Existing users, 
iPhone backup process extremely slow, corruption issues
Posted 18 July 2008 @ 11am in Troubleshooting
Many iPhones users are reporting that the backup portion of syncing in iTunes is taking a very long time to complete or results in a non-responsive iPhone. In some cases, the inordinately long backups may be the result of corruption issues that may be resolved via the following process:
- Allow a backup to complete
- Unplug your iPhone
- In iTunes, navigate to Preferences > Syncing (under “iTunes” on the Mac and under “Edit” in Windows) and delete all old backups
- Restart your system.
- Plug your iPhone back in, at which point you should be prompted to sync with the computer
If your iPhone is non-responsive, you will need to put the device in recovery mode before attempting the aforementioned process. To put the iPhone in recovery mode:
First-generation iPhones disconnect it from your Mac or Windows computer then press and hold the sleep/wake and home buttons simultaneously for about 20-30 seconds, until you see a yellow triangle with an exclamation point in the middle accompanied by the text “Please Connect to iTunes.” or a picture of the iTunes icon with a USB cable pointing toward it.
iPhone 3G Press and hold the sleep/wake button until the screen goes black (but before the Apple logo appears). Plug the iPhone into your computer and hold the Home button down.
Users are also receiving messages regarding corruption and an inability to restore backups to the iPhone.
Feedback? info@iphoneatlas.com.
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7 Comments
Posted by peterpayne
18 July 2008 @ 12pm
Thanks for telling us wrong. On the Mac you want iTunes > Preferences > Syncing.
Posted by jfmsam
18 July 2008 @ 3pm
Usually the first back up is the one that takes the longest, because it is backing up everything includding app related data. This may be also the case if you installed several new Apps since the last connection. Subsequent backups should be quick.
Do keep in mind that Sync will also take longer when you add a large App like Cro-Mag Rally.
Posted by iPhone Fanatic
18 July 2008 @ 3pm
Has this worked for anyone….? Didn’t work for me.
Posted by unsungsong
18 July 2008 @ 6pm
This process has actually made things worse for me. Now Everytime I connect the iphone it takes 3 times as long as it did before I applied this “FIX”
Any thoughts on correcting this would be appreciated.
Posted by JDUBBIE
19 July 2008 @ 10am
absolutely not. Made it much worse. Now the entire computer moves at an unbearable slow speed if I plug the iFlown in. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by iPhone Federalist
20 July 2008 @ 8pm
This process to correct does not work. Definitely made it worse for me. Can someone please get an update from Apple on when they are going to fix this. Not to mention the terrible performance on iPhone contacts.
Posted by AlexInPa
26 July 2008 @ 1pm
This worked as advertised for me.
1st Gen iPhone, Firmware 2.0.