I recently had to purchase a new iPhone 4S.  I backed up my old 4s to my iMac and when I went to restore, I got this message "iTunes could not restore the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that is being restored".

I recently had to purchase a new iPhone 4S.  I backed up my old 4s to my iMac and when I went to restore, I got this message "iTunes could not restore the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that is being restored".  I just purchased the iPhone 4S today so I know it's not the phone.  How can I get my information back?

If it's corrupt, generally it would be lost.
However, there is third-party software out there that can retrieve some of the data, those of which however I could not recommend as I have never done so myself.
Also, if the old 4S was running a more recent software version than the current 4S, that may cause the issue however usually iTunes tells you exactly that.
Good luck in retrieving that information.

Similar Messages

  • Hi,  For no apparent reason my phone stopped working...so I did a reset and got the message 'Restore Needed'. I connected to iTunes and got this message: 'iTunes could not connect to the iPhone because it is locked with a passcode. You must enter your pas

    Hi,
    For no apparent reason my phone stopped working...so I did a reset and got the message 'Restore Needed'. I connected to iTunes and got this message: 'iTunes could not connect to the iPhone because it is locked with a passcode. You must enter your passcode on your iPhone before it can be used with iTunes'.
    The problem is, I can't enter my passcode because I'm not given that option on the iPhone. All I seem to be able to do is make an emergency call.
    It's been working fine otherwise. Any suggestions?
    This is the SECOND replacement iPhone I've had this week and I'm getting a bit fed up.
    Thanks in advance for any help,

    Are you referring to the 4 digit passcode needed to enter the phone and use it's features?
    If so reboot your iPhone and enter the passcode to get it operational.  Launch Image Capture on the Mac and connect the iPhone.  Now you should be able to download the video files to wherever you want on your hard drive. 
    OT

  • HT4972 After upgrading iPhone 4 to iOS 5.1.1 getting the error "iTunes could not restore the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that is being restored" HELP!

    I attempted to upgrade my iPhone 4 to iOS 5.1.1. I selected 'back up' from the phone in the device menu and iTunes confirmed that the phone had been backed up. I then installed iOS 5.1.1 which wiped everything on the phone & now I am getting the error "iTunes could not restore the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that is being restored".
    I have tried restoring factory settings but iTunes simply will not restore from back up & I'm not sure what else to do!
    Any advice would be much appreciated.

    I have the same issue and I KNOW my backup IS good. What happen is when you try to restore your phone apple says something like can I check for new updates and if you choose no, it just takes you back to the restore screen and a loop from then on.  If you dont update from you phone then when you back up you will have the 5.0.1 back up and then when you update to 5.1.1 and then try to restore the backup from 5.0.1 it say it EITHER corrupt or incompatible.. It is incompatible and its hard as **** to restore back to 5.0.1. I followed the restore to a T and still getting errors. I lost all text history and have to reset up email. All just because I wanted a 1.2 Gigs of "other" space back.

  • I am getting error message "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone".  I have deleted the backup and restarted my computer, but continue to get this error message.  What do I need to do now?

    I have recently updated my phone and am attempting to sync it.  I got the error message "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone".  I deleted the backup, restarted my computer, and even restored the iPhone, but continue to get the same error message.  What do I need to do now?

    iTunes places the iPhone backup in the following location. Navigate there & delete everything in the backup folder, but not the folder itself. You will have to turn on "Show All Hidden Files & Folders" to see it:
    Mac:~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
    Windows XP:\Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
    Windows Vista and Windows 7:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

  • ITunes could not back up the iPhone "my name Iphone" because the backup was corrupted on not compatible with the iPhone.

    Hi..
    While working in India I bought an iphone 4s (with international warranty)
    I have synced my old iphone 4...and get this message when trying to sync the new phone.
    iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup was corrupted or not compatible with the iPhone.
    Do I need to buy Lion? Whats up?
    Any help?
    Thanks

    I get this issue about once a week on my iPhone 3GS running 4.2.1 (although it's been happening since 4.0 I believe). It starts will the iPhone stalling while backing up. I then end up sliding to cancel on my iPhone. I unplug my iPhone and plug it back in. It looks like it syncs but I then get the error message that you get. Here are my steps to temporarily solve the problem:
    1. I curse a little
    2. I unplug my phone and quit iTunes
    3. Open iTunes and plug my phone back in (sometimes the problem is solved at this point)
    4. Curse some more (if the problem persists)
    5. Unplug my phone and turn it off. At this point I end up having to do a hard-restart on my phone because it won't shut down (hold the home button and power button at the same time until the screen blips off)
    6. Turn the phone back on and try syncing again (50% chance the problem will be "solved" at this point)
    7. If I still get the error message I curse one more time and then simply hit "sync" in iTunes. 99% of the time it will be solved in this step. If the issue is still present then I will try once more to restart iTunes, and then if that doesn't work repair disk permissions.
    Like I said, I seem to go through this routine every week or so. This week I've had to do it twice already (once yesterday and once today). I've tried restoring my phone using previous backups but the issue still occurs. I think my next step will be to do a full factory restore, which means I'll have to organize my data and apps all over again (like having a new phone). This is a last resort!
    I hope this long post helps.

