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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > iPhone, iPad & iPod > iPhone Backup file location

iPhone Backup file location
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stevesnj
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Nov 24, 2007, 12:28 PM
 
Is it in iTunes? I cant seem to locate the backup file
MacBook Pro 15" i7 ~ Snow Leopard ~ iPhone 4 - 16Gb
     
QSilver
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Nov 26, 2007, 02:29 PM
 
The backup file is located at:

/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup

QS
     
Big-J-Dubb
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Nov 27, 2007, 08:33 PM
 
where is it in windows ?
     
QSilver
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Dec 4, 2007, 05:42 PM
 
Try

C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Application Data\Apple Computer\SyncServices\Local

The file "data.syncdb" appears to be the one.

QS
( Last edited by QSilver; Dec 4, 2007 at 05:43 PM. Reason: diabled smilies)
     
Buckaroo
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Jul 20, 2008, 03:30 AM
 
My iTunes Library is located on my G5. I'm going on a 3 week business trip so I'd like to move just the songs/movies/files/etc for my iPhone and iPod Nano to my PowerBook. Does anyone know how to do this?
     
Ozz_man
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Jul 20, 2008, 08:25 AM
 
Originally Posted by Buckaroo View Post
My iTunes Library is located on my G5. I'm going on a 3 week business trip so I'd like to move just the songs/movies/files/etc for my iPhone and iPod Nano to my PowerBook. Does anyone know how to do this?
It's actually iTunes that you would want on your powerbook since thats where the iPhone syncs with right?

Anyway the way I do this is I use a firewire cable and I boot my 24" iMac up in target disk mode. I then transfer my complete iTunes to my Macbook Pro so they are exactly the same. Now my iPhone and both computers are exactly in sync with one another.
     
derbbre
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Jun 10, 2009, 01:10 PM
 
Originally Posted by QSilver View Post
The backup file is located at:
/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
Technically (in case someone is following this), it's
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
(Starting in your home directory.)
Just FTR.
     
TheOldBroad
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Jun 20, 2009, 11:49 AM
 
I am completely baffled.

I have found ~/Library/Application Support (by clicking on "Macintosh HD"), but I do not have a MobileSync folder in Application Support.

My iPhone is getting backed up somewhere because iTunes tells me it's getting backed up and takes a few minutes to do it. Is iTunes just saying it's backing it up, but not really backing it up?

Could someone please help? I'd like to be prepared in case the unthinkable happens.

Thanks so much,
TheOldBroad
     
TheOldBroad
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Jun 20, 2009, 11:52 AM
 
P.S. I'm using a MacBook Pro.
     
TheOldBroad
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Jun 20, 2009, 11:54 AM
 
My apologies for posting again, but it appears I need to post something so I will be subscribed to this thread.
     
derbbre
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Jun 20, 2009, 02:17 PM
 
'~' is Unix parlance for your home directory. So if you start from the root directory (Macintosh HD) you would use Users/(your username)/Library/Application Support/... and so on. If you are using the Finder (the blue smiley face app) you can just use the house icon on the left to shortcut to your home directory and go from there.
     
TheOldBroad
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Jun 20, 2009, 05:26 PM
 
Many thanks, derbbre.

I'm so technically challenged that even if "Home" had been posted in the path, since I don't have a "home" icon in Finder, I would have still assumed it was the Hard Drive.

I found the backup file with no problem.

I've learned something today, so therefore my day is complete!

Thanks again,
TheOldBroad
     
ShadiSoliman
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Oct 27, 2009, 04:35 PM
 
Sorry for bothering
but it seems that i have the same problem i cant find the location for my iphone backups
i looked in Users/Library/Application Support But i cant find any folder named backup i searched in my whole MAC and
i couldnt find any and itunes keep telling me backup done and i donno where i cant get my data again :S
     
TheOldBroad
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Oct 27, 2009, 07:41 PM
 
Open a Finder Window.

