Since 5/10/16, I have been able to manually back up my iPhone by using the Back Up Now button in the Backups section of iOS. This is indicated under Latest Backups:.

However, the iCloud indicator under Latest Backups remains unchanged at 5/10/16. iCloud usually indicates a backup to iCloud shortly after midnight if I leave the phone plugged in all night. I have no idea why iCloud stopped backing up.

I would appreciate an assist from you experts if we could work together toward a solution.

The automatic backup should occur when the iPhone is...

1. connected to power and...
2. connected to WiFi and..
3. is locked

All three conditions must be met for the backup to occur. The first things I would check are

• As obvious as it seems, be sure iCloud Backup is turned ON in settings.
• Do you have a reliable power connection? If your iPhone is charging overnight that would appear to eliminate that possibility.
• Check settings to be sure you have a WiFi connection. You might try disabling cellular data at night just to be sure you are forcing the internet connection to WiFi.
• Normally your iPhone would automatically lock itself after a set length of time, but try manually locking the phone, just to be sure and be sure there is not some app that either does not permit the phone to lock or even unlocks the phone to do its thing during the night.
• Try quitting any apps running in background. (If you double tap the home button and several windows show up those apps are in background. Swipe each of them off the top of the screen to completely shut them down.

Please define "locked." I see Auto-Lock in settings. Is that it?

Lock means you cannot enter data unless you first touch either the Sleep/Wake button or the Home button and enter your passcode or fingerprint.

The Auto-lock feature is, as you surmised found in Settings > Auto-lock where you select the time interval after which your iPhone automatically goes to sleep and you have to enter the passcode or fingerprint to use it again. Pressing the Wake/Sleep button at the top or top right side of the iPhone manually does the same thing as the Auto lock setting.

One strange issue: Under the Settings label, Wi-Fi shows "Not Connected" but under the Wi-Fi label, Wi-Fi is shown "On." "Ask to Join Networks" is "On." Two or three networks are shown under Chose A Network. Does this mean that the Wi-Fi label is ready, but not turned on because the Wi-Fi Settings label is "Not Connected?" If so, I have no idea how to turn on the Wi-Fi under the Settings label. When I press it, the scene changes to the Wi-Fi label. Please elucidate how this is supposed to work.

"Not Connected" means you have not chosen a wifi network and entered the password for that network (if there is one). WiFi on means the radio inside the phone is switched on. Not Connected means the radio is switched on but you haven't chosen a network to connect to.

joemikeb & tacit:

I just discovered that I forgot to change the password to my home WiFi. After updating the password, I now have the iCloud Drive showing on both the iCloud panel and the iCloud Drive panel.

I'm now hot to see if this changes the iCloud Backup to a current date. It seems to me that my iCloud backup date and time changes at about 12:30AM. Is that time of day cast in concrete or is there a way to encourage the iCloud Backup to change at other times during the day?

My iPhone usually backs up just after midnight CDT and my iPad around 22:30 (10:30 PM). I have no idea what triggers the automatic backups but you can always force a backup with Settings > iCloud > Backup > Back Up Now.

Incredible: Problem solved! iCloud backup is up to date.

Lessons learned:
1. Keep your iPhone WiFi password up to date. (my biggest stupid mistake)

2. iCloud and/or data can be backed up at any time, but expect automatic backups for iCloud in the wee hours of the next day.

3. When the Option "sync with this iPhone over Wi-Fi is checked, it works with or without having the Cellular Data on.

I arrived at these lessons with your help and tacit's plus a lot of experimenting to see what I must do and what I don't necessarily need to do. Because I had been doing number 3 above for a long time, I tried to see if it could be done that way. I'm embarrassed to admit that my real problem was self inflicted by forgetting to change the password on my iPhone's WiFi. I can't expect anyone to declare that diagnosis right off the bat. I'm sorry to have bugged you, but I am grateful to have the problem solved. Item 2 that you mentioned is a godsend if I have a similar problem in the future. Thanks again.

That one will do a lot of good things for you

• save costly cell phone minutes
• reduce batter drain. Cellular data connections don't just eat data minutes, they also use more battery power
• speed up downloads significantly.
• Some Apple downloads will not even download over a cellular data connection.
• and as you have discovered is essential for the automatic backups.

Glad the problem is solved and everything is working again. 😊

Thank you. I'm still shaking my head about the password. Best regards and thanks for your patience.

For nearly two months, I have had uninterrupted flawless operation of my iPhone 4S. Automatic iCloud backups work flawlessly as long as I plug the iPhone in by about 10:00pm local time and leave it unmolested until after 2:00am. By experimenting, I find that forcing a backup with Settings > iCloud > Backup > Back Up Now will "kill" the automatic backup that normally would take place around 11:00pm that night. The automatic backup returns the following night as long as I do not use the Back Up Now during the second day. Both ways have their advantages.

I have found it easier to enter the stuff on my computer so I can use my keyboard and let the system transfer it to the phone. Typing with my large fingers on the phone takes longer and tends to have more mistakes.

Thanks again for your coaching. I finally "got it." Also, it was very helpful for me to finally get rid of a lot of the anesthetics from the hip replacement and the cataract surgeries.

Correct, the automatic backup does not run if a backup has already ran in the last 24 hrs.