  • HT201210 I have a message saying "iTunes could not back up the "Owner's iPhone" because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone. Delete the backup for this iPhone, then try again. My question is, how do i locate and delete the backup in q

    While trying to update my iPhone 4s I received this "iTunes could not backup the i Phone "Owner's iPhone" because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone. Delete the backup for this iPhone, then try again. I have a PC and cannot find the backup in question to delete. Any ideas?

    Here are location of your Backup folder(s):
    Win7 - C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\Mobile Sync\Backup
    Vista - C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Mobile Sync\Backup
    Winxp- C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Apple Computer\Mobile Sync\Backup

  • How to resolve error message "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone. Delete the backup for this iPhone, then try again."

    I inadvertently deleted my iPhone backup on my MacBook Pro. I restored iPhone to factory settings and then synced remotely with iCloud. However the error message repeatedly states:
    iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone. Delete the backup for this iPhone, then try again.
    Any ideas as to how this can be resolved please. Thank you very much.

    My wife's iPhone 5 would not backup, after upgrading to iOS 8.     The "genius" at the Apple store succeeded in DELETING, the only recent backup of her phone so
    recovery became more critical.
    I followed all the procedures for troubleshooting it, but still it would try to backup and then stop due to an error. We particularly wanted to preserve some game data/history/progress that she'd been working on for years.      This game (Dream Fish) would no longer open after the iOS 8 upgrade ... and the phone would not successfully backup, and so we had no confidence that it would restore from an older backup either.       I googled for solution and found Phoneview and iFunBox.      These apps allow you to see & access data files in the iPhone.      Phoneview was too fragile and crashed when copying a file any size.     
    I found "iFunBox".     iFunBox was excellent.      I used iFunBox to recover her game data.    It allows you to make a copy of data files that reside on the iPhone... and store them as a manual backup on the Mac.
    And in the process I found 2 games that caused iFunBox to crash.      The 2 games in question were not important enough to try to keep, so I deleted them from the iPhone.
    So then, I had a manual backup of the important iPhone data, and had eliminated two game files that apparently had a conflict with iOS 8.
    My next Backup attempt was successful.        The iPhone with iOS 8 would now backup to both the Mac and to the Cloud.
    Next I deleted Dream Fish from the iPhone and downloaded a fresh version from the Cloud.    The new Dream Fish with no history opened in iOS 8.
    Then I used iFunBox to copy my wife's Dream Fish data history from the Mac back into the new game.
    Once the transfer was complete, Dream Fish would now OPEN and all of her progress was there and working like normal.
    Hope this helps.

  • HT1766 Error message: "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone.  Delete the backup for this iPhone, then try again." But how do I delete the backup?

    Error message when attempting to backup up iPhone4S to Mac says "iTunes could not back up the iphone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone.  Delete the backup for this iPhone, then try again." But how do I delete the backup? Can't find answer to that anywhere.

    We had this problem after upgrading to iOS 8.       The iPhone 5 would not backup either to the cloud or to the computer.   Backup always ended with an error message.
    Long story short, with the help of iFunBox ( which I used to make manual backups of some important iPhone data files ), I discovered two games that
    would crash iFunBox.      They were not important games for us, so I didn't try to isolate the offending data files.     And I deleted the two games from the iPhone.
    Apparently these two games conflicted with iOS 8 just as they did with iFunBox.      The next backup without those games was then successful.
    I backed up to both the Mac and the cloud.
    Hope this helps.

  • I deleted the backup on itunes, synced again and got the error message: itunes could not back up the iphone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iphone

    I am using iphone 3GS, after syncing for few times and got the errors. I deleted the backup from Edit-> Preferences-> Devices. Then I synced again,  there was an error message: itunes could not back up the iphone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iphone. What can I do? I have no backup anymore on ituens.

    babesharon
    I closed iTunes & manually deleted the file which was still stored locally even though it didn't display in Preferences.  I have vista so I went to
    C:\Users\{user name}\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync and deleted everything in the Backup folder (though I left the folder as is).  If you have a different OS search the apple website for the backup location.
    I reopened iTunes & Synced with out a problem.  I also got the update to install.
    Good luck.

  • I tried to update my iPhone4's, but get the following error message:   iTunes could not back up the iphone "iPhoneName" because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iphone. Delete the backup for this iphone, then try again.

