ITunes could not back up... error (-20).
I've been getting this message for some time. It didn't seem to be a big problem. But now I'm trying to upgrade to 4.0.2 (?), and it won't do it unless the backup happens, which it won't. It keeps giving me the "iTunes could not back up the iPhone "David's iPhone" because an unknown error occurred (-20)."
What can I do? I've rebooted it several times??
Hi, have the same problem, but have "Vista" on my pc, have try the support page, have remove and recover, but the problem is still there. have also the problem if there is an update from Itunes, I can't download it or install it. so I install it from the support site.
Hope to get some help,
Starroad-NL
Similar Messages
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I'm totally frustrated by iTunes and don't know how to solve my problem. Like a lot of people on here I'm not able to sync or back up my iPad2 with my iTunes (version 10.4.1.10). I'm running Win 7 Ultimate 64 bit. My iTunes worked just fine until the 10.4.xx updates came out and since June I've not been able to back up or sync the iPad2.
When I connect and try to sync I get the error message, “iTunes could not back up the iPad because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPad.”
I've deleted all the old backups so there are none on my system. I've deleted iTunes and re-installed the 64bit version several times but it has not made any difference. I've read and followed several suggestions on these boards about how to remove and reinstall everything but none have worked yet. I'm stumped here.I had the exact same thing with my shuffle - same error message saying that it was corrupt so I restored it (wiping everything in the process) and the same message came up as soon as it reloaded. Thank god I didn't try it with my iPod or iPhone first. So many issues with this new version of iTunes!!!!!!!!
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At the end of a synch I am getting the following error message "iTunes could not back up the iPod because the backup could not be saved on the computer". Any ideas on how to resolve?
See:
iOS: Troubleshooting backup issues in iTunes
Try going to iTunes>Preferences>Devices and delete the existing backup so iTunes creates an entire new one vice changing the existing one. -
Yesterday I upgraded my iPad Air from 7.1.2 to 8.3 after holding off upgrading until now. Before the upgrade I backed up the iPad without any problems but since the upgrade I can't back up the iPad – it goes to step 2 of 4 and stays there for ages, and then I get a pop up box saying "iTunes could not back up the iPad "... iPad" because the iPad disconnected."
I've just tried setting up iTunes on another PC and backing up the iPad to this iTunes and got the same error message so it's not the iTunes setup on either computer (Windows 7 PCs).
Everything I've tried so far seems to be working on the iPad but I can't do any backups.
Any suggestions on what else to try will be much appreciated.Sometimes resetting the iPad system helps. Did you try that? If not, try it. Hold down on the sleep and home buttons at the same time for about 10 seconds until the Apple logo appears on the screen, then let go of the buttons and let the iPad start up. Then try to backup again.
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does anyone know how to delete the back up for the ipod? I am getting an error message that says "iTunes could not back up iPod because it is corrupt or not compatible with iPod; delete back up and try again"
Go to iTunes>Preferences>Devices and highlight the backup you want to delete and click on Delete Backup
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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\ -
I want to backup my phone before upgrading to ios5 but I get an error message: itunes could not back up the iphone because a session could not be started with the iphone. I want to go to ios5, but I do not want to lose everything. I've gone to my device under preferences and I have no backup currently.
I have a Verizon Iphone 4 and a PC.
Please help me..Hi Judy,
Im using windows 7 and im not a computer wizard, i've tried the method by using the instruction for Win7 but it does not work, same problem still exist.
Could uninstall itunes and reinstall it back on my pc fix my problem, please advise...... Many Thanks!
VBR,
ray -
I am trying to use Itunes to move my data from my iphone 4s that was backed up on my Macbook Pro. I keep getting an error code backing up from ITunes to new Iphone 5s:iTunes could not back up the iPhone “Karen’s iPhone” because it is locked with a passcode. You must enter your passcode on the iPhone before it can be backed up. On the Iphone it keeps telling me to add another network. I have put our home network on the Iphone. When I put the passcode in the phone does not give me enough time to put my Apple ID password in and it shuts off. Help!