Start by clicking on the icon under "Places" that is a little house and the name of it is your name. (That's why it's called "Home", I guess) It's probably right below the Desktop icon.

In the "house" folder named after you, there should be a folder called "Library"
In the Library folder, there should be a folder called "Application Support"
In the Application Support folder, there should be a folder called "MobileSync"
And in the MobileSync folder, there should be a folder called "Backup"

The backup folder will have a long, funny name that's a combination of letters and numbers.

Hope that helps.

Inside that folder are all the backups of your iPhone with extensions of .mddata and mdinfo.
     
Everest
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Nov 12, 2009, 11:20 AM
 
Anyone help me out please,i'm using windows vista recently i fromate my computer and i try to syn my iphone 3g with outlook i lost all contacts i try to backup i couldn't find any file at all. anyone have idea how restore my contacts.
     
j.donald
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Dec 10, 2009, 01:39 PM
 
look up at the /Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
if you are looking for windows application , look up in the file datasync,
"data.syncdb" see this file in windows
     
CJvanLissa
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Dec 15, 2009, 10:17 AM
 
I could not find the folder AppData on my pc. For all intents and purposes it was completely hidden. Coincidentally, it turns out my torrent program stores files there and I was able to "Open containing folder".
( Last edited by CJvanLissa; Dec 15, 2009 at 10:52 AM. )
     
mac_hash
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Jan 24, 2010, 09:05 AM
 
The file is located at /<username>/LIbrary/Application Support/Mobile Sync/Backup
     
Simon
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Jan 24, 2010, 09:33 AM
 
Originally Posted by mac_hash View Post
The file is located at /<username>/LIbrary/Application Support/Mobile Sync/Backup
Thanks for repeating post no. 2.
•
     
tooki
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Jan 24, 2010, 03:36 PM
 
To open your AppData folder on Windows, type this path in a Windows Explorer window: %APPDATA% (I dunno if capitalization matters, I think not)
     
annie'sgotamac
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Feb 10, 2010, 07:19 PM
 
OK, I found the backups of my iPhone with extensions of .mddata and mdinfo -- but now what do I do?

I attempted to sync my iPhone earlier today, and a message popped up offering to install the latest version so I clicked proceed and the next thing I know the install was unsuccessful and my iPhone is now in recovery mode.

iTunes acknowledges the iPhone plugged in, but it no longer has my name, just "iPhone" and the serial number. If I press "restore", it will restore my phone to original factory settings and all my data is lost.

So I need to know how to apply the backup -- the folder has a hundred files with .mddata and mdinfo listed -- I have no idea how to use the back up to get the info on my iPhone.

Any help would be appreciated. thanks
( Last edited by annie'sgotamac; Feb 10, 2010 at 07:39 PM. Reason: additional clarification/info)
     
annie'sgotamac
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Feb 10, 2010, 07:39 PM
 
Do I have to download an iPhone Backup Extractor app, or use an extraction utility written in Perl, or is there another way? I am not a techie and know nothing about plists and sqlite databases...

MobileSyncBrowser is used to retrieve data automatically stored inside iTunes every time the iPhone was synchronized to the computer. MSB will recover all information, notes, contacts, call history and SMS messages, in case the device gets lost, broken or stolen. MobileSyncBrowser | View and Recover your iPhone data

But I'm not sure if this is what I need, or not. I want to simply put the most recent backup on my phone.
     
annie'sgotamac
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Feb 10, 2010, 07:50 PM
 
If I press the "option" key on the keyboard and "restore (in iTunes)", it allows me to browse for the backup folder. Then what?
     
AKcrab
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Feb 10, 2010, 08:01 PM
 
     
annie'sgotamac
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Feb 10, 2010, 08:37 PM
 
OK, all is resolved but my initial question remains unanswered and perhaps always will be.

