iTunes could not backup the iPhone “iPhone” because the backup session failed.
I got this error today while syncing my iPhone 3G with iTunes 9.2 today:
iTunes could not backup the iPhone “iPhone” because the backup session failed.
Re-seating the USB cable and restarting iTunes did not help. A Google search revealed various fixes having to do with firewall settings or 3rd party application conflicts, but none applied to my situation.
Ultimately I solved the issue by running a manual backup of the iPhone by right-clicking (or control-clicking) the iPhone in the Devices section of iTunes and choosing “Back Up.” Once that completed I was able to sync without getting the error.
UPDATE: According to the comments on this post, it may help if you first delete the old backup by choosing Preferences –> Devices –> Delete Backup. You should copy your old backup somewhere else before you do this. Your backup is stored in the Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup folder on Mac, or C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup on Windows.
UPDATE 2: According to the comments, Windows users may need to change their computer’s time zone to fix this issue.
UPDATE 3: According to the comments, Windows users may also need to kill the AppleMobileBackup.exe process and restart iTunes.
UPDATE 4: According to the comments, Windows users may also need to run iTunes as an administrator. Go to Computer>local disc (c:)>Program Files>iTunes>iTunes.exe then right click and run iTunes.exe as administrator a (iOS 4.0.1 itunes 9.2.15 on Vista)
163 comments
When i try to manually backup my iPod Touch 2G, from the device section , i get the following problems:
MobileBackup has stopped working
SyncServer has stopped working
MobileDeviceHelper has stopped working
And then it tells me “iTunes could not backup the iPod because the backup session failed”
Help please
i have an ipod touch 3G 32gb.. i got same problem with you. After i read this i tried right-clicking and choosing backup.. it still show me the same messege… i dont know what to do now..
I have the same problem with 3Gs and iTunes 9.2… suggestions?
Same problem here, I tried with a fresh restore of my iphone and still the same error. I also tried a new computer with fresh Windows install
I still can not back up… iTunes could not back up the iPhone “iPhone´s Name” because the backup session failed.
I formated my laptop, fresh install of Windows 7, fresh install of iTunes 9.2, no other programs, no antivirus, no firewalls, and still the same error.
I also restore iPhone 3Gs 32GB to ios 4 from DFU mode.
Nothing works!!
PS. The iphone synchs just fine in my friends computer runing XP, but in my office´s computer also with XP I get the same error. My wife´s iPhone 3G 8gb gets the same backup error.
I was able to sync just fine on iTunes 9.1 on the 3.1.3 firmware (I was Spirit Jailbroken).
Hi all,
I have the same problem and I solved it.
You following these steps:
Edit –> Preferences –> tab Devices –> Delete Backup
The problem is your ( old ) backup still existed. So, after you delete the ( old ) back up, you sync your Iphone. It will done.
Cheers
Hi all, I have the same problem (iTunes 9.2, iOS 4 on a 3GS, Mac OS X 10.6.4). None of the methods above works yet, I’ve tried all. I believe it’s a bug in iTunes 9.2 and/or iOS 4 as the problem exists reproducably since upgrading to these versions. I need the backup to move the settings and everything to a new iPhone 4
I have the same problem. Nothing help including uninstall/ reinstall etc.
I am able to sync and backup my iPhone on another PC with Windows 7 64bit installed on it.
And another think, this started happening after I upgrade to iTunes 9.2 before upgrading my iPhone to OS 4.
To fix the “iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup session failed” bug found on itunes 9.2, you have to change your computer TIME ZONE and you will be able to backup witn no problems. This little trick fixed my two computers, one with XP and the other with Windows 7.
Change the time zone to what??
To get past the backup issue, I changed my time zone to “Central America” and then back to “Central Time” and I was able to upgrade my iPhone. The time zone change does not need to be permanent, just enough to get past the backup issue. Weird fix, but it seemed to do the trick…
Hi,
I’m struggling with this aswell… Its a new computer so no previous back up to delete – I just want to do the initial one ideally! I’m in the UK but have tried changing my time zone to various others with no success… Am close to bringing it all into apple but don’t know if they’ll help as my computer is not Apple.
Any other ideas that has helped anyone? This is incredibly frustrating!
i had the same problem and here is what i did. some of these things might have been unnecessary but i dont want to not put something then it not work for you.
1)i first manually deleted all the things from my ipod,
2) while waiting for that to finish i deleted my ipods backup by going to edit/ preferences then selecting my ipod,
3)then pressed restore and it worked
(i didnt change time zones but my computer might have been on the right one)
its work for me changing the time zone
It really works!!! Change the Time Zone to Central Time (US&Canada).
