iOS 18.2 is here, but do this before you update your iPhone

I know that’s the last thing on your mind iPhone backup when what you really want to do is install iOS 18.2 and start using its new features. But as someone who went headlong into what turned out to be a botched upgrade and faced the consequences from it, trust me when I say that you want a good backup.

But I’m not talking about any regular backup. Hopefully you already have your Apple account settings configured to automatically back up your phone to iCloud, which is invaluable when upgrade to a new iPhone and just for everyday peace. I’m talking about creation archive which can save your hide in the unlikely event something goes wrong with the iOS 18.2 update.

Then you will feel more confident to install iOS 18.2 so that you can get new features like Genmoji and Visual intelligencealong with those found in iOS 18.1 as text message enhancements, improvements in Apple Maps and mirroring your iPhone from Mac to macOS Sequoia.

Why an archive is necessary before installing a new version of iOS

You’re probably used to using iCloud Backup to back up your data regularly. It runs in the background (when you’re sleeping and charging your device) and involves the least amount of backup friction, as long as you have enough iCloud disk space. Go to Settings > (your name) > iCloud > iCloud Backup and include Back up this iPhone if not already active.

However, when it comes to moving to a full version of iOS, such as from iOS 17 to iOS 18, iCloud backup presents a problem: you can’t restore from that cloud backup if you go back to iOS 17. And unfortunately, iCloud only stores the most recent backup — you can’t choose between previous iterations of the backup copies. If you try to use iOS 18 cloud backup to go back to iOS 17, you will get an error. (Creating an archive is also an important step when installing iOS betas.)

Therefore, you need to archive the backup on your computer.

Should you encrypt a local backup?

Before creating this archived backup, you should decide whether you want to enable one of the options, Encrypt local backup. For security, this feature encrypts data to prevent someone with access to your computer from accessing it. This option also backs up sensitive information, such as saved passwords and personal information in the Health and Fitness apps.

The downside is that it requires you to create a separate backup password. If you forget or lose that password, the entire backup is useless. And that’s why you should write this password down somewhere you can easily retrieve it. In the context of backing up iOS 17 as a backup to install the iOS 18 beta, you’ll need to decide if that’s an acceptable trade-off.

Create a local iPhone archive on your Mac

Making this type of backup requires only disk space and a little patience:

1. Plug your iPhone into your Mac.
2. Open a new Finder window (select File > New Finder Windowor press Command-N).
3. In the sidebar on the left, select your iPhone below Locations.
4. If you want to encrypt data, click on Encrypt local backup check box and set a password.
5. On the General tab, click Back it up now.
6. Click Manage backups.
7. Right-click (or Control-click) on the backup you made and select Archive.

Taking the extra step of marking a backup as an archive protects it from being overwritten by the next local backup or from being automatically deleted if the Mac runs out of space.

Create a local iPhone archive on Windows

The iTunes application is still the main channel for working with a connected iPhone under Windows. Open iTunes and do the following:

1. Plug your iPhone into your Windows computer.
2. In iTunes, click on iPhone button in the upper left corner.
3. Click Summary.
4. If you want to encrypt data, click on Encrypt local backup option and set a password.
5. Click Back it up now.
6. Click Manage backups.
7. Right click on the backup you made and select Archive. By taking this extra step, you protect your backup from being overwritten by the next local backup or from being automatically deleted if your computer runs out of space.

With the archive in place, you can start using the iOS 18 beta safe in the knowledge that if anything requires a rollback to iOS 17, you can quickly get your iPhone back up and running.

For more, here’s what you can do with the new one Camera button for iPhone 16 and your monthly reminder to clear iPhone cache.