ICloud Restore — WiFi only

icloudrestore

If I enable the iCloud Backup feature, can I later restore from an iCloud backup, but while tethered to iTunes?

So if my phone ever dies, is the only way to restore from iCloud to do it over WiFi, re-downloading every app, or is it smart enough to let me plug into iTunes, use the iCloud backup to figure out which apps go where, and then push the actual apps from my PC onto my iPhone?

The closest question I could find is this

Best Answer

Yes, you can restore from iCloud, but to restore your device, you have to connect it to iTunes, and restore its firmware, then restore contents either from iCloud or from backup on your mac.

Restoration that’s not a project. When you set up a new iOS device or need to restore the information on one you already have, iCloud Backup does the heavy lifting. Just connect your device to Wi-Fi and enter your Apple ID and password. Your personal data — along with your purchased music, TV shows, apps, and books from iTunes — will appear on your device.2 If you’re an iTunes Match user, you can download your entire music library from iCloud.3

So the point is this: if you want to restore your contents from wifi, you just plug your device, and connect it to wifi, iCloud will do its job; if you already tethered your device to iTunes, you can just restore it from mac.

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