#iOS Tip 100 - Prep Your Device for iOS 9

Don't rush to upgrade on Wednesday without backing up.

iOS 9 officially launches Wednesday, bringing huge changes to iPhones, iPads, and iPods. But before you rush to upgrade, take some time to get your device ready. That way, if anything goes wrong during the install process—or if you decide you hate iOS 9—you can reverse your decision without losing any important files.
The good news: You won’t have to delete a whole bunch of apps to get ready to upgrade. Why? The new OS will do the deleting for you. Apple said at June’s Worldwide Developers Conference that iOS 9 will take up 1.3GB of storage—way less than iOS 8’s space-hogging 4.58GB. If you’re using a 16GB phone and don’t have any room to spare, iOS 9 will delete apps and then reinstall them after the update is done.
Read up on all of iOS 9’s big features and then get ready to install on Wednesday with these tips.

Back up your stuff
First thing’s first: Make sure your data is backed up. No one has ever regretted backing up their data. Ever. You can use two methods, the cloud or iTunes on your computer, or for extra security, you can use both.

Using a cloud service such as Backblaze, the least expensive on the market and unlimited storage, just download, install and you're good to go. As long as you pay their monthly fee you'll be fine. You can also back up to iCloud however if you've a lot of data it could get expensive. You do this by going to Settings > iCloud > Backup and in the resulting screen enabling the iCloud Backup option. An alert appears informing you that your data will now be backed up to the cloud. Tap OK to allow that to happen.

To do things the old-fashioned (and more complete) way, launch iTunes on your Mac and plug your syncing cable into both your device and your Mac. Select your device in iTunes, choose the Summary tab, and in the Backups area of the resulting window click on Back Up Now. If there are apps on your device that aren’t in your iTunes library a window will appear asking if you’d like to back them up. The choice is yours as you can always wirelessly re-download any apps you’re missing from the iTunes Store, but restoring them to your device will happen more quickly if they’re being copied from your computer rather than being downloaded over a slowish broadband connection.
iTunes will now back up any apps on the device that aren’t in your iTunes library, plus the rest of your data.

Either way you choose to back up, once you’ve installed iOS 9, you’ll have all of your photos, apps, and other data stored safe and sound.

Leave a way back
Don’t get stuck using an OS you can’t stand—be sure to have a copy of the latest version of iOS 8 compatible with your device. There are invariably cases where people wish they hadn’t upgraded—perhaps because an app they rely on hasn’t yet been updated for iOS 9 or, as it turns out, they hate change (or their older device runs more slowly with the new OS). If you act quickly, you can put things back the way they were.
Here’s the deal: Apple “signs” versions of iOS. This tells the device that the version you wish to use is OK to use with that device. While that version is signed, you can install it on your iOS device—even if it’s a version of the operating system that’s earlier than the one you just installed.
However—and this is very important—Apple traditionally stops signing old versions of iOS just a day or two after releasing major updates (such as iOS 9). If you were to update to iOS 9 say, a week after it ships, you might find that you can’t go back to iOS 8.
If you have a copy on your hard drive you will find it, by default, by following this path: youruserfolder/Library/iTunes and then select the Software Updates folder for the relevant device. (You access the Library folder in your user folder by holding down the Option key in the Finder and choosing Go > Library.)
The Mac will delete this files under certain circumstances so you may not have a copy of the latest one. If not, launch your favorite web browser and search for “download ipsw.” You’ll find a number of sites that offer links to the file you need. Just be sure to choose the correct one based on the device you’re using.
Remember, this window stays open for a very limited amount of time, so you’ll have to act quickly if you want to get back to iOS 8. Stay tuned for our complete guide to downgrading from iOS 9 to iOS 8.

iOS Tip 85 - My Stupid Fault: iCloud vs local iPhone backups

Back up your iPhone properly.

I switched on iCloud backup rather than local backup for the old iPhone. Most apps I use have their own iCloud, Dropbox or other backup service so I didn’t bother with them. I was not going to lose any data, I knew it. I just didn't appreciate how much else gets backed up when you backup your phone directly to your computer through iTunes.

By connecting my phone to my iMac I would've got all my apps back, plus all their settings. In an effort to save space (because iCloud is limited in its free incarnation to 5GB), the iCloud-only backup of an iPhone doesn't remember all that minutia, it just puts your purchased apps back on in the order they are restored.

The bottom line here: back up your iPhone and iPad to your Mac through iTunes, rather than an iCloud backup, and do it regularly -- if you want to be able to restore the your iOS device exactly as it was when you replace it. The iCloud backup is good in its way, particularly for people who don't tie their device to a Mac or Windows PC, but it is not as complete. High scores in games not using Game Center, for example, aren't saved -- you can pretend it won't bother you, but you know it will.

iPhone Tip 59: Undelete Photos

Didn't mean to delete that photo from your phone (or iPad)? Open photos, select All Photos, then tap on Albums (at the bottom), scroll down to Recently Deleted and select the photo(s) you want to recover. You'll also see the number of days until the photos are permanently deleted from your device. To make sure you never lose your photos back your device up to iTunes (see Tip #40) or use an online service like Backblaze.

iPad Tip 40 - Back it Up

Make sure your iPad's data is properly backed up. When you're connected to your Mac or PC, open up iTunes and right-click on your iPad in the Devices list and select Back up. You don't need to worry about Apps you've downloaded or any purchases - videos, music - they're always available to you from Apple. Content you've created, such as photos and videos is what's important and at risk of loss when the iPad dies. You can also use an offsite service.