How to Backup iPhone to External Hard Drive Easily and Directly

Q: Is it possible to directly backup iPhone to external hard drive on Mac?

"Hi, I have a question for you guys. I have a large-capacity iPhone 7S Plus, in which I've stored many precious photos and videos. Usually, I use iTunes to back up the iPhone data to my MacBook Pro that gets a tiny hard drive. Now, I am worried about to run out of space on Mac due to all the content from my iPhone. So, I want to be able to back up my iPhone to an external hard drive, how do I do that?"

If you have the same problem as stated above, you won't have to worry any longer. On this page, we will teach you how to use two simple tricks to back up iPhone to external hard drive rather than the internal hard disk on both Windows computer and Mac easily and straight.  

What you can learn from this how-to article:

Part 1How to copy iTunes backup to external hard drive

Saving iPhone backup files to an external hard drive is a relatively smart move when there's not enough storage on your computer. If you just need to cut and paste after iTunes backup, it's easy for you.

Step 1: Connect your external hard drive to your PC/Mac.

Step 2: Find the iTunes backup location using the following ways.

On Windows:

Windows 7 and Vista: C:/Users/AppData/Roaming/Apple Computer/MobileSync/Backup/

Windows 8/10: C:/Users/YOURUSERNAME/AppData/Roaming/Apple Computer/MobileSync/Backup/

Windows XP: C:/Documents and Settings/Users/Application Data/Apple Computer/MobileSync/Backup/

On Mac:

Press Command+Shift+G on the keyboard to open the Go To Fold interface, then copy and paste: ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

Step 3: Find the folder, then copy and paste it to your external hard drive.

This way only works after you have made an iPhone backup with iTunes. What if you don't like to use iTunes or need to back up iPhone to external hard drive by default, how to do it with ease? Read on, and the method in Part 2 can help you.

Part 2How to backup iPhone to external hard drive directly (Mac/Windows)

What you need to know:

1. You may find some information on how to use the command line and directory structures to back up iPhone to external hard drive with iTunes on Mac. But believe it or not, it’s too complex for a naive user.

2. Although you can use the way to back up iPhone to external hard drive, the files are still inaccessible and unreadable.

To solve these two tricky issues, you can try the simplest way by using a free and iPhone data transfer tool, and EaseUS MobiMover is such an available program you can't miss. With this software, you can move all the photos, audios, videos, contacts, messages, books, Safari bookmarks, and more from iPhone to external hard drive on Mac/PC/laptop in a straight way as easy as a click away. What's more, you can browse, edit, and delete the files you stored on the external hard drive.

To use this data transfer software, you need to make sure:

• Your computer is running Windows 10/8.1/8/7 or macOS 10.13 - OS X 10.7
• Your mobile device, namely iPhone or iPad, is running iOS 8 and later

Now, download MobiMover by clicking the download button below. Then, connect your external hard drive to your computer and follow the detailed steps below to learn how it works for iPhone backup.

Step 1: Connect your iPhone/iPad to your Mac with compatible USB cable and tap on Trust This Computer on the device to continue. Run EaseUS MobiMover Free for Mac and click iDevice to Mac to move to next step.

Step 2: MobiMover enables you to transfer every supported file from iPhone/iPad to external hard drive on Mac free unlimited. You can move all the data at a time, or selectively copy one or more categories. 

Step 3: Move your mouse to the upper-right corner and click the File icon to set the external hard drive as the destination for exported files on Mac.

Step 4: Now, click Transfer to copy iPhone/iPad to your external hard drive on Mac without iTunes. When the process finishes, click View to check the downloaded files. 

Other brilliant features of MobiMover worth a try

 Add files from computer (Mac or PC) to iPhone/iPad or from one iOS device to another. For example, you can transfer photos from iPhone to iPhone without iCloud.

 Manage your iPhone/iPad data from the computer by deleting, editing, or adding items.

 Save videos from websites to your computer or iOS device using URL, such as download YouTube videos to iPad directly.