Summary: Are you receiving the error, ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or not compatible’ while trying to restore iPhone? iPhone recovery is not possible from a corrupt backup file. This post shares how you can resolve corrupt iTunes backup file issue and restore iPhone’s lost data.
‘I dropped my iPhone and broke it. I got it repaired and formatted to factory settings to fix the various issues caused due to the fall. Since I had a backup in iTunes, so was not worried about my data. But had least idea that my iTunes backup file was corrupted! As I tried to restore iPhone from iTunes, a message appeared –: ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible.’ Now I don’t know how to restore my iPhone. Please help.’ – Simon, UK
It’s not new when users get bowled over by iTunes when trying to restore their iPhone. iTunes sometimes shows a message that it could not restore iPhone because the backup was corrupt or not compatible with the iPhone that was being restored.
It may be because iTunes does incremental backup by updating the previous backup. It’s possible that some old backup data was corrupt, which results in the error message.
Whatsoever, it’s a fact that there’s no recovery possible from a corrupt backup file.
So how to fix such corrupt iPhone backup in iTunes and restore iPhone in such cases?
Here we share the best ways to fix corrupt iTunes backup file and efficient methods to restore iPhone’s lost data.
You can apply these methods on all iPhone models including iPhone XS, XS Max, XR, X, 8 Plus, 8, 7 Plus, 7, 6S Plus, 6S, 6 Plus, 6, 5S, 5c, 5, 4S and 4 with iOS 12.x.
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Since you can’t repair or recover from a corrupt or incompatible iTunes backup file, it is best to delete such corrupt files and next try to create a new backup in iTunes.
How to delete your corrupt iPhone backup file in iTunes
How to delete the old iTunes backup files manually
If you don’t see the old backup in iTunes, then delete the backup manually.
On Mac follow: Finder > Option> Go menu> Library> Application Support >MobileSync> Backup
On Windows 8/10 follow: In Search box type %appdata%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup. Press Enter key
If you installed iTunes from the Microsoft Store, follow: In Search box type %userprofile%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup. Press Enter key.
How to backup iPhone in iTunes again
| Did you get a message — iTunes can’t back up your iPhone because an error occurred? Here’s what you should do…
• Update your iOS to the latest version |
|---|
Method 1: Restore iPhone from iCloud backup
Method 2: Recover from iCloud backup without erasing existing data
Method 3: Restore lost data directly from iPhone/ iPad
Instead of iTunes, you can restore iPhone by using the alternative backup solution, iCloud.
In case you want to restore specific data from backup, instead of complete backup, use an iPhone recovery software.
If iTunes could not restore iPhone or iPad because the backup was corrupt and neither iCloud is able to restore backup, recover data from the device directly. You can easily restore lost photos, videos, messages, calendar, voice memos, Safari bookmarks, etc., with this method. It works in cases of broken/ water-damaged iPhone, factory reset, iOS crash etc.
You cannot repair or recover data from corrupt iTunes backup file that gives — ‘iTunes backup was corrupt or Not compatible’ message.
However, the situation can be tackled by deleting the corrupt backup file and creating a fresh new backup in iTunes.
To restore iPhone, you may use either the new iTunes backup or bypass iTunes by using alternative recovery methods. Other than iTunes, iCloud or Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone are the effective ways to restore lost data on your iPhone. Among these too, if you wish to restore specific data like photos, videos, voice memos, or contacts etc., Stellar Data Recovery for iPhone would be the best solution.
Harsha is a technical expert who loves Mondays, technology and is a big time Apple fan. She knows her way around the data loss problems and is always looking for ways to help out people.
I used your data recovery software on my iPhone 6. It’s get back my contacts, Notes, text messages directly my iPhone. Thanks you very much!
Hi Rex, Thankyou!