Here is what happened to get my phone back after it failed the new update:

1. I decided to take the plunge and press "restore" (to factory settings)
2. iTunes tried to "restore and update" my iPhone
3. An unknown error occurred (2001)
4. I manually had to reboot my iPhone 3-4 times (by pressing the home button and the power button at the same time to power down, then power button to restart)
5. Attempted restore again and this time the settings for the iPhone were restored
6. After the restore, a message popped up in iTunes indicating that an iPhone has previously been synced and giving the option to restore from the backup, which I selected
7. A sync occurred

I disconnected after the sync was complete and my iPhone is back to normal (but with the updated software).

That's that. Hope this helps someone else.
     
winslett
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Feb 13, 2010, 12:23 PM
 
My question is, exactly where is my iPhone backup data stored for Windows XP when a synch is done?
From reading this iPhone backup discussion forum, I understand there are two different answers above to where the iTunes synch function backs up iPhones onto Windows, being to either:

Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Apple
Computer\SyncServices\Local\data.syncdb

or this location

Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Apple
Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

When I synched my iPhone with my Windows XP PC, my data.syncdb file did not update but my admin.synchdb file in the same folder did update and the
folder in the MobileSync\Backup also updated. So where exactly is my backup?
     
Spheric Harlot
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Feb 13, 2010, 12:42 PM
 
Where it says: in Backup.
     
lucydisuza
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Mar 27, 2010, 08:48 AM
 
Location of iPhone backup iniTunes

On MAC
/Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/

On Windows XP
\Documents and Settings\[username]\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

On Windows vista and Windows 7
\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup\
     
Ramlord
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May 7, 2010, 03:13 AM
 
I AM ON apple computer but theres no back up??
and how can u back up the iphone anyway??
     
shandy
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May 10, 2010, 02:50 PM
 
HI, I am on windows vista. i had to backup my iphone on itunes but now i need to get the messages back. I have found them but i dont know how to bring them up and read them. There are sites saying i can pay to do this but i dont want to plus im really not good with computers so i need easy child like instructions if poss. Please help if anyone knows.xxxx
     
slugslugslug
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May 10, 2010, 04:04 PM
 
If you're on a Mac and are not afraid of the command line, you can download mdhelper from Erica Sadun’s site. It’ll scan your backup directory and convert the .mdinfo and .mdbackup files back into their original format. If you’re really brave and want to customize it even more (for example, it always recovers your files to a folder on the desktop), you can get the source code.
     
Basboosa
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Jun 14, 2010, 01:00 PM
 
Soo, I found the back-up, but, someone else has backed here before.. I'm kind of baffled about which one's mine since its labelled by a bunch of random numbers. Or do they have a meaning? Help.. I'm trying to figure out which one is mine.

Thanks
xx
     
ckath
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Jun 28, 2010, 10:13 AM
 
Hi,
I accidentally deleted some of my whatsapp history from my phone. I've trying to find some way to retrieve it.
I tried using itunes to restore the backup, but it only shows me 2 dates that i can restore back. But everytime i sync my phone, i always do a backup. I browsed the directory where all backups are kept in, there are only 2 folders, but 1 of the folders have many files with a lot of different modified dates.

Is there any way I can try to get itunes to capture an older backup file?



Information: mac OS X
iPhone 3GS
     
Nico6c6173
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Aug 31, 2010, 08:40 PM
 
Thank you everyone for helping out. My issue isn't answered and I still need help.


Originally Posted by derbbre View Post
Technically (in case someone is following this), it's
~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup
(Starting in your home directory.)
Just FTR.
iTunes can't be backing up all the data to that location. I manually asked my iPod to backup from iTunes 9 for Mac OS 10.6.4. My new iPod stores a little more than half a gigabyte yet ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup isn't larger than 2 MB. Where are the apps, audio, etc?


Originally Posted by AKcrab View Post
Thanks. I tried visiting Apple's support page for backing up from the iPod touch. I found that page to be not very helpful and confusing even. The link on the page AKcrab mentioned for backing up the iPod touch states:

"Although iTunes backs up most of your device's settings, downloaded applications, your audio, video, and photo content are not included in the backup."

