Cloud Backup Not Working. Ipad Air on the Way

[emddvm]

Good Morning. I am newly registered but have been reading the forums for a few months. I have an old iPad one, I am old too, that has worked flawlessly for the last 2.5 years. I have ordered an iPad Air which is supposed to be here on tomorrow. I use it mainly for email, web browsing and reading many books.

About two weeks ago I noticed that the automatic cloud back up is not working. I have read around on the internet about some things to try but none have worked. The main thing I want to preserve on the old one and transfer to the Air are all of my ebooks in Ibooks. There are several hundred obtained from various sources. There are around 2 gigs of books.

If I remove the Ibooks app from the backup list, it will backup then but that does not do me any good. At one point I did delete my last good backup as that was a suggestion from somewhere to get it working again. I have backed the iPad to my computer too but when I look at the size of the backup file it is nowhere near 2 gigs like it is on iCloud.

Even though I have not been able to get a successful iCloud backup with iBooks included it does show that about 2 gigs of data is backed up. When you try to back it up to the Cloud all is does is sit there and act like it is working, does not give you the estimated time remaining and eventually just gives up and says backup was unsuccessful.

So, I am at a loss on how to procede. I have read conflicting information on whether the iPad backups include books that were not obtained from Itunes. It appears my iCloud backup does include all my books if it would work correctly but I am not sure if the computer backup does, just based on size. I am excited about the Air and would like to safely move all my books there or back them up in some other manner where they can be reloaded into iBooks.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. I really don't want to lose the books.

Michael

 

[n4uau]

I don't even see an option to backup ibooks under icloud settings. For Kindle the books you buy are backed up on their cloud. Wouldn't the ibooks you bought be backed up at the ibook cloud rather than your own personal cloud?

 

[J. A.]

Hi, emddvm! Welcome to iPF!

This site will show you what iCloud backs up: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH12519

 

[J. A.]

I don't even see an option to backup ibooks under icloud settings. For Kindle the books you buy are backed up on their cloud. Wouldn't the ibooks you bought be backed up at the ibook cloud rather than your own personal cloud?

You'll find it in Settings - iCloud - Storage and Backup - Manage Storage - Backups:

It works the same way as with apps - once purchased, forever in Purchased in iBooks Store. They are connected to the Apple ID. iCloud only stores information about those books, not the books themselves. See my link.

 

[emddvm]

I have seen the Apple list of what is backed up but it is kind of confusing. I really think the iCloud does back up iBooks based on backup size with iBooks include versus not included. If I eliminate iBooks the backup is very small.

If I try and do a restore on the new Air when it gets here, will it harm anything if the back up is bad or does not have the books? If it does not work can I restore to factory settings and then try a backup from the computer? Is there any other program that will backup iBooks from the iPad.

 

[J. A.]

iCloud does backup information about the books in your library (e.g. where you're reading at the moment). It does not store the books, they will be found in iBooks - Store - Purchased. If you turned off iBooks in iCloud backup, you don't lose the books purchased in iBooks Store.

You have the possibility to restore from a backup on your computer, if you performed a backup there. If you backup to iCloud only, and never did so to your computer, there's no way to restore from a backup.

 

[emddvm]

As I said earlier, the books come from multiple sources, not just iTunes. Very few from iTunes. I think the iCloud does backup the books themselves based on backup size. I have read in other sites too that this is true. The problem is I have not been able to get what pears to be a successful cloud backup for over two weeks now. Other people have also reported this problem.
I do have computer backups too but I am not convinced it actually backs up the books, again based on size. I have no idea why they would differ. Yes I can try a restore from the computer but if the book data is not there it does not accomplish anything.
Does anyone have any idea how to make my cloud backup good again or know another program to use to backup IBooks specifically?

 

[J. A.]

Could you please provide information what you already tried to make sure iCloud will backup.

Did you check the Wi-Fi connection (open Safari, visit a random website, see how long it takes)?
Reset your device (press and hold Home and Power button until the Apple logo appears, then release them, iPad should start on it's own)?
Restart it? (Turn it off, wait for a few minutes, then turn it on again)

 

[emddvm]

Yes, I have done all of that and tried the backup on two different wifi systems. The problem seems to be in the iBooks app as near as I can tell. And it was all working perfectly on the cloud backups until two weeks ago. I have no idea what happened to make the backups start to fail.

 

[AlexisW]

I also have problems with iCoud backup. My backup shows as incomplete.

If it is true that iBooks is the problem, then my problem with that is I have several PDF files saved there. Most likely book purchases are logged somewhere and you do not have to worry about backing them up, but downloaded PDFs are a horse of a different color.

This iCloud backup thing has been a thorn in my side from the get-go. I never use my laptop since I got my iPad, but apple continues to force the issue. You cannot tell what is backed up on the computer except for the size of the file (which is huge). You have to back up on the computer because iCloud rarely completes a backup.

AAARGH!!!