatically every time you connect it to your iPhone.