Can You Back Up 2 Different iPhones on One Computer? Yes
You can back up 2 different iPhones on one computer by connecting each one in turn and running the same steps for it in the Finder, the Apple Devices app or iTunes. Apple’s backup pages are written for the device you connect and select, and none of the three prints a limit on how many devices one computer can back up.
The old advice to create a separate computer account for each iPhone appears on none of Apple’s three pages. What follows are Apple’s own steps for the Mac and for Windows, where the backups land, and the one menu choice that keeps an older backup from being replaced.
Which app backs up an iPhone on your computer?
On a Mac running macOS Catalina 10.15 or later you use the Finder, and on macOS Mojave or earlier you use iTunes. The two section headings on Apple’s Mac page read “Back up with the Finder (for macOS Catalina 10.15 or later)” and “Back up with iTunes (for macOS Mojave or earlier)”.
On a PC you use the Apple Devices app, or iTunes when the PC does not have it. Apple’s Windows page puts it this way: “If your PC doesn’t have the Apple Devices app, or your Mac is using macOS Mojave or earlier, open iTunes instead.”
How to back up the first iPhone on a Mac
Connect the iPhone with a cable, open the Finder and select the iPhone in the Finder sidebar. Apple’s steps under the Finder heading read “Connect your device to your Mac with a cable.” then “If asked, click Allow to allow the accessory to connect.” then “Open the Finder.” then “In the Finder sidebar, select your device.”
Tap Trust on the iPhone and enter its passcode when asked. The page’s wording: “If asked, click Trust to trust this computer” then “Click Trust on your device.” then “If asked, enter your device passcode.”
Click Back Up Now and wait for the backup to finish, then check that the date and time of the last backup appear.
How to back up the second iPhone on the same Mac
Unplug the first iPhone, connect the second one, select it in the Finder sidebar, trust the computer on that iPhone, and click Back Up Now again. Those are the same Finder steps Apple prints, run a second time for the second iPhone.
On a Mac running Mojave or earlier, iTunes also backs up on its own when you connect. Apple’s iTunes section says “iTunes automatically backs up your device when you connect it to your computer. But you can also back up your device manually at any time:” and the device is selected “from the upper right corner of the iTunes window.”
How to back up 2 different iPhones on a Windows PC
Open the Apple Devices app, connect the first iPhone with its cable, follow the passcode and Trust This Computer prompts, select the iPhone, click General, then click Back Up Now. Then repeat the same steps with the second iPhone.
Four of Apple’s Windows steps, as printed: “Connect your device to your PC using the cable that came with your device.” / “If asked for your device passcode or to Trust This Computer, follow the onscreen steps.” / “Click General in the Apple Devices app or Summary in iTunes for Windows.” / “Click Back Up Now.”
Do you need to encrypt the backups?
Encrypt the backup if you want Health and Activity data saved, and keep the password, because the backup cannot be recovered without it. Apple’s Mac page: “If you want to save Health and Activity data from your device or Apple Watch, select “Encrypt local backup” and create a password. You can’t recover your backup without this password.”
The Windows page adds the storage advice: “Write down your password and store it somewhere safe, because there’s no way to recover your encrypted backups without this password.”
Where do the two backups go?
On a Mac they sit in one folder, which you open from the Finder’s Go menu. Apple’s locate page says “From the Go menu in the Finder menu bar, choose Go to Folder.” and the path to paste is “~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/”.
On a PC the folder is “%USERPROFILE%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup”, opened with the Windows key + R, and Apple adds “If the folder doesn’t open, type %AppData%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup instead.”
How to keep the two backups apart
Connect an iPhone, open the Finder or the Apple Devices app, click it, click the General tab, then click Manage Backups. Apple’s steps: “Click the General tab, then click Manage Backups.” then “Right-click the backup that you want.” then “Choose Delete, Archive, or Show In Finder.” and, for a PC, “On a PC, the third option is Show in Explorer.”
Archive is the choice that protects a backup you want to keep. Apple’s warning on the same page: “After you delete a backup, you can’t recover it. If you want to keep a backup, archive it so that later backups don’t replace it.”
If the two iPhones share one Apple Account, the iCloud side is covered in can I back up two iPhones to the same iCloud account, the storage side in can you transfer apps to iCloud storage, and the account side in what happens if two iPhones have the same Apple ID.
Where Apple’s pages stop
None of the three pages prints a limit on how many devices one computer can back up. The only “limit” on each page is the feedback form’s character limit, and the words multiple, more than one and second device do not appear on any of them.
None of the three has a step for naming a backup or for a separate computer account per iPhone. The words account, name, rename and label do not appear on any of them.
None says a second iPhone’s backup overwrites the first iPhone’s. The one sentence about a backup being replaced across the three pages is the archive sentence quoted above, about later backups of a backup you want to keep.
Frequently asked questions
Can two iPhones back up to one Mac at the same time?
Apple’s steps connect one device, select it and back it up, and the pages print nothing about two devices backing up at once. Run the steps for one iPhone, then the other.
Do I need iTunes to back up two iPhones?
Only on a Mac running macOS Mojave or earlier, or on a PC without the Apple Devices app. Apple’s Mac page heads the iTunes section “Back up with iTunes (for macOS Mojave or earlier)” and its Windows page says to “open iTunes instead” when the PC does not have the Apple Devices app.
How do I see which backup belongs to which iPhone?
Connect that iPhone, click it in the Finder or the Apple Devices app, click General, then click Manage Backups. Apple’s locate page lists Delete, Archive and Show In Finder as the choices for a backup there, and prints nothing about how a backup is named or labeled.