iPhone Transfer Data

After buying new iDevice, a vital task for iPhone owners will be how to transfer valuable content to their new iPhone 6/6s (Plus), including photos, videos, music, contacts, messages, notes, voice memos, voice mails, etc. Actually, it’s no-barrier to move data to your new iPhone.

Here we will walk you through the process of moving all data from the old iPhone to your new one. You can make it with iTunes or iCloud. We show you how to restore from an existing backup, as well as a way to transfer certain information between iPhones without having to restore from a backup.

How to move from an old iPhone to a new iPhone

Here’s how to move from an old iPhone to a new iPhone using either iTunes or iCloud – it’s completely up to you. Although with this being said, we would opt for iTunes where possible, as restoring from iCloud can take a lot longer than when using iTunes, especially if you have weak Wi-Fi and/or a large backup.

We would recommend you to update your old & new iPhone to the latest version of iOS 9 to ensure that you don’t hit any compatibility issues when you migrate from iOS 8 or lower version. When you’re setting up your new iPhone, you can initially set it to the latest version of iOS 9, and then Erase All Content and Settings (Settings > General > Reset) to restore the data from the iTunes or iCloud backup.

Before we go any further, Apple Watch owners beware: Switching iPhones will require you to reset your Apple Watch. Your iPhone Apple Watch apps and settings will be backed up to the Apple Watch app on your iPhone before your Watch is reset – don’t worry about storage, as the backups are only around 100-200kb depending on how much data is stored on your Apple Watch. If you don’t encrypt your iTunes backup, Health and Activity data from your iOS device or Apple Watch won’t be saved.

Transfer Data to new iPhone via iTunes

Make an iTunes backup of your current device:

  1. Connect your device to your computer.
  2. Open iTunes and make sure you have the latest version.
  3. Select your device.
  4. Save content that you downloaded from the iTunes Store or App Store: Click File > Devices > Transfer Purchases. Then wait for the transfer to finish.
  5. If you don’t need to save Health and Activity data, you can make a backup that isn’t encrypted. Just click Back Up Now.

    If you want to save Health and Activity data from your iOS device or Apple Watch, you’ll need to encrypt your backup: Select the box called Encrypt [device] backup and make a memorable password. Write down your password and store it somewhere safe, because there’s no way to recover your iTunes backups without this password.

  6. After the process completes, make sure that your backup finished successfully in iTunes Preferences > Devices. You should see the name of your device, along with the date and time that iTunes created the backup. If you encrypted your backup, you should also see beside the name of your device.

Then transfer iTunes backup to a new device:

  1. Turn on your new device. A "Hello" screen should appear. If you’ve finished setting up your new device already, learn what to do.
  2. Swipe left to right on the "Hello" screen and follow steps until you see the Wi-Fi screen.
  3. Connect your iOS device to the computer that you stored your iTunes backup on.
  4. On the Wi-Fi screen on your iOS device, tap Connect to iTunes.
  5. Follow onscreen steps until you see the Apps & Data screen, then tap Restore from iTunes Backup > next.
  6. Enter your Apple ID and password.
  7. Choose a backup. Make sure it’s the right one by looking at the date and size of each. After you choose, the transfer starts.
  8. If you’re restoring from an encrypted backup, enter the password when asked.
  9. Wait for the process to complete. Then finish the remaining setup steps and sync your other content.

Keep your device connected to your computer and use iTunes to sync any content that wasn’t in the backup. If possible, keep your device connected to Wi-Fi and plugged in to power until your cloud content downloads to your device. Cloud content includes anything stored in the cloud instead of your backup, like photos and music. This content will download automatically in the background.

Transfer Data to new iPhone via iCloud

Back up your current device using iCloud. iCloud will back up your iPhone automatically as long as you turn on iCloud, connect your iDevice to Wi-Fi network and a power source. But we need to ensure that have latest version, then you can transfer the backup to your new device.

  1. Connect your old device to the Internet with Wi-Fi.
  2. In iOS 8 or later, tap Settings > iCloud > Backup. In iOS 7 or earlier, tap Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup.
  3. Make sure that iCloud Backup is turned on.
  4. Tap Back Up Now. Stay connected to Wi-Fi until the process finishes.
  5. Make sure the backup finished in Settings > iCloud > Storage > Manage Storage. It should appear with the correct date and size.

Transfer your iCloud backup to your new device

  1. Turn on your new device. A "Hello" screen should appear. If you’ve finished setting up your new device already, learn what to do.
  2. Swipe left to right on the "Hello" screen. Follow steps until you see the Wi-Fi screen.
  3. Tap a Wi-Fi network to join.
  4. Follow steps until you see the Apps & Data screen, then tap Restore from iCloud Backup > Next.
  5. Enter your Apple ID and password.
  6. Choose a backup. Make sure it’s the right one by looking at the date and size of each. After you choose, the transfer starts. If you’ve purchased iTunes or App Store content using multiple Apple IDs, you’ll be asked to sign in to each. If you can’t remember the passwords, you can skip this step by tapping Don’t have an Apple ID or forgot it.
  7. Stay connected and wait for the process to complete. If you disconnect from Wi-Fi before the process finishes, the restore process pauses until you reconnect. Restoring from a backup can take a while, depending on the size of the backup and the network speed.

If possible, keep your device connected to Wi-Fi and plugged into power until your cloud content downloads to your device. Cloud content includes anything stored in the cloud instead of your backup, like photos and music. This content will download automatically in the background. Depending on the amount of content, this could take a few hours or days to finish.

If you normally use iTunes to sync content, you can also connect your device to your computer and use iTunes to sync any additional content. If you haven’t set up iCloud Keychain, you might be asked to enter passwords for email, social media accounts, and other apps.

How to Transfer Data after Initial Setup

If you couldn’t wait to start using the new iPhone before restoring it with your previous data, all you need to do is restore it to factory settings and then it will reboot back into the initial setup screen. To transfer a backup to a device you’ve already set up, you need to erase the device:

Tap Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings

This will erase any data that’s currently on your device. After you’ve erased it, your device will restart and you’ll see the "Hello" screen. Now you can transfer a backup to your device. You should now be able to use your new iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus, as everything has be transferred to your new device. Just enjoy it.