Deleting previous backups, changing the time, etc. did not work for me. I had to kill the AppleMobileBackup.exe process and restart iTunes after which the backup succeeded.
Works perfectly…Delete the previous backup and then do a manual backup!Now it syncs perfectly!
Thanks for the help.
I copied the existing backup dated from when I upgraded to iTunes 9.2 into another folder, and then deleted the backup through iTunes preferences/devices tab.
I then shut down iTunes and disconnected my iPhone.
When I plugged my iPhone back in and iTunes relaunched, the backup and sync started and NO ERRORS!!
Never had to touch my time zone setting, although maybe some others do.
Thanks again, this has been a great help.
I did every other things recomended but in the end what worked for me was to change Time Zone, same UTC though just for having the same time in my clock, now it is syncing and backuping normally. Thank you very much.
Tried all above. No luck for me. Any ideas?
Fixed it!!!
Unistalled all Apple stuff and reinstalled per below. All Settings, songs and apps intact.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
Yay!!!
The last fix seems like a typical windows fix, but I have tried everything on this page on Mac osx and nothing has fixed it for me.
Sorry, yes that was the Window fix.
Deleted backups (somehow there ended up being two and I think that was the problem) and resynced. All good now and only one backup shows up.
None of the above worked I have an iPhone 3GS which I just purchased yesterday and today my first time downloading iTunes 9.2 (the latest version). I get the same error message. It won’t let me purchase music online on my computer either but it will on my iphone.
My PC is running Windows 7. I have uninstalled, reinstalled, check firewall settings, changed time zones (I am in CST already but tried it anyways) and nothing is working. I’m just at a loss.
Any suggestions would be most appreciated.
Also I have no previous backups either since this was my first time trying to sync my iphone with itunes. This is so frustrating.
I tried the time zone, deleting the back up, firewall, etc. Nothing worked. Then I tried deleting the exe file as stated above and it worked!
HELP!
none of this is working for me, ive had my ipod touch 32gb 3g for for about 5 days now, and its not letting update to ios4. every time is says backup session fiailed. ive done the time zone trick, killed applemobilebackup.exe, uninstalled and reinstalled stupid itunes. but nothing is working.
this is so frustrating
Same here.. Have been trying on three different computers with all the tricks and nothing works. This is so fucking annoying! Can someone come up with an working solution??? Or is it the iPhone that causing this shit?
resetting the iphone by holding the top button plus the home button worked for me -thanks for the tip
Ok guys this work for me I,m using Vista and I can’t backup either
so after 4 days looking around on google and trying everything nothing works then I do the following I went to Computer>local disc (c:)>Program Files>iTunes>iTunes.exe then right click and run iTunes.exe as administrator and that makes the trick for me I hope this help others. =D iphone 4.0.1 itunes 9.2.15 on Vista
same problem here, but itunes didn’t show there were any existing backup files… so I went into \Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
Replace USERNAME with your personal account name.
From there I cut the backup files and pasted them to another directory (just in case). Now it’s backing up fine. Must have had a corrupt backup file
It might be your firewall blocking AppleMobileDeviceService.exe. This application can be found running in the task manager.
Thanks, provided i did not believe that such a silly trick of changing time zone will work, yet it did.
tried everything and nothing worked until i tried Jose’s tip #32, worked straight away!!!
many thanks Jose,
Nothing works for me…
at comment 22. how did you keep all of your settings? did you put your backup in another file?
The changing the time zone trick worked for me. I live in Singapore and so changed time zone to USA Pacific time, and let the backup complete (which didn’t crash for the first time ever). Then changed my time zone back to Singapore time. Before I did this, MobileDeviceManager and SyncManager were crashing whenever I plugged my iPhone 4 in. Now it seems to work properly.
I’m using Windows XP with all the latest patches applied, and iPhone 4 with iTuned 9.2.1.5. This FINALLY solves this very annoying issue.
The “Run As Admin” Worked for me!!!
i am having the same problem as yall, none of it seems to work for me, anyone got anything good?
Wow I really want to thank you for the help. Its a shame I could not find anything on the Itunes help but Oh well thanks a bundle!!!!!!!
all posted above didnt helped me. troubles was after i updated FW from 4.0.1 to 4.1. iPhone 3G 8GB
Bryan! you are the one!!!! it works!!!;)
Yeah, I am using a computer from South America, but even though I set it up recently as Eastern Time Zone -5hrs it actually reverted to some Bogota crap. Switched it to the real time zone and poof, fixed. This error CAN occur by detecting one zone by computer setting and a different by IP address. Remember Apple likes to openly and grandiously commit the exact same crime that Microsoft got busted for, yet not get prosecuted…
Had this problem with iTunes 10.0.1.22 on WinXP & iPhone 4 (iOS4.1), was solved after changing the TZ as indicated by Bryan. Thanks a lot!!
iTunes backup/session problems after sn0wbreeze 2.0.2 for 4.1?
