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

Until a few years ago, setting up a new iPhone always meant losing something. Half your settings gone. Some apps needed reinstalling from scratch and you wouldn't know until you went looking for them. Some people just gave up and started from zero. Years of app data gone. Apple fixed most of that with Quick Start.

Unlike before, when you needed a Mac or PC to back up your iPhone and transfer data to a new one, Quick Start does it all wirelessly. It's as simple as placing the two devices next to each other and then following a few steps to transfer everything: contacts, photos, messages and even app settings. And if for some reason wireless isn't working for you, connecting the two iPhones with a cable can fix everything.

Quick Start is one of those "magical" Apple features. Just turn on your new iPhone next to your old one, confirm you want to use your Apple ID for setup, and Quick Start takes it from there. Your old iPhone shows an animation on the new one for you to scan with its camera. That's what pairs the two devices and kicks off the transfer.

Now you'll go through some basic iPhone setup steps, such as entering your current passcode and setting up Face ID or Touch ID. When your new iPhone asks how you want to proceed, choose your most recent iCloud backup or transfer everything from your old iPhone using direct transfer.

Are you in a hurry to start using your new phone? Choosing iCloud is your best option, since it downloads the essentials first and does the rest in the background. but it takes much longer when you have a lot of photos, videos and more on your old phone. iCloud is usually the fastest option, especially when you have a good Wi-Fi connection available.

Quick Start usually works fine for most people, but that doesn't mean things can't go wrong. In some cases, the transfer may end up stalling due to a weak Wi-Fi signal or simply because you have a lot of data to transfer. Don't sit there watching the progress bar. Restarting your iPhone safely cancels the process, and you can start over.

A wired connection can be helpful when wireless transfer fails. Find a USB-C or, if your phone is older, a Lightning cable. Plug both devices in. The cable in the box is limited to USB 2 speeds, though. It's fine for charging, but not great for moving large amounts of data. While base iPhone models have USB 2 ports, iPhone 15 Pro and newer Pro models support USB 3 transfers at up to 10Gbps. That's over 20 times faster than USB 2, so the difference in transfer speed is huge. You just need the right cable.

Some people may run out of storage space on their new device during the transfer. This usually happens when switching from a device with more storage than the new one. If that happens, offload some large files from your old phone before trying again. Also worth checking: both phones should be running the latest version of iOS. Mismatched software versions are a common reason the whole setup fails outright.