How disable iTunes automatic backups for any iOS device [ iPod, iPad, iPhone ]

When you sync any iOS device [ iPad, iPod, iPhone ] with iTunes on a Mac it will create a backup file of the settings of that device before it begins to sync the new settings.This may not seem like a bad thing, but when you are trying to manage multiple iOS devices the backupʼs will begin to take up space on your hard drive.

This problem can be avoided on both the Mac OS as well as Windows OS.

Below is an example of the problem.

If i had 16 iPads and i wanted them all to have the same apps, layout etc it would be best to create a backup of one of the iPads then restore the rest of them from this backup. But due to Automatic Backups each time you restore from the backup it will create another backup as shown in the image below.

Another example of this problem is when you sync new apps or data to the iOS device it will automatically create a backup. This is shown in the images below.

Also keep a note of the number of steps that the syncing process normally takes. This will be explained further towards the end of this tutorial .

In order to solve this problem on Macʼs we will first delete all the backups that we donʼt need.

To do this on Mac click iTunes at the top of the screen then click preferences.

You will then be presented with the screen as shown below from here click devices.

Solution

When in the devices tab you can delete backups by simply highlighting the backup you wish to delete then click delete backup.

This is shown in the images below.

Now that you have delete all unnecessary backups close iTunes. MAKE SURE THAT ITUNES IS CLOSED FULLY, either click iTunes at the top left of the screen and then select Quit or right click the iTunes icon in the dock and select Quit from there.

When this is done search for an application called Terminal. To search for an application follow the image below.

When Terminal is opened you will be presented with this screen.

At this screen you can type one of two pieces of code followed by taping the return/enter key.

1. [ Recommended ] This piece of code will disable the Automatic backup function only.

defaults write com.apple.itunes AutomaticDeviceBackupsDisabled -bool true

2. This piece of code will disable the backup function fully. [ This means you canʼt right click the device in iTunes and select backup from the drop down menu that appears as shown in the image below ].

defaults write com.apple.itunes DeviceBackupsDisabled -bool true

When you have tapped the enter / return key, reopen iTunes now notice when you sync an iOS device it no longer creates a backup.

This can be demonstrated by checking the number of steps that the sync process takes [ As shown before the sync process has 6 steps as shown in the image below there are now only 5 steps ].

Another way to check is by clicking on iTunes on the top of the screen and selecting preferences then from there select devices.

This will load this screen as shown below if you deleted all the backups the white box will be empty but if you kept one as i have then no other backup should have appeared also as shown in the image below

To check if the code for disabling backups altogether has worked you can simply right click on any device connected to iTunes and if the backup option is not there then the code has worked.

This is shown in the image below.

The image below shows how to re-enable the Automatic device backup feature for iTunes.

This involves typing the same code as before into Terminal but replacing TRUE with the word FALSE.

Also ensure that iTunes is not open for changes to take place

The image below shows how to re-enable the Device backup feature for iTunes.

This involves typing the same code as before into Terminal but replacing TRUE with the word FALSE.

Also ensure that iTunes is not open for changes to take place

How to re-enable the Backup feature on iTunes.