Try this: http://ih8sn0wforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3389
I tried all above with little luck for my iphone 4- using Vista, downloaded iTunes v10 32-bit version. Solved it by by updating to Windows 7 & downloaded iTunes 64-bit version. This solved problem.
@Robula I could kiss you mate. Been struggling with this for an hour or so now. Thanks
iTunes 10, Win7 64 bit
I got this problem after Jailbreaking and changing my root password from the default ‘alpine’. Resetting it to alpine solved the problem but I didn’t want to keep this default root password.
The TZ fix seems to sort everything out if you do one good backup, then switch TZ back to your local one.
I just reset my handset, it backs to normal now. Hope it helps some one.
Killing AppleMobileBackup.exe and restarted iTunes worked for me. Thanks!
Yes, rebooting my iphone4 fixed the problem for me. (after I deleted my backup, etc, lol) had the problem on maxos 10.6.4 itunes 10
nothing of the above worked with me but i just want to know what the HELL ” Killing AppleMobileBackup.exe ” means????
Is it that once you have downloaded 4.0 to 3GS, you can’t backup at all?????
@Robula. You’re the man. This error is happening if you used Sn0wbreeze to hactivate ur phone. Short story is, don’t check Activate when u use Sn0wbreeze!
Finally!! After reading so many blogs, I was finally able to figure out how to fix the problem.
I am using a MAC with latest iTunes. Had to delete all the backup files in my iTunes, which included backups from other iPhones in our family. This was the only way I could get this iPhone 3G to backup successfully and do the latest update. Tried all the other methods, including Time Zones, etc and none of them worked. I think those methods only worked on Windoze Computers
wat the!! deleting the backup is a bad idea….
now i lost everything-contacts, notes and so on…
is there anyway i can recover the backup??
Okay – heres a new one… but only for the lucky few…
This one is quite Bizarre – but nonetheless worth posting…
I backed up my address contacts and Notes (by dragging the contents to my desktop from ifunbox) i did this before the painful JB upgrade…
anyway. i too JB with snowbreeze and had problems syncing to the backdup data with itunes… with repeated unable to restore from backup and errors etc.
anyway – i then thought forget about itunes… ill restore with ifunbox the essential things, and ditch itunes completely as it seems to be a major headache and not worth it for the jailbreaker to have apply in your machine.
I copy pasted the phone numbers and Notes in ifunbox. then closed ifun box.
i disconnected the iphone, replugged back in and restarted itunes
voila… its now syncing from my backup
strange but seems itunes – if it detects the phone has anything of your original Data. addressbook etc. a few notes…
It realizes you – and proceeds with the update…
Hope it helps…
wew nothin worked for me … I have an Iphone 2g updated into the 4.0 3.1.3 mod … after installing the mod i cant get my iphone to sync apps … everytime it finish syncing it says : cannot backup iphone because backup session failed … any more bright ideas? thanks .;..
hey guys just figured something out. im logged in from my hp pav dv7 laptop running win7 64bit. its been 6hrs since i started looking for fixes for this prob and i finally found a solution. i tried clean install of latest itunes and it didnt work, i tried changing time zones and it didnt work, tried making new backups and still couldnt restore. i tried iphone 3g, 3gs and 4 and all seem to give the same error msg. my solution was, i went to hp website and downloaded and installed the latest chipset and bios software. did a restart. logged back in, turned off the antivirus and disabled windows firewall and hooked up my iphone 4 and the restore worked like a charm! got all contacts and pics back on the new phone. try my method it just might work for u, good luck
Had same problem with everyone else. Should be easy fix. Just start with the easiest and work your way until the problem is resolved. Here is what I did.
1. Changed time zone – didn’t work
2. stop, then restarted applemobiledevice.exe – this worked and I was able to backup without any issues.
Tried everything above to no avail. Then this worked
On a pc where the backup is stored there’s a snapshot folder (xp)
As the iPhone tries to backup, files (with the 40 letter/number) are written to the folder. I had lots 7.7gb of photos on my phone. As he file size in the snapshot folder hit 8.15gb it would stop the backup.
