Backup Planner

Am I backed up?

Pick the device. Osnivo shows Apple's own words on how to check you're backed up, the ways to back up, what a backup leaves out and how to restore.

Your devices:

Is your Apple Watch backed up?

Check each one on your device. Ticks stay in this browser only.

of 3 checked

1 It backs up to your iPhone by itself Your Apple Watch data is backed up to the iPhone that it's paired with. This happens automatically as long as your iPhone and Apple Watch are near each other, so you don't need to do anything to keep your watch backed up. Apple: Back up your Apple Watch ↗
2 Back up the iPhone When you back up your iPhone to iCloud or your computer, your iPhone backup includes your Apple Watch data. This means that when you set up a new iPhone and restore it from backup, your latest Apple Watch data is also restored. iPhone backup → Apple: Back up your Apple Watch ↗
3 Use iCloud or an encrypted backup for Health and Fitness To back up Health and Fitness data, you need to use iCloud or an encrypted backup on your computer. iPhone backup → Apple: Back up your Apple Watch ↗

Ways to back up

Your iPhone

What the watch backup includes

App-specific data for some built-in apps Settings for built-in and third-party apps General system settings, such as brightness, sound, and haptic settings Notification settings App layout on the Home screen Clock-face settings, including your current watch face, customizations, and order Health and Fitness data, such as history, awards, Workout and Activity calibration data from your Apple Watch, and user-entered data Playlists, albums, and mixes that are synced to your Apple Watch, and your Music settings The photo album you've chosen to sync Your time zone Apple: Back up your Apple Watch ↗

Unpairing makes a fresh backup

When you unpair your Apple Watch from your iPhone, the watch is backed up to your iPhone to make sure that the latest data is saved. You can use the backed-up Apple Watch data on your iPhone if you ever need to restore your Apple Watch, or when you set up a new Apple Watch. Apple: Back up your Apple Watch ↗

iCloud

A watch set up for a family member Apple Watch for Kids

An Apple Watch that you set up for a family member using Apple Watch for Kids (formerly known as Family Setup) backs up directly to the family member’s iCloud account. Backups happen automatically when the watch is connected to power and a Wi-Fi network. Apple: Back up your Apple Watch ↗

What a backup leaves out

Not in the watch backup
Bluetooth pairings Credit or debit cards that are used for Apple Pay on your Apple Watch The passcode for your Apple Watch Information that syncs to iCloud, like Voice Memos recordings Messages If your devices use iCloud and Messages in iCloud, your iMessages and texts (RCS or SMS/MMS) are automatically stored in iCloud. Apple: Back up your Apple Watch ↗

Your ticks here count toward the Backup part of your Setup Score, next to Recovery readiness (recovery contacts, Legacy Contact, Medical ID).

Deleted something or lost a device? Emergency → Moving to a new device? Migration Planner → Handing it on? Before You Sell →

Sources for this page

1 Back up your Apple Watch support.apple.com

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