Where & How to View iPhone Backup Files on Windows 10/11

Backing up iPhone data is easy but how to view the specific items? You would know how to open iPhone backup files on PC from this passage, or you can use a better alternative to efficiently back up your iPhone data and manage your backups.

By @Dylan Last Updated September 27, 2024
 

Why can't I open my backup files on my PC?

Hi! I recently did a backup of my phone using iTunes but whenever I browse these files they're all a strange format that my computer doesn't recognize, so my question is how can I view iPhone backup files?

- Question from Apple Community

There is a lot of data on iPhone. Thanks to all kinds of backup software, iPhone data is well protected and thousands of users retrieve precious memories and important files from iPhone backup. iTunes and iCloud are the most common tools to back up iPhones. This guide will tell you how to view iPhone backup files on Windows 10/11.

⚠️Note: It's so complex to open iTunes backup files on PC. And you can't extract them directly. Besides, downloading items from iCloud backup is not an easy process. To fully & selectively back up iPhone and view/extract/delete iPhone backups efficiently from PC, just skip to the third section!

1. How to view iTunes backup files on PC

If you used iTunes to back up your iPhone, it would create a copy in your PC. iOS always follows strict rules to guarantee its safety so that you can’t preview it, also you can not edit, or add, or delete its files. This would ruin the backup files.

 

🌟Tip: iTunes backup saves iPhone Settings and app data, but not everything would be copied. Go to this What does iTunes backup include and what doesn’t guide to know more details.

iTunes backups would be saved to C Drive by default. The whole folders are encrypted so you can easily find it but cannot directly read the files. To open Apple backup files on PC, you need to rely on some iPhone backup extractors.

Transferring the whole folder of your backup is allowed by Apple. You can copy the backup to portable storage.

Now let’s see where is iPhone backup stored on PC:

To find a list of your backups, go to C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\.

You could also use the Search Bar to get where to find iPhone backup on PC:

Step 1. In the Search Bar, enter %appdata% or %USERPROFILE%.

Step 2. Press Enter.

Step 3. Double-click these folders: "Apple" or "Apple Computer" > MobileSync > Backup.

2. How to open iPhone backup files on PC - iCloud

iCloud could be used to sync photos, contacts between iOS device and also create full iPhone backup. Like iTunes, the full backup is encrypted in the server so you can only use professional tool to download iCloud backup to PC.

If you want to view just photos, contacts, or other items, iCloud for Windows Client will be very helpful. You can easily download photos, emails, contacts, calendar, tasks, and bookmarks to Windows computer.

Step 1. Download iCloud and sign in.

Step 2. Select the files you want to view and download, and then click Apply. Mails, contacts, calendar, and tasks would be imported to Outlook directly.

Step 3. Right-click iCloud icon in the taskbar and click download photos.

Step 4. Press Windows Key+ E and you can find the icon of iCloud Photos.

Step 5. Click Downloads to view the photos.

🌟Tips: Because of the system restrictions, downloading iCloud data from PC might be so slow and you can often encounter unknown errors. To speed up the process, you can use the professional & safe iCloud manager - Aomei FoneBackup to download, upload or delete iCloud data for free (My iCloud > Manage iCloud).
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3. How to view iPhone backup files on Windows 10/11 in one click🔥

AOMEI FoneBackup is a free professional iPhone backup software and makes it easy to backup and restore iPhone.

It could be used to back up photos, videos, music, messages, contacts and WhatsApp on your iPhone or even to external hard drive. You can see the storage path of the backup files clearly on the home screen and preview the iPhone data when you back up or restore your iPhone.

FoneBackup
Easy Backup & Restore iPhone
  • Fully back up all iPhone data in one click.
  • Or selectively back up iPhone photos, videos, etc. as you like.
  • Back up unlimited files without any storage limitation.
  • Various iOS devices and versions are supported (iPhone 16/iOS 18).
  • Easily view, locate, delete or extract iPhone backup files.

Now just keep on reading to get how to create an Apple iPhone backup with Aomei FoneBackup and how to find iPhone backup on PC.

Part 1. How to backup iPhone to Windows 10/11 flexibly

Step 1. Download and launch AOMEI FoneBackup. Connect your iPhone to computer with USB and remember to tap Trust on iPhone.

Step 2. Click Phone Backup and select Selective Backup > Get Started. (Or you can choose Full Backup to fully back up all iPhone data including all apps and settings.)

Step 3. You could preview and select files by clicking an icon to enter selection. After selecting the needed files, click OK.

Step 4. Click the Backup Storage Path option to change iPhone backup location Windows 10/11. Click Start Backup in the lower-right corner and your task will be completed in seconds.

🌟Tip: You can also go to WhatsApp Manager and choose Backup WhatsApp or Backup WhatsApp Business to back up WhatsApp to PC.

Part 2. How to access iPhone backup files on PC

Once the backup is finished, you can go to the My Backups page to browse iPhone backup on PC. For your selective backup, you can click the View dot to browse the content directly. For your full backup, you can click View and choose Open File Location to read iPhone backup files on PC.

To restore the backup, just click Restore to make it. Or you can choose the backup you need > Click the three-dot icon and select Delete to delete the backup.

FAQs about how to view iPhone backup files on PC

1. How to open iPhone backup files on Mac?

Launch the Finder or the Apple Devices app > Connect your iPhone to your Mac with a USB cable > Choose General > Click Manage Backups to see a list of your backups. From here, right-click on the backup that you want, then choose Delete, Archive, Show in Finder, or Show in Explorer > Click OK to return to the Finder or the Apple Devices app once finished.

2. How to delete iPhone backup on PC?

To delete iTunes backup, just open iTunes > Select Edit in the upper-left corner > Choose Preferences... This should launch a pop-up window. On the pop-up window, click Devices > Select the backup you want to delete > Click Delete Backup > Finally, click Delete to confirm.

Conclusion

Your iPhone has stored a lot of important data, and backing up iPhone is the best way to protect it.

This passage has told you the location of iTunes and iCloud backup so you can easily know how to view iPhone backup files on Windows 10/11.

AOMEI FoneBackup could let you easily back up iPhone, select storage path and view, locate, delete or restore iPhone backup on Windows computer. It is a perfect iTunes/iCloud alternative for you.

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