How to Set Up a New iPhone From Your Old iPhone

The new phone is on the table, the old one is in your hand, and you want everything to come across: apps, photos, messages, your Home Screen layout. This guide on how to set up a new iPhone from your old one is for anyone moving between two iPhones. Plan on about 10 minutes of hands on setup, then anywhere from a few minutes to a couple of hours of transfer time, depending on how much data you have. Apple says transfer times vary, so start when you can spare your old phone for a while.

Before you start

A little prep now saves you from a stalled transfer later.

• Update both phones. Apple recommends running the latest iOS on both devices before you begin. Quick Start itself needs iOS 11 or later on the old phone.
• Make a fresh iCloud backup as a safety net. On the old iPhone, go to Settings, tap your name, then iCloud, then iCloud Backup, and tap Back Up Now. Stay on Wi-Fi until it finishes.
• Have your Apple Account password ready. You will be asked for it more than once.
• Charge both phones or keep chargers within reach. Apple asks you to keep the devices plugged in until the move completes.
• Turn on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the old iPhone.
• Check for an eSIM. If your carrier supports eSIM Quick Transfer, your number can move during setup without a call to the carrier.

If you bought a used or refurbished phone, run through our refurbished iPhone checklist before you load your data onto it.

Stage one: start Quick Start on both phones

Quick Start is Apple's built in way to copy your setup from one iPhone to another. Here is the sequence, based on Apple's Quick Start guide.

1. Unlock your old iPhone and go to the Home Screen.
2. Turn on the new iPhone and place it next to the old one.
3. Follow the onscreen instructions that appear on both phones to pair them and confirm your Apple Account.
4. Connect the new phone to Wi-Fi or cellular.

If the prompt disappears from the old phone before you finish, restart both devices and try again.

Stage two: activate service and set up Face ID

1. You may be asked to activate cellular service. If your carrier supports eSIM Quick Transfer, follow the prompt to move your number from the old iPhone. According to Apple's eSIM setup page, this needs both phones signed in to the same Apple Account, both on iOS 18.4 or later, Bluetooth on, and the old phone unlocked. On iOS 26 or later you can move more than one number.
2. Set up Face ID (or Touch ID on models that have it).
3. Accept the terms and work through the remaining privacy prompts.

Once the new plan activates, your old SIM stops working. That is expected.

Stage three: choose how your data moves

This is the decision that matters most. Apple describes two paths.

• Download from iCloud. Your apps and data download in the background, and you can start using the new iPhone almost right away. Pick this if your iCloud backup is current and you have fast Wi-Fi.
• Transfer directly from your previous iPhone. Data copies straight from the old phone to the new one. You have to wait for it to finish on both phones before you can use either, but it does not depend on how recent your backup is.

Whichever you pick, keep both phones close together and plugged in until the progress bar finishes. Apple notes that some photos, music and apps can keep downloading from iCloud after setup, so the phone may feel busy at first.

Stage four: set up with a cable instead of wireless

A cable is handy when your Wi-Fi is slow or you have a lot to move. Apple's wired transfer page lists the right connection for each pair of phones.

• iPhone 15 or later to iPhone 15 or later: connect the two phones with a USB-C charge cable.
• iPhone 14 or earlier to iPhone 15 or later: use a USB-C to Lightning cable.
• iPhone 14 or earlier to iPhone 14 or earlier: you need a Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adapter and a Lightning to USB cable. Power the adapter's Lightning port with a 12W or higher power adapter, plug the old iPhone into the adapter, then run the cable from the adapter to the new iPhone.

With the cable connected, the setup steps are the same as above.

Stage five: restore from an iCloud backup

Use this route if the old iPhone is broken, lost, already traded in, or simply not nearby. All you need is a recent backup and your Apple Account.

1. Turn on the new iPhone until you see the Hello screen.
2. Follow the setup steps until you reach Transfer Your Apps & Data.
3. Tap From iCloud Backup and sign in to your Apple Account.
4. Check the date and size of each backup and choose the most recent one.
5. If asked, sign in again to restore your apps and purchases. If you have bought content with more than one Apple Account, you may be asked to sign in to each.
6. Stay on Wi-Fi and power until the progress bar completes, then finish setup.

If the new phone says it needs a newer version of iOS to restore, follow the prompts to update. You can also restore from a computer: connect the iPhone by USB, select it in Finder on a Mac (macOS Catalina or later) or in the Apple Devices app on Windows, and click Restore Backup.

Stage six: check the new iPhone, then wipe the old one

Before you erase anything, spend a few minutes confirming the move worked. Open Messages, Photos, your authenticator app and your banking apps. Some apps may ask you to sign in again on a new device, so check the ones you rely on most. Now is also a good time to review your sign ins with our guide on how to protect your online accounts in 10 minutes.

When you are happy, prepare the old phone. Apple's checklist for selling or trading in an iPhone gives this order:

1. If you paired an Apple Watch, unpair it first.
2. Sign out of your Apple Account. On iOS 26 or later, go to Settings, tap your name, scroll down and tap Sign Out. On iOS 18 or earlier, tap Sign Out, enter your password and tap Turn Off.
3. Go to Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone, and tap Erase All Content and Settings.
4. When asked about the eSIM, choose to delete it if the phone is leaving your hands, since your number now lives on the new iPhone.
5. Enter your passcode and Apple Account password, then wait for the Hello screen.

Erasing turns off Find My and Activation Lock, which the next owner needs. Your iCloud data stays in iCloud.

When the transfer does not work

The Quick Start prompt never appears. Make sure Bluetooth is on and the old phone is unlocked on the Home Screen. Restart both phones and bring them closer together.

The transfer stalls or crawls. Wireless moves depend on your Wi-Fi. Switch to a cable, or choose Download from iCloud so you can use the phone while it fills in.

Quick Start says it cannot transfer data. Apple says this happens when the new phone is enrolled in Apple School Manager or Apple Business, which is common with work phones. Ask your IT team how they want it set up.

Your number did not move. Your carrier may not support eSIM Quick Transfer. Go to Settings, then Cellular, tap Set Up Cellular or Add eSIM, and try Transfer From Nearby iPhone. If that still fails, contact your carrier.

One last check before you hand off or recycle the old phone: open the Settings app on the new iPhone, tap your name, then iCloud, then iCloud Backup, and make sure backups are switched on. The next time you upgrade, you will be glad you did. For more phone guides, browse our gadgets section, or if you are still picking a model, see how to choose a smartphone.