It looks like this manual backup feature will not back up applications, audio, etc, then. Yet this is what I need backed up.

Of the first google results, some pages say that Apple precluded the ability to backup data from iPods to computers for DRM purposes (e.g. link). Another page talks about a 3rd party application specifically designed to backup from the ipod to a mac, yet says that backup range of this app is not exhaustive.
I want full backups of iPod applications, with their current preferences, states, stored on my mac; I want to be able restore those apps to the iPod for use whenever. What should I do?

Thanks!
( Last edited by Nico6c6173; Aug 31, 2010 at 10:31 PM. Reason: typography)
     
ibook_steve
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Aug 31, 2010, 10:04 PM
 
The backup folder stores everything other than the actual apps and other media (contact info, calendar info, settings, app settings, etc.). That's why it's so small. All your actual apps and media (music, videos, etc.) are stored in ~/Music/iTunes and ~/Movies.

So its basically a backup of how to reconstruct the files on your device when you do a restore, not like a hard drive clone.

Steve
Celebrating 10 years and 4000 posts on MacNN!
     
Nico6c6173
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Aug 31, 2010, 10:19 PM
 
Originally Posted by ibook_steve View Post
The backup folder stores everything other than the actual apps and other media (contact info, calendar info, settings, app settings, etc.). That's why it's so small. All your actual apps and media (music, videos, etc.) are stored in ~/Music/iTunes and ~/Movies.

So its basically a backup of how to reconstruct the files on your device when you do a restore, not like a hard drive clone.

Steve
Thank you, Steve, for the answer, explanation! Yet iPod apps are not stored in these folders, nor is there a not hidden folder on my mac that contains my iPods apps, nor does there appear to be a way through iTunes to install apps from my mac to my iPod, or from the iPod to my mac. I'd like to be able to do that.

Also, the iPod doesn't seem to mount as a "device", to be listed in the devices pane of a finder window, for use as external storage. Is that normal? Can I store any data on this iPod; can I transfer iPod apps to and from a mac while maintaining the apps' preferences, current states? How would I do this?--I don't find answers to these questions in this thread or elsewhere on the web.

Thanks!
( Last edited by Nico6c6173; Aug 31, 2010 at 10:32 PM. Reason: typography)
     
ibook_steve
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Sep 1, 2010, 03:17 AM
 
I didn't think I had to spell the whole path out, but yes, the apps are all there:

~/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications/<apps!>

I really hope you're not suggesting that you are trying to install and run apps on a classic click wheel iPod, not an iPod Touch. Apps are for iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone only.

And you completely manage the iPod in iTunes. You select it from the devices list on the left (in iTunes) and then manage its apps and music from there. Only classic iPods can mount on the desktop with an option in iTunes. iPod Touch cannot.

Steve
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Nico6c6173
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Sep 2, 2010, 01:29 AM
 
Originally Posted by ibook_steve View Post
I didn't think I had to spell the whole path out, but yes, the apps are all there:

~/Music/iTunes/Mobile Applications/<apps!>

I really hope you're not suggesting that you are trying to install and run apps on a classic click wheel iPod, not an iPod Touch. Apps are for iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone only.
Thanks, Steve.

Yes, I'm using an iPod Touch.

There is no Mobile Applications directory in ~/Music/iTunes/ however. Here's a screen shot of that folder:

Originally Posted by ibook_steve View Post
And you completely manage the iPod in iTunes. You select it from the devices list on the left (in iTunes) and then manage its apps and music from there. Only classic iPods can mount on the desktop with an option in iTunes. iPod Touch cannot.

Steve
Here's a picture of my Apps tab in iTunes. It doesn't look like any apps are stored on the mac. I'm afraid that if I check 'Sync Apps' everything on the iPod will be deleted, since it doesn't look like the apps are on my mac.

     
Spheric Harlot
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Sep 2, 2010, 02:19 AM
 
Originally Posted by Nico6c6173 View Post
Thanks, Steve.

Yes, I'm using an iPod Touch.

