Back up Vault Max before changing your iPhone

Create a password-protected Vault Max backup, choose where to save it, and understand restore and recovery before moving or erasing your iPhone.

By FalconPublished 23 October 20264 min read

Vault Max Settings, Backup form and main/decoy vault management — Vault Max Settings, Backup and vault management show how to prepare an encrypted recovery file for your main vault and included child vaults before changing phones.

Before changing phones, create an encrypted .vaultmax backup, save it somewhere you can reach without the old phone, and keep its password. Restore that file in Vault Max on the destination phone and check the contents before erasing the original device. Restoring an App Store purchase does not restore your private photos or files.

Vault Max credential entry — **Keep your two credentials straight**The Vault Max lock screen uses your vault credential, while the Backup form asks for a separate archive password. Keep both available: one opens the working library and the other lets you recover an exported copy.

Backup password and confirmation fields in Vault Max — **Keep your two credentials straight**The Vault Max lock screen uses your vault credential, while the Backup form asks for a separate archive password. Keep both available: one opens the working library and the other lets you recover an exported copy.

Two different credentials

Your vault passcode opens a vault on the device. Your backup password protects the exported backup file. During restore, you supply the backup password and choose a new vault passcode.

Keep track of both. An app account cannot recover either for you because Vault Max does not have an account system or a server copy of your library. If the original vault is still accessible but you have lost an old backup's password, you can create a fresh backup with a new password. That does not unlock the old backup.

Create a portable encrypted copyThis is the Backup form in Vault Max. Enter and confirm a backup password, then choose Create backup file to save a recovery snapshot through Files. Keep that file somewhere you can reach without the old phone.

Vault Max with sample content. Use the controls to pause or replay.

Create the backup while you still have access

Open the vault you want to back up and go to Settings → Encrypted backup.
Enter and confirm a backup password. The current interface requires at least eight characters; use a password that is difficult to guess and keep it somewhere separate from the phone.
Choose Create backup file and wait for the file-saving step.
Use the Files picker to save the .vaultmax file to the destination you intend to use.

The backup contains the selected main vault and its included descendant vaults. It is not a promise that every unrelated vault on the device has been exported. Check the scope before relying on it.

The Files picker can save to different providers or locations. Choosing iCloud Drive means using that provider to store your encrypted file; Vault Max does not upload a library to its own servers. A copy saved only on the phone will not help if you lose or erase that phone.

Restore from a backup file button below the backup controls — **Find the archive restore route**Restore from a backup file on this Vault Max screen lets you select a saved .vaultmax archive. Its backup password opens the archive, and the restore prompts let you choose a new vault credential.

Restore on the destination

During first launch, choose Restore from a backup. An existing installation also offers restore from the backup screen. Select the saved file, enter its backup password, and choose and confirm a new vault passcode when prompted.

Restoring adds the backed-up vault to the destination installation. Included child vaults need new passcodes assigned in Settings → Decoy & duress vaults. A restored duress vault's erase action stays off until it has a passcode. Read the restore screen's explanation before relying on those vaults.

If restore reports an error, preserve the backup file and the old installation. An error message is a reason to investigate, not a reason to remove your remaining working copy.

Check the content you recoveredThe sample lake photo opens in the Vault Max viewer. After restoring your own archive, open important pictures this way and check their detail before erasing the original phone.

Vault Max with sample content. Use the controls to pause or replay.

Check the result before erasing the old phone

Open several restored photos, play a video if you keep videos, and check notes and documents that matter to you. Check included child vaults after assigning their passcodes. Confirm that the backup file and its password are still available outside the old phone.

This is also a useful time to decide when you will make the next backup. An exported file is a snapshot; it does not automatically gain the items you import afterward.

A sample Vault Max media library — **Back up the library, including its notes**These Vault Max screens show the media library and private notes you want to preserve. They are vault content, so keep an encrypted backup of the files themselves as well as access to your Apple purchase account.

Notes stored inside Vault Max — **Back up the library, including its notes**These Vault Max screens show the media library and private notes you want to preserve. They are vault content, so keep an encrypted backup of the files themselves as well as access to your Apple purchase account.

Purchases and private files are separate

Restore Purchases asks Apple's store to restore eligible paid access. Your App Store entitlement does not contain your encrypted media, and it cannot substitute for a .vaultmax backup.

If a subscription expires, Vault Max keeps existing items available to open, export, delete and back up. You can protect your existing data without first renewing a subscription.

If you have already lost the phone

An existing readable backup and its password provide a restore path. Without access to the original vault or a usable backup, we cannot retrieve a server copy. There is no Vault Max server copy to request.

Read Vault Max help before making changes to your remaining copies. Vault Max on the App Store.

More guides

Backup and recovery help Privacy policy All guides