Guides

Practical guides for backing up iPhone photos and videos with Watermelon Backup.

Getting Started

What Is a Node in Watermelon Backup?

Saved Nodes keep a storage connection. Watermelon Link creates a temporary Node for the browser session. Backup, Download, and Complete run from Home.

What Backup, Download, and Complete Mean

On Home, the left side is the local Photos library and the right side is the current storage target. Which side you check decides the action.

Back Up to a Computer

What Is Watermelon Link?

Open Watermelon Link on the computer, pair it with the iPhone app, then run Backup from Home.

Back Up iPhone Photos to a Mac

Use Watermelon Link in a desktop browser, pair it with the iPhone app, then choose months on the Home screen and run Backup.

Back Up iPhone Photos to a Windows PC

Use Watermelon Link for the simplest Windows backup path, or add an existing Windows share as an SMB Node.

Back Up to Storage

Back Up iPhone Photos to External Storage

Select a writable folder through Files, keep the storage connected, then run Backup from Home.

Back Up iPhone Photos to a NAS with SMB

Create a writable SMB share, add it as an SMB Node, then choose months on Home and run Backup.

Back Up iPhone Photos to WebDAV

Add a WebDAV endpoint with Basic authentication, then select months on Home and run Backup.

Back Up iPhone Photos over SFTP

Prepare an SSH/SFTP account, add it as an SFTP Node, then choose months on Home and run Backup.

Back Up iPhone Photos to an S3-Compatible Bucket

Create or choose an S3-Compatible bucket, add it as a Node, then run Backup by month from Home.

Back Up iPhone Photos to OneDrive

Sign in with Microsoft, let Watermelon Backup create or resolve its app folder, then run Backup from Home.

Back Up iPhone Photos to Dropbox

Sign in to Dropbox, let Watermelon Backup verify its app folder, then run Backup from Home.

Back Up iPhone Photos to Google Drive

Create an iOS OAuth client ID in Google Cloud, sign in with Google, let Watermelon Backup prepare its repository, then run Backup from Home.

Create a Google Cloud Project for Google Drive

Watermelon Backup needs only an iOS OAuth client ID from your own Google Cloud project. Do not create a service account, API key, client secret, or Drive folder manually.

Backup and Restore

Restore iPhone Photos from a Backup

Connect the Node that contains the backup, check the remote-side months, then run Download.

Backing Up iCloud Photo Originals

Turn on Allow iCloud Photo Access before running Backup, Download, or Complete when originals may only be in iCloud.

Does Backup Change Photo Quality or EXIF?

Watermelon Backup works from original resources rather than preview exports. Metadata handling still depends on the source resources and the Photos import path.

Can Live Photos Be Backed Up and Restored?

Back up Live Photos like other months. Watermelon Backup stores the still image and paired video resources when they are available.

Set Up Background Auto-Backup

Turn on Background Auto-Backup, enable the Nodes you want, then set the minimum interval and Wi-Fi rule for each Node.

Send Photos and Files

How to Use Drop Mode

Open Drop Mode from Home, select photos, videos, or files, adjust the export options, then choose a destination and send them to Inbox.

Privacy and Purchases

Where Node Credentials Are Stored

Passwords, keys, and access credentials stay in iOS Keychain where applicable. OneDrive tokens are managed by MSAL; Dropbox and Google Drive refresh tokens stay in Keychain.

Free vs Pro

Watermelon Backup is free to use and open source. Pro is a one-time purchase for additional convenience features.

Troubleshooting

Why Local and Remote Counts May Differ

Different counts do not automatically mean missing photos. Watermelon Backup uses content hashes to avoid storing the same original content repeatedly within a month.

How to Export Logs and Contact Us

Export the log from the current task or from Settings > Diagnostics > Diagnostic Logs, then email us with context.

Why External Storage Cannot Be Written To

Check the drive in Files first, then reselect the folder in Watermelon Backup and try a small backup again.