There is no Mobile Applications directory in ~/Music/iTunes/
Steve *used to* be right.

"Mobile Applications" now resides within the "iTunes Media" folder within that directory.
     
ibook_steve
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Sep 2, 2010, 06:07 PM
 
Really? I don't have an iTunes Media folder. Is that new with iTunes 10 (which I haven't installed yet)?

Steve
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Spheric Harlot
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No. It was new with iTunes 9.
     
Nico6c6173
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Sep 2, 2010, 07:26 PM
 
Originally Posted by Spheric Harlot View Post
Steve *used to* be right.

"Mobile Applications" now resides within the "iTunes Media" folder within that directory.
Thanks everybody for trying to help.

SH: No, there is no "Mobile Applications" folder there (why would it be stored in /Music/ anyway? These are apps, not music...). There is no "Mobile Applications" on my computer at all.




The question how to backup applications from my brand new iPod Touch to my brand new mac is still there.
     
SoBayJake
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Sep 7, 2010, 04:41 AM
 
Originally Posted by Nico6c6173 View Post
Thanks everybody for trying to help.

SH: No, there is no "Mobile Applications" folder there (why would it be stored in /Music/ anyway? These are apps, not music...). There is no "Mobile Applications" on my computer at all.

The question how to backup applications from my brand new iPod Touch to my brand new mac is still there.
Based on those images, there is NOTHING in iTunes. Is that correct? You have no purchases, imported CDs, etc?

Have you purchased apps on the phone itself? When you plugged it in, iTunes should have asked "Purchased content was found on this iPod....transfer?" Did you click "OK?"
Too many Apple/Mac products to even bother listing!
     
Nico6c6173
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Sep 11, 2010, 03:05 PM
 


Thank you for pointing the way. I was able to finally back up files from my iPod to my mac; in iTunes I used the file menu item "Transfer purchases from [my iPod]" after authorizing the mac to my iTunes store account.

Cheers!
     
kkag09
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Oct 24, 2010, 04:44 PM
 
Originally Posted by annie'sgotamac View Post
OK, all is resolved but my initial question remains unanswered and perhaps always will be.

Here is what happened to get my phone back after it failed the new update:

1. I decided to take the plunge and press "restore" (to factory settings)
2. iTunes tried to "restore and update" my iPhone
3. An unknown error occurred (2001)
4. I manually had to reboot my iPhone 3-4 times (by pressing the home button and the power button at the same time to power down, then power button to restart)
5. Attempted restore again and this time the settings for the iPhone were restored
6. After the restore, a message popped up in iTunes indicating that an iPhone has previously been synced and giving the option to restore from the backup, which I selected
7. A sync occurred

I disconnected after the sync was complete and my iPhone is back to normal (but with the updated software).

That's that. Hope this helps someone else.
The same thing is happening with my iPhone now. Everytime I try to restore, I get a different error message. Any suggestions?
     
Nazaspaceclub
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Nov 30, 2010, 02:32 AM
 
If you lost your iphone information doing an upgrade, your back up files might be in
library/itunes/mobile backups... there will be folders with numbers and letters (those are you back up folders).

Choose the folder that you want to restore (you can check the modification date) and just drag and drop at your Iphone in your Itunes.
     
napierps
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Dec 19, 2010, 07:36 PM
 
I have read all of the post for finding the backup files for my iphone and I did find then 5000+ how do I know which is which and when I identify them how do I use them? Any help would be wonderfull.
     
napierps
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Dec 19, 2010, 07:56 PM
 
when I open itunes, shouldn't my iphone show up under devise? I have tried unplugging it, restarting the computer, ect. please help. when I updated the software on the iphone it showed and did the backup but all 900 songs are gone. I have finally gotten the answers to how to get the back up files only to now not be able to access the dang phone, HELP!!!!!!
     
AKcrab
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Dec 20, 2010, 06:00 PM
 
Try a different cable. If it still doesn't show up, try it on a different computer.
     
   
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