    I tried to update my iPhone4's, but get the following error message:   iTunes could not back up the iphone "iPhoneName" because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iphone. Delete the backup for this iphone, then try again.

    The solution will be found here, select your computer type and software.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2529

  • I have an iPhone with iOS 7.1.1 and am trying to update to 7.1.2, but get an error message "iTunes could not back up the iPhone becaus the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone"

    I have an iPhone with iOS 7.1.1 and am trying to update to 7.1.2, but get an error message "iTunes could not back up the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone"

    Assuming you are using the current version of iTunes (11,2,2), open iTunes, click "Preferences" under the leftmost entry on iTunes' menu, then choose "Devices".
    Find the iPhone's backup there, highlight it, and choose "Delete Backup".

  • Whenever i try to backup my Iphone 4 i get an error message " Itunes can not backup (my Iphone) because  the backup was corrupted or not compatible with the Iphone"

    whenever i try to back up my iphone it gives me an error message "itunes could not back up (my)iphone because backup was corrupted or not compatible with your iphone" i already deleted the itunes backups through the prefrences tab. this has not helped. what am i doing wrong?

    I have the same question and the only reply I've found on the forum was "change the USB hub", which HASN'T worked. So I am accepting new suggestions. Tks!

  • "iTunes could not backup the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone." Anybody else experienced this when trying to update iPhone software to 5.1.1???

    "iTunes could not backup the iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone."
    Anybody else experienced this when trying to update iPhone software to 5.1.1???
    How have you resolved this issue.
    Any help anyone can give will be warmly received!!
    Thanks,
    R.
    London.

    Hello jsachi,
    The article linked below details a number of troubleshooting steps that can help get a backup created in iTunes.
    iOS: If you can't back up or restore from a backup in iTunes
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2529
    Cheers,
    Allen

  • ITunes could not restore iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that is being restored...

    I replaced a faulty iPhone 4S with a new handset today, another iPhone 4S.  I was certain to backup my previous iPhone 4S to iTunes on my PC before returning the faulty unit.  The new phone was 'set up' at the Apple Store and updated to the current iOS, 7.0.4, as was the faulty unit prior to replacement.  Upon connecting the new unit to iTunes to restore to the most recent restore point from earlier in the day, the following message was shown:
    "iTunes could not restore iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that is being restored."
    I've browsed other forums and have contacted the Apple Store Genius Bar, and will hear from the Lead Genius tomorrow.  In the meantime, I am hoping someone may have information for me on what I may need to do in order to restore my phone as I'd anticipated doing by now.  My photos, email and text messages are what is affected and have not repopulated.  My music is accessable via iCloud without a problem and my contacts were kept via SIM.  I regularly copy my Camera Roll from my iPhone to my computer, and most of my photos are still viewable via Apple TV/My Photo Stream however only through the photos last saved.  The 348 recent photos that were on my faulty unit, and viewable in My Photo Stream were presumedly safe, but have disappeared.
    I have yet to shut down or restart my computer, nor have I exited out of iTunes, for the simple reason that I'd anticipated returning home with the new handset and plug it into my computer to restore right away.  I did, but that's as far as I've gotten. 
    Any help would be appreciated.  Thank you!

    Had the exact same problem whilst upgrading my iphone 4 to ios5. Lost all my data.
    Backed up ios 4.3 (8F190) iphone4. Upgraded to ios 5.1 (9B176), and then tried to restore.
    No joy, repeated the restore attempts countless times - lost all my data
    Tried again with a simulated test.
    Created a new itunes account on a new PC (64-bit windows 7), latest itunes(10.6.1.7- 64 bit).
    As my data is toast, I'm using the ios 5.1 phone to try to see if it was me or an apple bug, or something elsewhich caused this to happen.
    After quite a few more hours at it, it looks like a bug in iTunes / ios. I would be very happy to be wrong, though.
    Tried repeatedly restoring an ios 4.3 backup to 5.1 - no joy.
    Happy to try again - it does restore partially (got the call register transferred, but no SMS'es or anything else).
    Any ideas?

  • I'm unable to backup my iphone. It is saying 'iTunes could not backup because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the i Phone.' i deleted my previous back up but it still isn't helping. Any suggestions ?

    I'm unable to backup my iphone. It is saying 'iTunes could not backup because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the i Phone.' i deleted my previous back up but it still isn't helping. Any suggestions ?

    Mac:  ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/
    Windows XP:  \Documents and Settings\(username)\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
    Note: To quickly access the Application Data folder, click Start, and choose Run. Type %appdata% and click OK.
    Windows Vista and Windows 7:  \Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
    Note: To quickly access the AppData folder, click Start. In the search bar, type %appdata% and press the Return key.
    Delete the entire Backup folder if there is anything at all in it.

Maybe you are looking for