<Email Edited by Host>FORCE IPAD INTO RECOVERY MODE
1. Turn off iPad
2. Turn on computer and launch iTunes (make sure you have the latest version of iTune)
3. Plug USB cable into computer's USB port
4. Hold Home button down and plug the other end of cable into docking port.
DO NOT RELEASE BUTTON until you see picture of iTunes and plug
5. Release Home button.
ON COMPUTER
6. iTunes has detected iPad in recovery mode. You must restore this iPad before it can be used with iTunes.
7. Select "Restore iPad"...
Note:
1. Data will be lost if you do not have backup
2. You must follow step 1 to step 4 VERY CLOSELY. -
Please help me!!!! I have tried all of the steps that I have found listed for this issue. I am not sure if I should try to contact my phone provider or not. I am getting an error message without an error code. That says: Itunes could not back up Iphone because an error occurred. Please if anyone one knows any steps I should take please let me know. My iphone and Mac and iTunes are all up to date.
Itunes: Version: 11.0.2
MacBook Pro: OSX: 10.8.3
iphone4s: iOS 6.1.3
Thank youExcellent!
Please note the following:
Note: iCloud Backup does not back up music, movies, and TV shows that you did not purchase from the iTunes Store, or any podcasts, audio books, or photos that you originally synced from your computer. iCloud Backup will restore your purchased music, movie, and app content from the iTunes and App Stores during the background restore process. Previous purchases may be unavailable if they are no longer in the iTunes Store, App Store, or iBookstore.
The above comes from this article:
Choosing an iOS backup method (Should I use iTunes or iCloud to back up my iOS device?)
Best of luck with this. -
Itunes could not back up the iPhone because an unknown error occurred
I am trying to update my Iphone 3GS to the 4.01 update, but I keep getting this error: "Itunes could not back up the iPhone because an unknown error occurred" Then Itunes tells me to reconnect my Iphone and try again, I do so...and I retry the update and I get the same error over and over again. What do I do? I can't update my phone...
Nevermind, I misread.
Message was edited by: Melissimo -
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. -
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 keep receiving the error message: itunes could not back up the iphone "....." because the backup session failed. Can anyone advise me on what I can try doing to fix this problem?
This Apple article talks about backup issues -> iOS: Troubleshooting backup issues in iTunes
Are you able to backup if you move the previous backup from the location below to the desktop?
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\ -
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.
The solution will be found here, select your computer type and software.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2529 -
Error Message: iTunes could not back up the iPhone because an error occurred
Error Message: iTunes could not back up the iPhone because an error occurred.
The thing is - I have no idea what error have I encountered!
Usually, I would assume the previous backup file is corrupted and I will proceed to delete the old backups. I did the same this time round, and it's still unable to sync. Now I have no more backup files!
I have tried -
1. Deleting old backup files.
2. Restarting iPhone 4S & iMAC.
3. Remove
I am using iOS 5.1 on iPhone 4S, and iTunes 10.6.1 on Mac OSX Lion. My phone is not jail-broken in the first place.
Does anyone face the same problem?
I need to back up my files!!!Unfortunately, "because and error occured" doesn't give you much to go on. Some general things I would try if you haven't already:
Use Disk Utility on your mac to repair disk permissions, then reboot and try backing up again.
Use Finder to go to ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/, then control-click on the Backup folder and select Get Info, then check Sharing & Permissions at the bottom and make sure your username has read & write priviledges
Try closing all apps, then reset your phone: double-tap the home button, tap and hold the apps at the bottom until they wiggle, tap the minus sign on all apps to close them. Then reset your phone: hold the on/off and home buttons until you see the Apple logo (ignore the off slider that appears first), and release
Try a different usb to dock connector cable; ensure that your case isn't interfering with a good connection to the dock connector at the bottom of your phone; clean the dock connector at the bottom of your phone (e.g., with a dry toothbrush); troubleshoot your usb connection (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1286)
I know this looks like a laundry list, but unfortunately it's hard to isolate the problem without a clear error message. If the problem persists, you might try posting in the iMac or iTunes forums for other ideas.
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