It has been drilled into us for as long as I can remember. We are constantly reminded of it. Computers fail. Back-ups are a must. The consequences of failing to adequately and regularly back-up your data can be costly. Much of what is lost can never be recovered. What can, will take time and money. Most of us have already learned this lesson. Backing up our computers has become part of our life. We got the message. Unfortunately, many have failed to connect that message to their cell phones!
Cell phones have become so much a part of our lives that they now contain most of the information critical to our daily ‘survival.’ We no longer even remember phone numbers of family members or our closest friends. For most, our phones are the only place these phone numbers exist. For others, it is also the only place birthdates, anniversaries, and email and physical addresses for friends, family and business colleagues are stored. We trust our appointments, task lists, photos, music and more to these indispensible devices. What few think about – cell phones fail too! And as with computers, the consequences of their failure are costly.
Cell phones today, especially smart phones, are essentially small hand held computers, yet we fail to treat them as such. They are used and abused and no thought is given to what happens when they fail. And, unlike computers, they are also far more likely to be damaged, lost or misplaced, thereby increasing the potential for losing data. We are no longer surprised that, on any given week, several people come in desperate to recover data that had been stored on their phones because they never thought about or took the time to back it up. Sadly, most often, the information they want to retrieve cannot be recovered. The best advice for avoiding this kind of problem? – Think computer, and back up your cell phone data regularly.
There are a number of options that exist for backing up your data:
- Memory cards – Most phones today accept SD (secure digital) cards. The best advice is to store your photos, videos and music on these cards. If the phone fails or is replaced, your information remains safe and can be readily moved. (It’s still recommended that these cards be copied to another location in the event the phone is lost.)
- Online, wireless back up – Many service providers and several independent companies offer a remote back up service. For a monthly fee you can back up the contact information (and more) on your phone automatically or on demand. This service will allow you to then restore the information to a replacement phone. The cost can be as little as $2 per month. Keep in mind if you switch service providers, you may not be able to ‘restore’ your data to the new phone.
- Pre-packaged software – Most smart phones and PDAs are packaged with the necessary software and USB cables to sync your device with your computer. (The hardest part for me to understand is the number of business users with these devices that fail to utilize this software only to lose everything!!) The software easily installs on your PC, takes a few minutes to configure initially, then automatically syncs your phone with your PC each time it’s connected.
- Independent software – There are a number of companies that offer software and USB packages that allow you to back up and modify your data on your computer. These work well and are reasonably priced. Take note that some are model / brand specific and not all models are supported so changing brand or model of phone could be a hassle, but your data will be safe.
- Back up services offered by a local store / repair center – Most offer a convenient service that allows the transfer of data from one phone to another, but a few specialized shops offer services that will make a true back up copy of your data. The service we offer includes providing a print out or spreadsheet file if desired, storing the primary back-up on a secure system, and storing a second copy off site.
There are additional options out there as well – just be sure to use one and back up your cell phone data on a regular basis. If you need help finding the best solution, just give us a shout!
