How to Set Up a New iPhone and Move Your Data
A new iPhone is a lovely thing — right up until you start wondering how on earth you'll get all your photos, messages, apps and logins across without losing anything. The good news is that Apple's Quick Start makes it almost automatic, and moving from Android is well catered for too. Follow these steps and your new iPhone will feel just like your old one — only faster — within the hour.
Before you begin: a quick checklist
A few minutes of prep saves a lot of hassle. Make sure your old phone is fully backed up, that you know your Apple ID password (and your old phone's passcode), and that both phones are charged and on Wi-Fi. Keep the old phone to hand throughout, and — this is important — don't wipe or trade it in until the new one is completely set up and you've confirmed everything has arrived.
1. Back up your old phone
Back up your old iPhone to iCloud (or to a computer for a second copy), or your Android phone to Google, so nothing is left behind if anything hiccups during the move. This is your safety net — with it in place, the whole process is risk-free.
2. Start Quick Start
Turn on the new iPhone and simply hold your old iPhone next to it — Quick Start appears automatically and begins pairing the two. If you're switching from Android, choose "Move Data from Android" on the new iPhone's setup screen and follow the prompts to use Apple's Move to iOS app on your old phone.
3. Choose a transfer method
From another iPhone, you can transfer directly from the old phone (keep them close together and plugged in) or restore from an iCloud backup. Direct transfer is usually the quickest and most complete when both phones are to hand; iCloud restore is handy if the old phone is already gone but you have a recent backup.
4. Sign in and restore
Sign in with your Apple ID and let your apps, photos and settings download. Stay on Wi-Fi and keep the phone charging — a big photo library and dozens of apps can take a while to finish coming down in the background. You can start using the phone before it's all there; apps that are still downloading appear dimmed until they're ready.
5. Finish and check everything
Set up Face ID (or Touch ID) and Apple Pay, then go through your most important things — photos, messages, email, your banking and social apps — to confirm they're all present and you're logged in. Don't trade in or wipe the old phone until you're completely happy everything has moved across successfully.
The bits people forget
- Two-factor authentication. If you use an authenticator app, transfer it or re-register your accounts before wiping the old phone, or you can get locked out — see setting up 2FA.
- Your SIM or eSIM. Move the physical SIM, or transfer your eSIM (your network can help) so you keep your phone number.
- WhatsApp and messaging apps. Some need their own in-app transfer to bring chat history across — start these before you retire the old phone.
- Watches and accessories. An Apple Watch and Bluetooth gear will need re-pairing to the new phone.
How long does it all take?
The core transfer typically takes fifteen minutes to an hour depending on how much you're moving and your Wi-Fi speed, with apps and photos trickling down in the background for a while afterwards. There's no need to babysit it — once the home screen appears, you can start using the phone and let the rest catch up. Just keep it charged and on Wi-Fi until everything's settled.
Settle in: a few finishing touches
Once your data's across, a few minutes of housekeeping makes the new iPhone truly yours. Check that iCloud Photos has finished syncing, sign in to the App Store so app updates flow, and review your notification, Face ID and privacy settings. If you have other Apple devices — an iPad, a Mac or a Watch — signing in with the same Apple ID keeps messages, photos and passwords in step across all of them. Most importantly, turn on iCloud Backup on the new phone straight away, so your fresh setup is protected from day one rather than weeks later.
Stuck, or the old phone's broken?
The whole process assumes your old phone still works well enough to talk to the new one. If it won't turn on, the screen's cracked, or the touchscreen's unresponsive, all is not lost — our smartphone repair team can often get it working just long enough to recover your data and complete the move. The sooner you bring it in, the better the odds.