Stay with me. On the same computer I easily backed up an touch with
No pictures and way less data (2.8 gigs). So I figured some kind of size restriction was stopping the backup.
So using Microsoft scanner and picture accessory program, i copied all the pic from the camera roll to my pc. I then deleted all the pics off the iPhone.
Next go to snapshot folder delete all the files in the folder from prior failed attempts. Do not delete the folder.
Backup using iTunes.
Should work.
What didn’t work for me
Time zone thing
Firewall off
Deleting the applemobiledevice.exe
Nothing else above
I have a 3GS and use an xp windows machine.
Cheers
Dave
john problem worked for me too
Killing AppleMobileBackup.exe process – is bad terminology. I was confused at first, because I was looking for that process running. It is not. I did a search for that exe on my C drive, found it, deleted it, then reopened iTunes.
I have had this issue since I bought my Windows 7 laptop. My XP laptop was fine. I have had to start from scratch 4 times on 2 different phones.
Today I had to swap out my iPhone 4 because the home key kept sticking. I took it home and could not restore from backup. Same error message. I packed up my laptop and went to the apple store and asked if they still had my phone. We tried backing it up to my laptop one more time – i connected the new phone and tried to restore – still got the error message. I explained that I like my app data and my settings. The resident genius attached my old phone to a macbook and synced/backed up/transferred purchases to the macbook. We then connected the new phone and restored from the backup. My apps/app data restored and transferred over but I didn’t want to wait to transfer the music. I came home, hooked up the phone to my laptop and it recognized the phone and synced and updated! ALL of my data is there. All of my playlists synced and loaded onto the new phone.
I don’t know if this helps anyone but I am very excited to not have to start over again.
Many thanks! This time zone change tip worked for me.
Recently had my 3GS replaced by apple. They could only tranfer my contacts and said the rest of my pics music etc could be added back the next time I sync. BEFORE I had a chance to sync I had added some other contacts, calender info & important notes. After syncing all the stuff on my itunes synced BUT the contacts notes & calender stuff disappeared! IS THERE ANY WAY TO GET THOSE BACK???
ok, stop posting comments that u have the same problem! it doesn’t do anything and just annoys ppl
Yes! I was getting the same error message, so followed Apple’s support website and deleted the backup file. Still got an error message when I tried to manually backup and form a new file.
So:
- turned off Norton
- changed the timezone to Pacific Time (US & Canada)
- shut down the PC
- restarted the iPhone by holding down the ‘off’ button and the round ‘home’ button for 5 seconds, until it went black and the white apple logo appeared to restart it.
- started PC again and opened iTunes, connected iPhone, and pressed “Sync”
—— IT WORKED! I saw it creating a new backup file, then sync’ing (takes AGES to sync calendars especially but it does do it), then all good.
THANK YOU FRIENDS
Thanks, you saved me:)
Deleting the old backup work for me. Then I did a manual backup. After that it synced great.
One thing: Win 7 machines have a slightly different path to the backup than what’s shown above:
C:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup
please help i do the same but i cant backup using itunes
I tried all the frequently suggested solutions (moving the backup file, changing the time zone, rebooting everything, I don’t even have a process called AppleMobileBackup.exe so couldn’t kill it!) but the only one that worked for me was phil’s in #31 – resetting the phone by holding down the home button and the top button at the same time. That fixed it – thanks Phil!
I have had a nightmare with setting this bloody phone up . . . 20 odd phone calls to Apple who couldn’t fix it despite doing a remote access on my computer. . . . The way to fix the syncing and backing up thing is to change the time zone on your PC to central US and Canada . . .
i had all of the same problems but bryans #39 definetly works for me. i live in london so i changed my time zone to central america, then changed it babck to london etc and reopened itunes.
thank god it worked,
I had a problem with the backup either hanging or getting the error message. I tried various solutions: deleting the backup within iTunes; restarting the PC; restarting iTunes; deleting the backup manually.
I couldnt do the last one as the Backup process had the files locked. I could delete the files after killing the process, but that didnt help. In the end, I killed every Apple process I had running (ipod, ituneshelper, etc). Restarting iTunes, and everything went through fine…
SOLUTION for iTunes could not backup the iPhone ——-> changed Windows XP time to adjust automatically time zone. THANK YOU very much for the hint !!!
Running iTunes as admin worked for me. Thanks for the tip!
worked thanks
This past week I was going crazy because of this problem. Installed, reinstalled Itunes, quicktime, and disabled and enabled all the services, downloaded firmwares and all that nonsense. I have a Itouch 2g iOS 4.1……And I live abroad now so I had my time zone with GMT +6 hours, so I decided to change it to GMT -5 Eastern Time, US and Canada, and im soooooooo happy, my problems finally fixed, thanks guys for the idea !!! Just made my week!!!!!!!!! Time to JAILBREAK.
