One of the reasons that customers tend to stay with the iPhone when upgrading is that they can transfer data across with ease; this process ensures everything on your new device is in the exact same place as it was on your old one, from contacts, pictures, email, even your background picture will stay the same. Follow the below steps to ensure your data is fully backed up and restored onto your new device.
Straight from the box – Over iCloud
When setting up your new iPhone straight form the box, ensure you have a good Wifi connection and your SIM card to hand.
- Insert your new SIM card, turn your new iPhone on via the Power button and follow the steps on screen.
- Join the Wifi network, and put in your current Apple ID (If you don’t know this, you’ll find it in Settings, under iCloud in your previous device).
- Once you’ve logged in, your handset will ask you whether you want to ‘Restore from Itunes’, ‘Restore from iCloud Back Up’ or ‘Set Up As A New Device’. For this you should select ‘Restore From iCloud Back Up’.
- Your iPhone will then show your most recent back up, i.e. when your old phone was last synced and backed up. This needs to be today’s date (or a recent date that you’re happy with). If your iPhone does not show a recent date, and you would prefer to have all of your recent data switched over, you will need to perform a backup of your old iPhone (see below in bold).
- Go to Settings > iCloud > Backup > and click Back Up Now – Ensure you are on Wifi when doing this.
- Once your old handset is backed up, you can select back through the steps and start again from ‘Restore From iCloud Back Up’.
- Ensure your most recent back up is the correct time and date, and select this back up.
- Your iPhone will now restore your data as it was on your old handset.
Straight from the box – Over iTunes
When setting up your new iPhone straight form the box, ensure you have a good Wifi connection and your SIM card to hand.
First you will need to back up your old iPhone to your computer or laptop, by following the steps below. If you have already done this, skip to section 2.
- Open iTunes on your computer and connect your device with a USB cable (this can be your charging cable).
- If you are asked for your device passcode, this is the code that you use to unlock your phone, put this in and click ‘Trust This Computer’.
- Select your iPhone from the device/s shown.
- If you want to save your Health & Activity data from your old handset, you need encrypt your back up and create a password (select the encrypt box and create a memorable password – you need to remember this password, as there is no way to recover your backups without it).
- If you don’t want to save your Health & Activity data, just click Back Up Now
Your iPhone is now backed up to your iTunes
Step 2 – Restoring your new iPhone
- Insert your new SIM card, turn your new iPhone on via the Power button and follow the steps on screen.
- Join the Wifi network, and put in your current Apple ID (If you don’t know this, you’ll find it in Settings, under iCloud in your previous device).
- Once you’ve logged in, your handset will ask you whether you want to ‘Restore from Itunes’, ‘Restore from iCloud Back Up’ or ‘Set Up As A New Device’. For this you should select ‘Restore From iTunes’.
- Connect your device to your computer and open iTunes.
- Select the back up you wish to use (look at the size and the date of each back up and pick the most relevant, usually this is the more recent back up).
- Click ‘Restore’ and wait for your new iPhone to restore to your chosen back up
- Keep your device connected to your computer, wait for it to restart and sync. Disconnect once your device has synced.