Switch iPhones
This article teaches you how to seamlessly transition from one iPhone to another, including how to transfer your data.
Contents
[hide]Steps
Using iCloud
- Open Settings on your old iPhone. It's a gray app with gears (⚙️) that's typically located on your home screen.
- Tap your Apple ID. It's the section at the top of the menu that contains your name and image if you've added one.
- If you are not signed in, tap Sign in to your iPhone, enter your Apple ID and password, then tap Sign In.
- If you are running an older version of iOS, you may not need to do this step.
- Tap iCloud. It's in the second section of the menu.
- Select data to back up. Review the apps listed under the "APPS USING ICLOUD" section, such as Photos, Contacts, and Calendar. Slide any type of data that you want to transfer to your new phone to the "On" (green) position.
- Any data that is "Off" (white) will not be backed up and transferred to your new iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap iCloud Backup. It's at the bottom of the "APPS USING ICLOUD" section.
- Slide iCloud Backup to the "On" (green) position, if it's not already.
- Tap Back Up Now. It's at the bottom of the screen. This will manually invoke a backup of your old iPhone. Wait until the backup is complete.
- Tap iCloud. It's in the upper-left corner of the screen. This will take you back to the iCloud settings page.
- Turn on the new iPhone and complete the initial setup process. You will be prompted to specify certain information such as your language and country, your Wi-Fi network, and more.
- Tap Restore from iCloud Backup. Do so when prompted to select a way to setup your new iPhone during the setup process. Rather than setting up as a new iPhone with no data, this will transfer data from your old iPhone to your new iPhone.
- Tap Next. It's in the upper-right corner of the screen.
- Enter your Apple ID and password. Do so in the labeled fields.
- Tap an iCloud backup. Choose the one with the most recent date and time.
- Tap Restore. The data that you backed up from your old iPhone will begin restoring to your new iPhone.
- Wait for your new iPhone to reboot after it has finished restoring your data. After your phone restarts, it will be ready for use.
Using iTunes
- Connect your old iPhone to a computer. Use the USB cable that came with your device.
- Open iTunes. Do so if it doesn't launch automatically when your device is connected.
- Click on your iPhone. An icon for your iPhone will appear at the top of the screen once iTunes recognizes it.
- Click the button next to "This computer". It's in the "Automatically Back Up" section.
- If you wish to back up your passwords, Homekit data, or Health and Activity data, you will need to check the box that says "Encrypt iPhone backup" and create a memorable password.
- Click on Back Up Now. It's in the right pane of the window under the "Manually Back Up and Restore" section.
- Wait for iTunes to finish backing up and saving your data. The process may take up to several minutes to complete depending on the amount of data you have stored on your iPhone.
- Click the Eject button (⏏️) and then disconnect your phone from the computer. The eject button is located to the right of your iPhone's name. Disconnect your phone by unplugging the USB cord.
- Power off your old iPhone. Do so by holding the lock button on the right-top or upper-right side of your phone's housing until "slide to power off" appears on the screen, then swipe "slide to power off" to the right.
- If your iPhone uses a SIM card, remove the SIM card from the older iPhone, and insert it into the new iPhone.
- Power on your new iPhone. Do so by pressing the lock button.
- Walk through the initial iPhone setup process. You will be asked to select your country, language, location services preferences, and more.
- Tap Restore from iTunes backup. It will be listed as one of the options to set up or restore your new device.
- Connect your new iPhone to the same computer. Use the cable that came with your new device as it may be different (lighting connector instead of 30-pin connector).
- iTunes will recognize the new device and display “Welcome to your new iPhone.”
- Click on the “Restore from this backup” radio button. Select the most recent backup from the dropdown menu.
- Click on Continue. iTunes will begin to transfer data from iTunes to your new iPhone.
- Wait for your new iPhone to restart. After your iPhone reboots, it will be ready for use.
Warnings
- You will not have the ability to install backups from newer iPhones onto older iPhones that have earlier versions of iOS installed. If you want to transfer data between iPhones with older versions of iOS, make sure you run a software update by going to “Settings,” tapping on “General,” and selecting “Software Update.” This installs the latest iOS version available for your iPhone..
