Backup sheet
What gets copied, from which device, to where, when the last backup ran and when you last restored a file from it to prove it works.
Essential on a first pass: What is backed up (Backups), with the phone's last backup date and one restored file. The restore test checklist is optional on a first pass and worth running each season.
Never type a password, PIN, passcode, backup code, security answer, full card or account number or Social Security number into these sheets. Write where a thing is kept, not the thing. The sheets are saved in this browser and printed on paper, so treat them like your other important papers.
What is backed up
Essential on a first pass (Backups). One row per kind of file on each device. "File restored" is the date you opened a file from that copy.
Restore test
Optional on a first pass; worth doing each season (our convention, Backups). Tick each item as you test one backup.
How to use this sheet
- One row per kind of file on each device. Photos, contacts and documents matter most to most households.
- Copy 1 and copy 2 name where each copy lives. A folder that only syncs counts as one place, because a deletion syncs too (Backups).
- "File restored" is the proof. Write the date you opened a file from that copy. A backup with no restored file is untested.
The example row is Ruth Alvarez's photos on her iPhone 13: iCloud Photos keeps them in sync, which is one place, not a second copy. Backups shows what she adds. Names and details are invented.
The sheet records copies you have seen and files you have opened. It does not know what a company's backup includes; Apple and Google each list that on their own pages. How often to test is our convention, not a published rule.