Strangely enough the timezone trick worked for me…how odd.
I had an iPhone 3GS. I did a beta jailbreak that I wanted gone, and kept getting the problem later. I wanted my stuff back, and the timezone trick worked!
F*&(K i do all tips but still i cant back up:(
One of the main things that works is to completely uninstall/reinstall iTunes and checking the computer to make sure that all the components are uninstalled..These articles are very helpful:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1923 for Windows 7 and Vista
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1925 for Windows XP
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1224 for Mac OS X
It worked for me changing the time zone!! Thanks a LOT!!!
The problem in my case is that I can backup but I get the error when I try to restore. I have an iPhone 4 (unjailbroken) and an iPad (jailbroken). I get the same error for both, and I even tried them both on my Windows 7 desktop and my Windows 7 laptop. Same error! WTF? I hate Apple!
i had this too
Enjoy !
Guys just Change your PC’s time zone to whatever you want ( then u can change it back ) then problem Fixed
I had this prob too, and thanks to this article, I could fixed it.
by changed the PC’s timezone randomly
Good Luck!
hey i have this problem everytime i want backup my ipod touch 4 generation it says ITUNES COULD NOT BACK UP THE IPOD CRISTIAN BECAUSE THE BACKUP WAS CORRUPT OR NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE IPOD then itt says DELETE BACKUP FOR THIS IPOD THEN TRY AGAIN i deleted my backup and i try to backup but it says this again ITUNES COULD NOT BACK UP THE IPOD CRISTIAN BECAUSE THE BACKUP WAS CORRUPT OR NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE IPOD then itt says DELETE BACKUP FOR THIS IPOD THEN TRY AGAIN please help me i need help thank you:)
i have just had this problem. i deleted the last backup made by itunes under edit – prefrences – devices. all i had to do was just re-sync and good to go. not sure if it will work for anyone else but it did for me and im happy to help
After HOURs of trawling through websites I found a fix for me.
Closed iTunes, Shut down computer, went to:
\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\
I right clicked on Backup and renamed it Backup1 then created a new file called Backup.
Worked straight away!
@frustrated iphone user
Thank you! That worked perfectly for me.
I had this problem on Mac OS X 10.6.6 iTunes 10.2.1. Tried everything above – no joy.
Downloaded iTunes – still 10.2.1 – and installed. Note I didnt bother to uninstall previous copy.
Problem fixed.
changing time zone worked for me …… i changed time zone to central america and now everythink works perfectly. thank you
I moved the back up file to another computer and was able to restore.
hey guys, just one thing i dont know if its because im freaking mad and irritated at the same time but i can seem to find the file of my backup
i dont know where to start..
i got windows 7 :S
Im running W7 with an iPhone 4.
After trying all of the above, none of them worked. Try searching for appdata if you cant find it on the route given above, and it should be one of the last to appear in the search. Then just delete the file which is named something like ofhugpwhg45ut0u5pueiowhg.
This worked for me.
Tip #33 worked perfectly for me after I tried evvvvveeeerything else. Thank you!!!
http://jamieforrest.com/2010/06/18/itunes-could-not-backup-the-iphone-iphone-because-the-backup-session-failed/#comment-173
This comment worked perfectly. Like he said in update 1, you may want to backup your backup before you go about backing up your new phone.
After changing my timezone to reflect the TRUE time on my PC in relation to GMT the sync worked fine. I think this particularly related to the timezone that Outlook uses. Pity that iTunes and/or iPhone cannot give more accurate error messages to help people with this annoying problem.
I have the same problem trying to backup an iPhone 4 to a brand new computer, runnning Windows 7. I’ve tried everything except the Restore option, which I do not want to resort to at this time (I think I’ll lose Notes and other stuff on my phone). It seems ridiculous that changing the Time Zone would work for some. It didnt for me. Getting close to calling Apple.
OMG I tried to look for the file but I cant find it no matter what for the Backup thing and I did change the time zone and only work for a little while and then BOOM it said the same thing
What am I going to do? Why does the Iphone do this to us? I loved to so well! -_- plz help
20-Apr-2011 4:21 PM (in response to stephanefromparis)
Try removing the .ipsw file from your computer then restoring the phone again. This will force iTunes to download a new copy of the system software.
