Download Backup Disabler for Mac - Easily sync iPhone without waiting for backups. MacUpdate Mac Backup Software Downloads

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Backup Disabler... The balance between backing up that your latest saved game or text messages and waiting an hour for your phone to sync is a delicate one. Now, you can easily sync without waiting for the backups, and just as easily re-enable them whenever you like.

Backup Disabler has not been tested with iTunes 8 or iPhone software 2.1. I highly recommend clearing out old backups through the iTunes preferences, and enabling backups before updating. If you encounter any unusual behavior with Backup Disabler and iTunes 8 and/or iPhone 2.1, please let me know.

Backup Disabler works by setting a hidden iTunes preference to turn off syncing.

Now, in version 1.3, Backup Disabler will also lock your backups folder when you disable backups, by removing its write permissions. This prevents accidental overwriting or corruption. The folder it automatically unlocked when backups are enabled.

Backup Disabler 2 is coming! In addition to one-button control over backups, I plan to add an archive and load feature. This will enable you to preserve your backups safely wherever you desire. Each backup will also be tagged with metadata such as date and time of the backup, what device it is from (useful if you have more than one for development), the software version, etc.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has emailed me or sent a donation (or both!). I appreciate it a lot, and that's what really makes this a lot of fun.

Lastly, there's been some interest and inquiries about a version of Backup Disabler for Windows. Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for any Windows users out there, I'm an all-Mac shop. If I find out about a similar utility for Windows, I'll post about it here.

Version 1.3: Major re-write, backup locking, welcome screen.

DEVELOPER POLL

Q: What's the best new feature coming in Backup Disabler 2?

Export and Import Backups

Metadata Tagging

Backup File Extraction

OTHER PEOPLE SUGGEST

BackOff (votes: 5 )

Suggest something else:

ABAVETTA Simple, works, bomb proof (temporary, I hope) work around solution to long backups. Here is what I do.

Because it is safer to have iTunes closed when changing it's preferences I use the following procedure.

2) Open Backup Disabler (if not already open).

3) Toggle Backup Disabler to the desired state.

5) Close Backup Disabler (optional)

Whenever I feel it would be prudent to back up my iPhone I enable back up and let the process run overnight. Who knows how long it takes but it's always done by morning, Otherwise I have backup disabled when I synch my iPhone.
(Version 1.3)

APPLEHC Ok, this is the way for working backups:

1) Go to "~/Library/Application Support/MobilySync/Backup/" and delete the folders there (these are your Backups)

2) Make ONE full backup by syncing. This could take as long as 2 hours if you got a lot of big applications installed (e.g. Texas HoldEm, Brain Challenge, Vay etc)

3) Check the backup directory for a new folder

4) Quit iTunes. Start this application to disable Backups.

5) Thats it. Every (!) newly started backup (full or cancelled) could destroy your first backup. So do not use it unless you want a more recent backup, nut then start with deleting the old backup.
(Version 1.2)

Replies:

Aug 15 2008

FRIJOLE Thanks a lot, that's great advice.

In Backup Disabler 1.3, I've added a locking feature, that removes the write permission from the ~/Library/MobileSync/Backups folder whenever backups are disabled. That way, once you get a good backup, they are protected against accidental damage or corruption.
(Version 1.2)

CHRISTOPHERMSCOTT You guys do know that all you need to do is click the 'x' when iphone starts doing a backup and it moves on to updating your iphone. I don't see the point in this app
(Version 1.1)

Replies:

Jul 31 2008

MAROOK Except that clicking that X corrupts your backup, leaving your without one..! At least in iTunes 7.7.0..
(Version 1.1)

Jul 31 2008

CHRISTOPHERMSCOTT it hasn�t corrupted any of my iphone backups and it's a nice option to have when I am in a hurry and know that I can backup my iphone data at a later time. I would rather disable the backup vis the native application than I would using a 3rd party solution.
(Version 1.1)

Aug 1 2008

APPLEHC trust us, it DOES corrupt your backup in the long run. Apple decided to pack different parts of your files in differnt little backup packages. If you are unlucky you end up with a few packages from a cancelled backup and a few from old backups that are not compatible. I could NOT restore from 3 backups already!

My suggestion: Go to "~/Library/Application Support/MobilySync/Backup/" and delete the folders there (these are your Backups). Disable your phone (Airplane mode). Then do a full backup without interruption.

Apple*
(Version 1.1)

Aug 1 2008

CHRISTOPHERMSCOTT I believe that I may have to retract my original comment and eat 'crow' on this one. Ever since I 'stopped' my backup, my iphone has not been syncing properly. Furthermore, all of my sync are taking forever. Therefore, I now have to go through the trouble of restoring the iphone. Apple really needs to get these issues fixed. It should not take over an hour to backup the iphone.
(Version 1.1)

Aug 1 2008

MACNERD1984 At least you had the sense to retract it. This app serves a purpose and prevents the iPhone from actually doing the backup in the first place, rather than having to cancel it half way through - That is the entire point of it.
(Version 1.2)

Aug 15 2008

DZITAO Another thing to note is that this application just changes a key in the configuration file. This is a key that Apple provided and so they must have known there would be a use for it.

This program is great and very useful. It does not do any "hacking" into iTunes or your iPhone, it is just an elegant, user-friendly way to manipulate something that Apple set up but never provided an interface to.

Big thanks to the author for writing this!
(Version 1.3)

STOSH1985 Awesome! Thank goodness someone did this, what a needed tool!
(Version 1.1)

DZITAO Excellent application with lightning fast responses from the developer. I've been looking for an answer to the excessively long backup times on my iPhone and this program provides a solution. Thanks for the excellent program!
(Version 1.1)

Replies:

Aug 3 2008

JJMARCUS @CHRISTOPHERMSCOTT This app (or its command-line equivalent) is important because clicking that "X" corrupts your backup data set. Backups appear to be corrupted whenever the process is interrupted, by a phone call, for example. And I'd venture that most iPhone need at least one complete backup in case they need to perform a restore.
(Version 1.2)

DZITAO I received an AppleScript error saying that the domain/default pair of (com.apple.iTunes, DeviceBackupsDisabled) does not exist (1).

This key did not exist in my iTunes plist file so I added it as a boolean and now your program works. You might want to add a check for the existence of this key and create it if it doesn't exist.

Great program, great idea! I'm very grateful as my iPhone backups have been taking close to an hour when syncing. Now the sync is very fast with the backups disabled. Add that one little tweak and you've got a winner!
(Version 1.0)

Replies:

Jul 28 2008

FRIJOLE Sorry about that, I overlooked the way it was handling the response from trying to read the preference. I've gotten it fixed already and will upload 1.1 in just a minute.
(Version 1.0)

Jul 28 2008

DZITAO Thanks for the quick response and excellent program!! Really fixes a big problem! Thanks!
(Version 1.0)

SJK I'd appreciate if the developer provided some technical details about what this does. Thanks.
(Version 1.0)

SHOCKERSPAZ Thank you! doesn't it suck to have to disable features because they're implemented wrong! Wake up Apple! smell the backups!
(Version 1.0)