7 Solutions: iCloud Backup Stuck on Estimating Time Remaining

iCloud is a built-in application on iPhone. You could use it to save iPhone data to the cloud. It is a good way to avoid data loss. When a data disaster occurs, how much data you can keep depends on the amount of the backup file. Besides, when you have a new iPhone, you can transfer data from old iPhone to new iPhone with iCloud.

To backup your iPhone to iCloud, you can go to the "Settings" app on iPhone/iPad > Tap "You Name" banner > Choose "iCloud" > "iCloud Backup". Then enable the iCloud Backup. Then your iPhone will be backed up to iCloud when you connect it with Wi-Fi. Or you can tap "Back Up Now" to back up immediately. 

How long should an iCloud backup take?

The iCloud backup is influenced by many factors, like Wi-Fi condition, and your data amount. But generally, the first backup can take 1 hour or longer. Then it can take 1-10 minutes each time.  When the process is way longer than the expected time.  follow the solutions below to solve your problem. Or you can go to Section 2 in this post to backup iPhone to a PC, so you can avoid the iCloud backup issue.

Section 1. How to rescue a stuck iCloud backup

iCloud backup stuck at 1 minute for too long can be harassing. Your iCloud backup might be stuck by system bugs or your iPhone could not trigger an automatic backup for some reason. When your iCloud backup is stuck, follow the solutions below to solve your problem. Or you can go to section 2 to backup iPhone to a PC.

Method 1. Reboot iPhone

Whenever you meet with problems when using iPhone, you could try turning it off and on again. System glitches could cause iCloud backup frozen but restarting iPhone could refresh the system.

Method 2. Update iOS system

Compatibility is very important. If you use out-of-date iOS, some data could not be added to new backup and it might cause iCloud backup corrupt.

In addition, Some old iOS versions might cause iCloud backup stuck on Estimating time remaining for hours. Users are confused about this but actually, the backup has been successfully completed and could be found in iCloud settings. This is admitted by Apple later. As a result, updating iOS might solve your problem.

To update the iOS version, go to "Settings" > "General" > "Software Update" to check if there is any newer version and update it.

Method 3. Trigger automatic backup

If you enable iCloud backup in iPhone Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Backup > iCloud Backup, iCloud would automatically back up your iPhone but it would just happen when your iPhone is locked, and connected to Wi-Fi and power at night. You should be aware of that or would be informed backup failed.

Method 4. Reset network

Network is essential to use iCloud. If there’s a network problem, the task might be stuck. Except for checking your Wi-Fi, you might need to reset your network in iPhone Settings > General > Reset > Reset Network Setting. Then, you should connect Wi-Fi and try again.

Method 5. Clear old iCloud backup

Sometimes the old backup might make iCloud backup slow or stuck because it is the incremental backup that iCloud produces. The compatibility of the two backup files might conflict. Deleting the old backup and try again.

To delete previous iCloud backup:

1. Go to "Settings" on iPhone > Tap "Cloud" > "Manage Storage" > "Backups". All iCloud backup tasks are listed by time.

2. Select unwanted tasks and delete them.

Method 6. Check backup size

The uploading data to iCloud process stuck at 1 minute/ hour can result from not having enough storage on iPhone. Except for clearing the existing data in the iCloud setting, you could also decide the size of your backup.

Go to iPhone Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups > [your device name]. You could see when you backup iPhone with iCloud last time, the next backup size and the app data that would be included in your backup. You could switch off the unwanted apps to reduce the size of your backup.

Method 7. Reset all settings

This might be your last resort. Before that, you need to backup iPhone to computer with iTunes or other software because it means erasing your iPhone. Go to iPhone Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Setting, and erase the data to refresh your iPhone and then set up the iPhone with your backup on computer.

Tips:
You have 5GB of free iCloud storage. Is it enough to backup your whole iPhone? iCloud would just save important data like photos, messages, settings, and app data. The backup files could not be viewed on iPhone and you could only restore iPhone from that iCloud backup when you set up iPhone, or you need to download iCloud backup with third-party software.

Section 2. Backup iPhone to computer to avoid iCloud backup issues

You might come across all kinds of problems like uploading items to include about 1 minute remaining. And if all the methods above can't help you fix this, you can also backup your iPhone to your computer with FoneTool. It is a free professional iPhone backup software. You could use it to backup all iPhone data to a computer/external disk

Besides, it supports "Selective Backup" to selectively backup some important data on your iPhone like photos, videos, music, contacts, and messages. FoneTool makes your backup progress easy. It supports all iOS devices including the latest iPhone 14/13/12/11, iPad 8/Air 4. It is perfectly compatible with iOS 16/15.

If you have your own home server like NAS, FoneTool would help you easily backup iPhone to NAS.

Backup all iPhone data

Step 1. Download FoneTool and connect iPhone to computer with USB cable.

Step 2. Click "Phone Backup" > Choose "Full Backup".

Step 3. You can encrypt the process to backup personal data. Then click "Start Backup".

Selective backup important data

Step 1. Click "Phone Backup" > Choose "Selective Backup" when you launch FoneTool.

Step 2. Click the icons to select iPhone data.

Step 3. Preview and select iPhone data. Click "OK".

Step 4. Choose a storage path, and click "Start Backup".

Bonus tip: How to manage iCloud backups effectively

FoneTool is an all-in-one tool, it also provides a feature of managing iCloud data. You can upload, download, and delete different types of file. 

 Step 1. Click "My iCloud“ > Sign in with your iCloud account > Select "Manage iCloud".

Step 2. Click the file icons you want to download to PC > Tap "Download", you can also choose to "Upload“, "Delete". 

Conclusion

To fix iCloud backup stuck issues, you should restart iPhone to check whether the issue still exists and then troubleshoot the problem following the above methods. Apart from cloud tools, you could also use the iCloud alternative, FoneTool, to transfer important data to the computer so you no longer meet with iCloud backup issues.

In addition, if you were transferring data from old iPhone to new iPhone/iPad, FoneTool also provides iPhone to iPhone transfer to directly move all data from old device to new one.