If you are using a Windows machine the .ipsw files can be found here:
Windows XP: \Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates. You can delete whatever files are in the folder
Windows Vista Windows 7: \Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\iTunes\iPhone Software Updates. You can delete whatever files are in the folder
If you are using a Mac the files will be in either of these two locations:
User/Library/iTunes/iPhone Software Updates. You can delete whatever files are in the folder
User/Library/Application Support/iTunes. You can delete whatever files are in the folder
Then when you click the restore button it will ask you to download and restore. Hope fully your phone will be up and running again after that!
Try this for the “data class” fail “Sync Services” problem. Worked for me.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1747
Ok…finally got my IPad software updated after many times getting “backup session failed”. I followed other suggestions here and this worked for me.
1. I ran ITunes.exe as administrator
2. I deleted Applemobilebackup.exe (found this file by searching on my C drive.
3. I opened ITunes and when prompted to update software, it worked. It told me that it was unable to update, but when I went into Settings/General/About….it reflected version 4.3.3 in software update.
I then connected my IPhone 4 to iTunes and selected to run the update for iPhone 4.3.3. It worked and is successfully updated.
Hope this helps!!
do tip #70, only one that worked for me(: THANk you so much!
Your post was very helpful. The solution that worked for me was to ReInstall the Apple Device Service. Apple has specific interactions here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1747?viewlocale=en_US
COOOOOOOOOOOOL
jarrive enfin a sauvegardé mon iphone 3Gs avec le changement de fuseau horaire
Tip 70 worked for me!! I would suggest trying everything to see what works for you. THANK YOU AUSSIE!! Also Thanks to everyone else that posted!
so this is what i did , i restored to factory settings and it got fixed and i have all my files back synced after restore
i tried below method, but cant work, but in the end i can.
- timezone, cant work
-kill running processes, cant work.
-delete backup, cant work
THe backup will immediately stop about 10 seconds after selecting the backup option.
i restarted the ipod, but it was hanged at the small icon running symbol. So i press home and power button at the same time, and the ipod restarted successfully, and then backup can run successfully with Itunes restarted. Yuppie!!
heres what i just did 2 seconds ago.
Delete backup in Devices, etc. then on my ipod i right clicked it in the list(for windows 7) and clicked Reset Warnings. then i changed my usb port to another part of my laptop and it worked. sorry if it isn’t fixed.
Manual backup worked for me. Thanks for post!
Closing iTunes and reopenning iTunes worked for me. I’ve done this restore process dozens of times and this was the first time I saw a restore fail so I was kind of freaked out. Thankfully just restarting iTunes did the trick for me. Thanks.
Tried everything but nothing worked! In desperation i changed the time zone on my iphone 4, connected to itunes again and voila
Hi,
I have done factory restored my iPhone with iOS 4.3.4 but while restoring my last backup it’s failed. The error said: iTune could not restore the iPhone “My iPhone” because some files could not be restored from backup. I have a lots of purchased apps which I need to restore urgently. I hope I don’t need to buy again. Any idea, what to do now? Anything can be done from backup files?
Thanks,
Nazmul
Got mine working by right-clicking backup on the Ipod name on the left menu… ^_^ worked like a charm! thanks
Nazmul Khan, your purchased apps are in your itunes account. I think you can get them installed through there, Go to Itunes on the right side, you can see Purchased.
Resetting the iphone through holding down the middle and top button worked for me. Thanks…
I didn’t show there were any existing backup files… so I went into \Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
Replace USERNAME with your personal account name.
From there I renamed the folder Backup 1 (just in case the folder and / or its contents might be necessary, and created a new folder Backup. Now it’s backing up fine. Must have had a corrupt backup file in that other original backup folder
Fix it. thanks a lot to all of you!
The only thing that resolved it for me was to COMPLETELY remove all Apple components per http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1925. I also downgraded to iTunes 10.3 since my issue didn’t start until after the 10.4 update. May not be related but oh well….
Thanks Jose (#32), finally managed to back up my 3G after starting itunes as an administrator (c/program files/itunes/itunes.exe right click and run as administrator.
connected old 3G and did a backup (no probs) then swapped sim and connected 3Gs and restored from backup.
After that i could go back to my original itunes login and sync with all my music etc to my new phone with no probs.
Thanks again Jose, your a life saver.
I had to do as Matthew mentioned on 8.7.11, and delete my entire backup folder. All backups were already deleted, but I still kept getting errors saying my current backup was corrupted.
Once I deleted that folder (and complete disabled Zone Alarm, who has a history of problems with iTune backups), I was able to get the backup process to actually start.
Looks like I’ll finally update my iPhone’s OS.
