Vad som än händer med mobilen har jag en kopia av varje bild hemma.

It is a common Swedish pattern meaning whatever happens or no matter what happens.

The structure is:

• vad = what
• som = a linking word in this kind of clause
• än = gives the sense of no matter / ever
• händer = happens

So vad som än händer is not translated word-for-word in natural English; you should learn it as a whole pattern meaning whatever happens.

Similar patterns are:

• vem som än kommer = whoever comes
• hur det än går = however it goes
• var som helst is a different pattern, but also uses this general idea of indefiniteness

Here, som is part of the fixed construction vad som än ....

A native English speaker may want to drop it, but in Swedish it normally belongs there. It helps connect vad to the rest of the clause, much like in other Swedish relative-type structures.

So:

• vad som än händer = correct
• vad än händer = possible in some styles, but less standard for everyday modern Swedish

For most learners, the safest choice is to remember the full pattern vad som än + verb.

Because in modern Swedish, the normal pattern is:

question word + som + än + verb

So you get:

• vad som än händer
• vem som än ringer
• hur det än går

This word order is the standard one you should learn and use. It may feel unusual if you are thinking from English, but in Swedish it is completely natural.

Because hända med means happen to when talking about something affecting a person or thing.

So:

• Vad händer med mobilen? = What is happening to the phone?
• Om något händer med bilen... = If something happens to the car...

In English, we usually say happen to the phone, but Swedish uses med in this expression.

Mobilen is the definite form, meaning the phone. In context, it usually refers to a specific phone already known to the speaker and listener.

In English, you might expect my phone, but Swedish often uses the definite form where English might prefer a possessive, especially when the reference is obvious from context.

So this sentence suggests:

• a particular phone
• probably the speaker’s phone, or at least the phone being discussed

You could also say min mobil, but mobilen sounds very natural if it is clear which phone is meant.

This is because Swedish follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

The sentence starts with the clause:

Vad som än händer med mobilen

After that, the main clause begins, and the finite verb must come next:

• har jag en kopia ...

So:

• Vad som än händer med mobilen har jag ... = correct
• Vad som än händer med mobilen jag har ... = incorrect

This inversion is very common in Swedish after something comes first in the sentence.

Because varje means each, and in Swedish it is followed by a singular noun.

So:

• varje bild = each picture
• not varje bilder

This is the same idea as English:

• each picture
• not each pictures

The sentence is focusing on every individual picture one by one.

This means a copy of each picture.

A few things are happening here:

• en kopia = a copy
• av varje bild = of each picture

So the speaker is saying they have one copy for every picture.

This is a very natural way to express backup or duplication. It suggests that every single image on the phone also exists somewhere else.

Because kopia av is a normal way to say copy of in Swedish.

So:

• en kopia av dokumentet
• en kopia av bilden
• en kopia av varje bild

You may also sometimes see kopia på in certain contexts, especially with documents or specific copies, but kopia av is a very natural and neutral choice here.

Here, hemma means at home.

It tells you where the copy is kept:

• har jag en kopia av varje bild hemma = I have a copy of every picture at home

It does not by itself say whether the copies are:

• printed photos
• stored on a computer
• saved on a hard drive
• backed up in some other way at home

That part is left open by the sentence.

Not necessarily. In modern Swedish, a comma after an introductory subordinate clause is often omitted.

So this is fine:

• Vad som än händer med mobilen har jag en kopia av varje bild hemma.

You may also see a comma:

• Vad som än händer med mobilen, har jag en kopia av varje bild hemma.

But the version without a comma is very normal in contemporary Swedish.

Yes. A very common alternative is:

Oavsett vad som händer med mobilen ...

That means regardless of what happens to the phone ...

It has almost the same meaning as Vad som än händer med mobilen ..., but the original version is a bit more compact and idiomatic in this sentence.

So both are natural, but:

• Vad som än händer ... = whatever happens ...
• Oavsett vad som händer ... = regardless of what happens ...