How to Back Up Your iPhone to Google Drive

Your iPhone stores a treasure trove of precious data – contacts, calendars, photos, files and more. Losing that data, whether from theft, damage or even user error, can be devastating. That‘s why regularly backing up your iPhone is so critical.

While Apple provides the convenient iCloud for backups, Google Drive offers some compelling advantages as an alternative backup destination for iPhone users:

• Access backed up data more easily from non-Apple devices
• Opens the door to switch to Android down the road
• Get 15 GB of free storage vs only 5 GB with iCloud
• Option to back up unlimited photos/videos for free (with reduced resolution)
• Provides an additional cloud backup for extra peace of mind

However, Google Drive backups do have some limitations compared to iCloud:

• Backs up contacts, calendars, photos and files but not texts, apps, app data, or device settings
• Requires manually performing backups for most data
• Uses more battery and data than iCloud

If those limitations aren‘t dealbreakers for you, backing up core iPhone data to Google Drive is definitely worth considering as a secondary backup or even your primary one. Here‘s how to do it, broken down by data type.

Backing Up Contacts and Calendars

The Google Drive app for iOS can perform a one-way backup of your contacts and calendars. The backup isn‘t automatic or continuous – it just takes a single snapshot of your data each time you trigger it. Any previous backup will be overwritten.

Here‘s how to run the backup:

1. Open the Google Drive app and tap the three-line menu icon.
2. Go to Settings > Backup.
3. Tap on "Contacts" and "Calendar" and make sure the toggles are enabled.
4. Tap "Start Backup".
5. If prompted, grant Google Drive access to your contacts and calendars.

The backup should only take a few moments to complete. To access the backed up data on your iPhone later, go to Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account > Google and sign in. Make sure "Contacts" and "Calendars" are enabled. Your Google contacts and calendars will then sync with the iOS Contacts and Calendar apps.

Backing Up Photos & Videos

When it comes to photos and videos, using the Google Photos app offers a better backup experience than the Google Drive app. Benefits include:

• Automatic, continuous backup of new photos
• Ability to use cellular data and not just WiFi
• Works with free Google accounts, not just paid ones
• Option to backup in original quality or reduced quality for free unlimited storage

To enable Google Photos backup:

1. Open the Google Photos app and sign in.
2. Tap your profile icon and go to Photos settings > Back up & sync.
3. Enable the "Back up & sync" toggle.
4. Choose whether to back up photos and videos in "Original" or "High quality".

"High quality" photos are stored for free without counting against your Google storage quota. But they are compressed to 16MP and videos are capped at 1080p. "Original quality" retains your media at full resolution but will eat into your available Google storage.

Once enabled, Google Photos will automatically upload new photos and videos as you take them, in the background. It‘s a seamless, set-it-and-forget-it backup solution.

Backing Up Other Files & Documents

The Files app built into iOS lets you manually back up files and documents from your iPhone to various cloud storage services, including Google Drive. While not as automatic as other methods, it‘s useful for backing up select files and folders.

First, you need to add Google Drive as a location in the Files app if you haven‘t already:

1. Open the Files app and tap Browse at the bottom.
2. Tap the three-dot menu icon and choose "Edit".
3. Enable the Google Drive toggle and tap "Done".

With Google Drive added, here‘s how to back up files to it:

1. In the Files app, navigate to the file(s) you want to back up.
2. Tap Select and choose the files.
3. Tap the Share icon and choose "Copy to Google Drive".
4. Choose the destination folder in Google Drive and tap "Copy Here".

The selected files will be uploaded to Google Drive. Repeat this process any time you have new files to back up.

Retrieving Backed Up Data

Depending on what you backed up, there are a few ways to access your data from Google Drive:

• Contacts/Calendars – Add your Google account in iOS Settings > Contacts and enable contact/calendar sync. Your Google contacts/calendars will appear in the iOS Contacts and Calendar apps.
• Photos/Videos – Simply open the Google Photos app on your iPhone. All your backed up media will be there, organized by date. You can also view it at photos.google.com.
• Files – Open the Google Drive app or drive.google.com. Navigate to the folder(s) where you backed up files from your iPhone.

Google One vs iCloud Plans & Pricing

Both Google and Apple offer paid storage plans if you need more space than the free tiers provide. Here‘s how they currently compare:

Google One:

• 15 GB – Free
• 100 GB – $1.99/month
• 200 GB – $2.99/month
• 2 TB – $9.99/month

iCloud:

• 5 GB – Free
• 50 GB – $0.99/month
• 200 GB – $2.99/month
• 2 TB – $9.99/month

Google‘s free tier is more generous and they offer a 100 GB option that iCloud lacks. But the two services are evenly matched at the 200 GB and 2 TB tiers that will better suit most users‘ needs.

The Bottom Line

Backing up your iPhone to Google Drive requires a bit more setup and management than iCloud. And it doesn‘t cover all types of data. But it offers cheaper storage, easier access across devices, and an extra layer of backup protection.

If you want a secondary backup for essential iPhone data that‘s easily retrievable from anywhere, backing up to Google Drive is well worth the effort. Especially for contacts, calendars, photos and important files.

No backup solution is perfect. But following the steps above will ensure that your most precious iPhone data is significantly safer. And you‘ll gain freedom from total dependence on iCloud. That‘s a win-win.