WOW, been having the “Back up Session Failed” Error for quit some time now. I have completely restored the phone 3 times now and then re-load everything and set it all back up.
I found this topic and closed iTunes and tried running as admin. Didn’t work
I then changed the time zone to central america and tried to restore from back-up again.
Didn’t work
I then closed and restarted Itunes and restored from back-up. Low and behold it WORKED.
It is currently restoring from back-up as I type. Very odd fix.
I am running windows 7 and can’t believe changing the fricken time zone on the PC worked to fix the restore from back-up and sync issues.
Good luck all.
I was getting the iTunes could not back up the iPhone xxxx because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone. I tried everything listed above apart from physically deleting the actual back up files . . because I couldnt find them. It turns out that aside from being in this folder (I had some other folders at the Owner level which I thought were the correct ones, but they werent) . . C:\Documents and Settings\Owner\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup, they were also not .mdbackup or .anything in fact – the directories, and the files within were random letters and numbers with no file extensions. Anyway – deleted the whole directory, and success! Im running XP.
Bingo! I tried EVERYTHING on this thread unsuccessfully, and Id re-installed iTunes twice. But I hadnt deleted all the software components, This solved it: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1923 for Windows 7 and Vista. I think my problems also started with 10.4. Ive wasted unfolded hours on this problem, including a very frustrating visit to an Apple Store Genius Bar, where was told to call Apple for fee-based service! Black eye for Apple support on this one!
tried a few of the above steps,but ultimately here’s what worked (found this on another forum):
go to: Forum Manager
Posts: 1107
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 4:03 am
Location: Spain
Skype: jcprosser
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 3:04 am
Try looking here:
C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\AppleComputer\MobileSync\Backup [you may need to have files/folders unhidden]
Delete the iphone backup in there [you may want to move those to an external drive, just in case] and then try backing up again by right-clicking on your phone in itunes and selecting ‘backup’
Worked perfect, and much simpler than some of the more complicated solutions I saw here and elsewhere.
[FYI...I'm on Windows Vista 6.0]
Dear all, I’ve tried all of the above but still nothing worked for me….
Anybody has alternative solution to this?
Phew! I was trying your suggestions from top to bottom and the time zone option (update 2) seems to work perfectly for me. I live in South Africa and my PC timezone was set on Harare, Pretoria, but changing it to Central America allowed my iPhone to restore successfully. Running Windows 7. Thanks a lot!!!
it really works, just delete the back up files edit–>preferences–>devices… at first i couldnt see any in backup files, but I left it and came back later ! it appears than i just deleted all and syn the ifone
again ! good luck
Hi i was having the same issue with my ipod touch 2g running 4.2.1 i fixed it by backing up the ipod, restoring it using the back up i had just made, then simply restore it again, but to the backup you want and it worked for me
try it!!!
I tried it all. Finally, John’s solution [john { 08.13.10 at 9:41 pm } ] worked. I have Win 7, iTunes 10.4.1.10, 3GS iPhone with 32 GB, IOS 4.3.5.
I had tried to delete the previous backups using iTunes Preferences and nothing showed up. But there were two files in the directory he mentioned. I cut-paste them somewhere else and it finally worked.
The only thing that helped me was actually the most simple one, just restarting the AMDS, Apple Mobile Device Service.
Win XP, iTunes 10.5.0.142, iPhone 4.
Re: Myself above.
No that actually did just fixed the Backup part. Now I cannot Restore. Tried everything.
Finally had to copy the backup files to another computer and restore from there. Worked fine.
Annoying and disturbing.
Update no. 4 works for me… Thanks for the post!
I had the same problem as everyone, I updated from 3.1.2 to iOS 4.2 on my iphone 3g and when I tried to restore backup it said session failed, I tried numerous times did not work, uninstalled and installed and still no luck, changed time zone that did not work for me. However, I took the backup file which I saved and put it on my other computer (replaced it with the old backup) and did a restore back up on my other computer and it worked, It restored all the txt messages and contacts and pictures with the new update, however it seems that I have lost all my applications (games and stuff), including ones I paid for. That really stinks, anyone know how to recover apps?
