How to transfer data from your old iPhone to the new one

Are you thinking of changing your iPhone for a new model, but, before «retiring» it, you would like to know how to transfer your data from one iPhone to another? Would you like to share photos or contacts with other friends who use an iPhone, but don't know how? At iRepairs we explain everything you need to know about the subject.

3 Ways to transfer data from your old iPhone to the new one

You need to know that there is not just one way to transfer the information, in fact there are three different ways: using Quick Start, making a backup in iCloud or iTunes.

1. How to transfer data from your old iPhone to the new one with “Quick Start”

1. Turn on the new device and place it near the new model.
2. On the new one a screen will appear suggesting that you use Quick Start. Select it.
3. When the animation appears on the new iPhone, we will point it towards the new one so that they identify each other.
4. Wait until the message “Finish on the new iPhone” appears.
5. Enter the device passcode on the new iPhone and then set up Face ID or Touch ID.
6. Tap Continue on the “Transfer Your iPhone Data” screen.
7. Now all that's left is for you to keep both devices together and, preferably, connected to a charger until the transfer is finished.

2. How to transfer data from your old iPhone to the new one with iCloud

Connect both devices to a WiFi network and make sure both have iCloud activated. On your old iPhone, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone and make a backup. Then, on your new iPhone, follow the initial setup steps and choose Restore from an iCloud backup.

3. How to transfer data from your old iPhone to the new one with iTunes

If you prefer to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone without iCloud, you can resort to iTunes (on Windows and earlier versions of macOS) or to Finder (on macOS 10.15 Catalina and later versions).

If you have never heard of it, iTunes is Apple's historic multimedia software that allows you, among other things, to manage iOS/iPadOS devices from your computer. It is available as a free download for Windows PCs, either through the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 or through the Apple website.

Finder, for its part, is the macOS file manager, in which Apple decided to integrate the functions to manage iOS/iPadOS devices from a computer after the “retirement” of iTunes in its operating system.

Now, all you have to do to take advantage of the local backups of iTunes and Finder is create a backup of the source iPhone (the device from which you intend to import data) and then restore it on the destination iPhone (the device to which you intend to export data). How? Keep reading!

• Connect the source iPhone to the computer and launch iTunes or Finder. If it is the first time you do it, you must authorise the communication between the two devices by pressing the corresponding button on both and entering the unlock code on the iPhone;
• If it asks you to update iOS to the latest available version, accept. The iOS version must be the same on both iPhones.
• Click on the iPhone icon located in the upper left corner of the main iTunes window or in the left sidebar of Finder, and select Back Up to create a backup of the device on your computer;
• Once the backup is finished, connect the destination iPhone to the computer and launch iTunes or Finder;
• If the device is not new (or has already been activated), click on the iPhone icon located in the upper left of the main iTunes window or in the Finder sidebar, and click on the Restore iPhone button to reset the iPhone to its factory state;
• If it asks you to make a backup of your iPhone, choose the option Do not back up, and if you are asked to transfer the app and media purchases from your iPhone to the computer, select the appropriate option in the iTunes or Finder menu (otherwise, you will lose them) and start resetting the device again;
• If your iPhone is not yet updated to the latest version of iOS, you will be asked to also perform the operating system update. Accept, knowing that the iOS version installed on the device must match that of the backup to be restored;
• Once the procedure is finished, click on the iPhone icon in iTunes or in Finder, click on Restore from this backup and choose the backup you want to restore (the one from the other iPhone) in the adjacent drop-down menu. Then, click on the Continue button and wait for the procedure to finish.