If you're having trouble completing your backup, the first step is to assess whether the app thinks it was complete. There's a clear distinction between seeing the "Backup Incomplete" screen, and having files not included but still seeing "Backup Complete".
Backup incomplete
There are a number of reasons you may land on the "Backup Incomplete" screen. The first thing to note if you see this screen is that it will tell you exactly "why it stopped," which informs our next steps:
When particular files didn’t back up, the message starts with how many, such as “2 files”. Tap that number to see them: the File Not Backed Up list shows each file’s thumbnail, what kind of file it is, when it was created, and why it didn’t back up, so you can find it in the Photos app by its date. If more than one thing went wrong, the screen shows the one that affected the most files, with a Show More button for the rest:
Below, we’ll cover the reasons a backup may stop, what each means, and what to do next. Where a reason begins “1 file”, your screen shows however many files it affected:
- Your drive was disconnected. This can happen if you move your iPhone or iPad while a backup is in progress, or if the app is moved off the screen while the backup runs. If it disconnects repeatedly without moving the device, the drive may require further troubleshooting — take a look at our Connection Issues guide for assistance.
- 1 file couldn’t be downloaded from iCloud. iCloud sometimes can't hand over a particular photo or video when the app asks for it. Restart your iPhone or iPad, wait a while, and then tap Resume Backup to try again. If it happens again, follow the steps to Re-Sync iCloud Photos, the guide the app's "tips shown here" link opens.
- Your backup was paused because your iPhone or iPad is almost out of battery. This happens when the battery drops below 25% while it isn't charging. Tap Eject Your Drive first, so the drive is safely disconnected before your iPhone or iPad powers off. Then recharge it, and tap Resume Backup to proceed.
- Your iPhone or iPad is low on space. Ultimate Backup needs some free space on the phone to work properly (at least 2.5 GB and 5% of your iPhone's storage, more for long videos). Try deleting unused or unwanted information off your iPhone or iPad to free up space (ex. old/unused apps, old text messages, old voicemails, downloaded podcasts, etc.) — we also have a guide for further help freeing up iPhone storage.
- 1 file couldn’t be backed up because your iPhone or iPad doesn’t have enough free space to download it from iCloud. A photo or video stored in iCloud is downloaded to your iPhone or iPad before it’s copied to the drive, so a large video needs room. The message says how much space to free up. Free it, then run the backup again to include the file. We also have a guide for freeing up iPhone storage.
- Your drive is full. Try checking the storage space on your Ultimate Backup. If your Ultimate Backup is full, you can simply purchase another one to pick up seamlessly where the first left off.
- 1 file was too large for your drive. Most Ultimate Backup drives are formatted as FAT32, which can’t store a single file of 4 GB or more, so a very long or high-resolution video was left out while the rest of the backup carried on. Take a look at Why can't my drive backup files larger than 4 GB? to see what you can do about it.
- 1 file failed to download. Please keep the Ultimate Backup app on screen during backup. Your iPhone or iPad pauses apps that aren't on screen, which can interrupt a file that is still copying — large videos, and photos that are still downloading from iCloud, are affected most. Keep the Ultimate Backup app open and on screen while a backup runs: avoid switching to another app, and let the screen stay awake rather than locking the device. Then tap Resume Backup to pick up where it stopped.
- 1 file couldn’t be backed up due to your iPhone or iPad’s network connection. Photos and videos that live in iCloud rather than on the device have to be downloaded before they can be copied to your Ultimate Backup, so a backup can stall if the connection drops. Check that you're on a stable Wi-Fi or cellular connection, then tap Resume Backup.
- Something went wrong while copying a file. This usually means a file reached the drive but could not be written to it. Restart your iPhone or iPad and try the backup once more — if it happens again, please contact our Support Team, as repeated write errors normally point to the drive itself rather than anything on your iPhone or iPad.
- 1 file couldn’t be backed up. This covers any other problem with a particular file, and the rest of the message says what to do. Usually, tap Resume Backup to try again, and please contact our Support Team if it keeps happening.
- Backup ended early because the "Stop Backup" button was pressed. This is the only reason in this list that should be expected. If you ever decide to stop the backup mid-process, this is the screen you'll see. When you're ready to resume later, reconnect your drive, open the app, and tap Resume Backup — it will continue from where you last left off automatically.
- Your drive is formatted as NTFS, which this app can't write to. NTFS is a Windows disk format that iPhones and iPads can only read, never write to — the drive will still appear and you can browse the files already on it, but nothing new can be saved. This almost always follows the drive being reformatted on a Windows PC. Please contact our Support Team and we'll walk you through reformatting the drive so it works again.
Backup complete but missing files
Seeing the "Backup Complete" screen means the app successfully saved everything it was looking for. If you're still missing files after this, the question becomes — is this a setting, do we need a workaround, or is the file type genuinely incompatible?
- First, it's important to note that not all file types are accessible to us within the Ultimate Backup app. This comes down to privacy restrictions on your iPhone or iPad, as opposed to limitations within our app. On most phones and tablets, this means photos, videos, and contacts are what we can include in a backup.
- With that in mind, let's check your Backup Options. If you're missing entire types of media (i.e. your photos backed up, but not your videos), this is the most likely culprit. Fixing this is often as simple as enabling the setting, and then tapping Resume Backup.
- If only some of your photos or videos are missing, rather than a whole type of media, make sure the Ultimate Backup app has Full Access to your photo library. With limited access, the app can only see the photos you chose to share with it, so the rest are left out of the backup. Here's how to grant full access to your photo/video library.
- If your options are all set how you intend them to be, the final piece to note is where Ultimate Backup looks for your content. Third party apps (Google Photos, Amazon Photos, etc.) are not directly accessible from within the Ultimate Backup app. These apps require backing up in different ways, and we have guides available to help with this.
If none of the above fits your situation, or if your backup still won't complete or files are still missing, please contact us for additional assistance.