Update #4 worked for me after this error occurred when I updated to ios5
I upgraded to i OS 5 and had the same problem
Had to use the suggestion of running iTunes as an administrator
Thanks for the post
I tried all the above suggestion, but none of it work, I’m using iTunes 10.5 and iOS 4.3.4 and the backup still stuck some how until i unistall my iTunes and all apple related program. Here’s the link on how to unistall all the program: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1925
After restart my computer I just install the previous iTunes version 10.4
Then make a backup using it, there you go..Backup is succcessfully made!
i cannot backup my ipod 4g with ios 5 while i connect to itunes 10.5 it hangs backing up …. … for long long time help plzz maila me if anyone have solution
after i goes to C:\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup to deleted folder of backup & plugin iPhone pop up iTune starting loading then iTune system hang..
pls hlp
Running iTunes as admin helped me restore my ipod which could no back up or sync.
im using windows.
thank you guyz for your ideas
Setting Sophos firewall to “Allow all traffic” did it for me!
i’ve tried it all. none works. the problem is apple software is amateur. i’ve found a solution. buy a windows phone
Running iTunes as administrator fixed it for me! I’m on Win7 and 3GS.
Update 2 did it for me: Changed the time zone to my home zone and it worked.
Apparently, when you are elsewhere and the automatic time is set, the iPhone adjusts the time correctly, but does not adjust the time zone…
Thanks guys!
I had this issue this morning. I ran ibackupbot after and it told me I had a corrupt file. While leaving that prompt open, I went to my backups on my hard drive, found that exact file, moved it out of folder(didn’t want to delete it right away just in case) and tried backing up then. It worked after that. The corrupt file was an old backup from last month.
um.I did update 3 and 4 from the article. that did not work. Then i changed the time zone and that did not work.Now i’m restoring my iphone for the like 6th time without a backup because the seccion time did not work. After each restoring, the iphone can only call. Anymore tips? BTW, my dad had the same problem and cant fix this on someones else iphone.thx
also, after every restoring, its saying after the set up new backup, that the connection was not working and the secession time ran out.
@pwnmasta
exact same thing with the same order!!! i did delete and download every programme of apple’s so I guess it’s about the pc
anybody using mac has the same problem?
the thing with me is that ont he first of nov. My usb cord was not working all the time. So i guess the backup did not load all the way. Will going to the apple store work? I had a firen do that with her ipod touch
Just confirming that changing the timezone to Central America time and then to Central time caused the backup to suddenly work. By the way, I’m in Australia, so I had to change it from EDT (Eastern Daylight Time).
Re: My above post… to clarify, I mean that it caused the RESTORE (from a backup) to suddenly start working.
I just told iTunes on the iPhone Summary Screen to Encrypt the backup and let it backup, then turned off Encrypt Backup and it backed up unecrypted correctly.
i keep seeing people say delete the back up file on your windows but i cant not figure out where to begin to even locate it. i have tried to type in all the user:/ application/mobile sync things but i have no clue as to find where this is to even type it in. if someone can give me a step by step for windows it would be much appreciated. Thanks!
I HAVE BEEN AT THIS FOR HOURS!
deleted old back up, doesnt work.
changed time zone, doesnt work.
tried to update itunes, doesntwork
reinstalled itunes, doesnt work.
turned off computer and iphone, doesnt work.
changed cable, doesnt work.
restored iphone, doesnt work.
NOTHING WORKS!
“iTunes could not backup the iPhone “iPhone” because the back up session failed” OMGGGGGGGGGGGG, help me
I tried a different time zone, deleting all the old back ups, unplugging and closing iTunes, restarting (hold loch and home button) my iPod several times-but it finally worked! Thanks for the help!
THANKYOU!! urgently needed to sync iPod touch (3rd gen) and the right-clicking manual back-up and sync worked perfect! Thanks so much.
hi im trying to back up my wife’s iPod touch so we can update it and it keeps asking for a password and well the thing is it is not eccsepting any password please help we desperately need the documents in the iPod
The only best way to backup is to delete the old back up, which is at this address:
C:\Users\user name\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync
Delete everything inside the “backup” folder.
Mine worked!
I have not read through the entire thread. It seems there are several causes.
I have tried every fix suggested here and elsewhere, there was one that worked for me. – Changing many itunes files/executables into XP compatibility mode.
My environment:
Platform: Windows Vista
Apple – iTouch
iTunes – latest
I went into Task Manager ctl alt delete) and located most of the services/processes. I right clicked on each of them, and selected properties, compatibility. I changed compatibility to XP mode. Some but not all of the files include ipodservce, itunesservice, syncserver, helper, and so on.
Do NOT change the setting on itunes.exe, or it will barf. It has worked ever since for me.
I can’t seem to login to Apple support communites, it seems to hate me, so here it is.
Good luck.
BT
I had the same problem,
And Finaly i solved it,
Go to Edit Manue and select Perfrence, you will see the iphone Back up delete the one and after that this massege will not apear again,
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