Hi, I would have to disagree with those who say the answer to this question is a matter of opinion. The question asked specifically about the best means of backing up. Not the easiest or the most convenient, but the best. There is in my view only one answer to the question when it's phrased this way, and it is this. The best way to back up your device is with an encrypted backup in iTunes. Here's why. An encrypted backup is the only way of backing up passwords and other sensitive data. If you restore from an iCloud backup and log into apps like Skype, or similar apps requiring you to sign in, you'll need to sign in again. Encrypt your backup on iTunes and you avoid this hassle. The point has already been made in this thread about the desirability of an iTunes backup if you keep old copies of apps for accessibility reasons. But there's more to it. Your apps are not backed up to iCloud at all, and when you restore using this method, the latest version of the app is downloaded. But what if you have an app that has been pulled from the store, either by Apple, or by the developer because they no longer wish to support it? The answer is, restore from iCloud and you're just out of luck. You've lost that app for good. iCloud backups don't back up your music. If all your music comes from the iTunes Store, or you have iTunes Match, this is no problem at all, but it's a consideration if you spent lots of time initially syncing music from your computer. You can of course sync with your computer after restoring from an iCloud backup, but if you have to do that, you may as well do the whole thing from iTunes and enjoy the benefits. Personally, I use both methods just for safety's sake. My devices back up to iCloud every night, but when I connect to iTunes, I manually initiate an encrypted backup. That way, if I'm travelling without my computer and need to get up and running again, I can, but iTunes is my first restore preference for the above reasons. So it's certainly possible to use both. No doubt iCloud is the most convenient from a set it and forget it point of view.
Jonathan Mosen Mosen Consulting Blindness technology eBooks, tutorials and training http://Mosen.org -- The following information is important for all members of the viphone list. All new members to the this list are moderated by default. If you have any questions or concerns about the running of this list, or if you feel that a member's post is inappropriate, please contact the owners or moderators directly rather than posting on the list itself. The archives for this list can be searched at http://www.mail-archive.com/viphone@googlegroups.com/. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "VIPhone" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to viphone+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to viphone@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/viphone. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
