- Where's the App list?
- Which version of Windows Phone do I have?
- Lock screen
- Setting alarms on your phone
- Copying and pasting
- Finding a lost phone
- Setting up Kid's Corner
- Keyboard
- Backup and storage
- Sharing things on your phone
- How do I update my phone software?
- Windows Phone 8 update history
- Using Speech on your phone
- Wallet
- Using your phone for work
- Tips to help keep your Windows Phone secure
- Switching between apps
- Accessibility on your phone
- Resetting your phone
- Making the most of your battery and data usage
- What do the icons on my phone mean?
- Privacy resources
- Feature and service availability
Backing up your stuff
When you sign in with your Microsoft account on your Windows Phone, you can turn on the service that lets you automatically save things to the cloud so you'll have a backup if something happens to your phone.
To learn more about restoring a backup, see Restoring a backup to your phone.
What gets saved
You can manage how you save your phone settings, text messages, and photo and videos. In the App list, just go to Settings 
> Backup.
App list + settings
One of the toughest things about replacing a lost phone or upgrading is getting your accounts and settings just the way you like them on your new phone. We can create a backup of all sorts of things to make the transition easier, including:
- The list of apps you've installed on your phone.
- Your call history.
- Your theme colour.
- The accounts you've set up on your phone.
- Your Internet Explorer favourites.
- Settings from around your phone, including photos, messaging, email and accounts, location, Internet Explorer, lock screen, Speech and more.
Notes
- Your phone will wait for a WiFi connection to automatically save backups. If you don't connect to WiFi for a week, any changes to your App list and settings will be saved using a mobile data connection.
- Backup saves the apps on your phone, but it doesn't save any data associated with the apps.
- Start will reset to its default set of pinned Tiles when you restore.
To turn settings backup on or off
-
In the App list, tap Settings
> Backup. -
Tap App list + settings, then turn backup on or off.
To delete settings backup
-
In the App list, tap Settings
> Backup. -
Tap App list + settings, tap Advanced, then tap Delete.
Text messages
You can automatically save your SMS and MMS messages to the cloud. That way, the next time you get a new Windows Phone, you can restore them all when you set up the phone. When you delete your messages from your phone, they'll be deleted from the cloud as well, so you're always in sync.
To turn text message backup on or off
-
In the App list, tap Settings
> Backup. -
Tap Text messages, then turn Text message backup on or off.
Note
Turning off backup will not delete previously saved messages. To delete messages from the cloud, you'll need to turn on backup and delete the messages from your phone.
Photos and videos
You can automatically upload your photos to SkyDrive and get them later from any computer or device that connects to the web. (This might use your data plan and incur charges.)
To turn auto upload on or off for photos or videos
-
In the App list, tap Settings
> Backup. -
Tap Photos, then do one of the following:
- Tap Don't upload if you don't want to automatically upload your photos or videos.
- Tap Good quality to automatically upload photos or videos at a resolution that uses less data and SkyDrive storage space.
- Tap Best quality to automatically upload photos or videos at the highest possible resolution.
Note
You'll need a WiFi connection to automatically upload videos and best-quality photos.
