You just spent a small fortune on a sleek new slab of glass and titanium. It’s sitting in the box, pristine. Now comes the part everyone secretly dreads: the migration. Honestly, the fear of losing five years of photos or that one specific WhatsApp thread from a late relative is real. People always ask how to copy iPhone to new iPhone like it’s some dark art, but Apple has actually made it surprisingly fluid—provided you don’t hit a snag with your iCloud storage or a wonky Wi-Fi connection.
Don't just wing it.
If you rush this, you'll end up with a "Software Update Required" loop that eats two hours of your life. I’ve seen it happen a dozen times. You need a plan.
The Quick Start method is usually your best bet
Most people should use Quick Start. It’s that thing where you hold your old phone near the new one and a magical swirling blue nebula appears on the screen. It uses a peer-to-peer Wi-Fi connection to move your data directly. It’s fast. It’s local.
But here is the kicker: both phones need to be on the same iOS version. If your new phone came out of the box with iOS 17.0 and your old one is on 17.5, the process might stall. You'll likely have to set the new phone up as "new" first, update the software, reset it to factory settings, and then start the transfer. It’s annoying. It's a massive chore. But skipping this step is why transfers fail halfway through.
Make sure Bluetooth is on. Plug both phones into power. Seriously. If your battery dies at 92% during a 60GB transfer, you are looking at a potential data corruption nightmare.
Why iCloud isn't always the hero
iCloud is great for background syncing, but using it to copy iPhone to new iPhone can be a literal test of patience if you have a slow internet connection. If you have 200GB of 4K video from your last vacation, downloading that from the cloud takes forever.
There’s also the "Optimized Storage" trap. If your old phone has 128GB of storage but you’re only using 40GB because the rest is "in the cloud," the new phone has to re-index everything. You'll see blurry thumbnails in your photo library for days. It drives people crazy. They think their photos are gone. They aren't; the phone is just being "smart" and lazy at the same time.
The "Old School" Wired Transfer
If you’re a power user or your Wi-Fi is garbage, use a Mac or a PC. For years, iTunes was the gold standard, and on macOS, it's now integrated into Finder.
- Plug the old iPhone into your computer.
- Select "Encrypt Local Backup." This is vital. If you don't encrypt it, your health data and saved passwords won't transfer. Apple's security protocols are strict about this.
- Back it up.
- Plug in the new phone and hit "Restore from Backup."
This is generally the fastest way to copy iPhone to new iPhone because a physical cable (especially a USB-C to Lightning or USB-C to USB-C cable) smokes a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connection any day of the week.
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Don't forget the weird stuff
Banking apps are the worst. They won't just "work" on the new phone. Most high-security apps like Chase, HSBC, or Authenticator apps (Google Authenticator, I’m looking at you) require you to manually re-authorize the new device. If you wipe your old phone before checking these, you might lock yourself out of your bank account.
And eSIMs? They’re getting better. Most carriers now support the on-screen transfer during the Quick Start process. But every once in a while, a carrier like Verizon or AT&T will require a QR code or a call to support. Keep your old phone active until you see those signal bars on the new one.
Finishing the job
Once the transfer bar hits 100%, your new iPhone will reboot. It looks finished. It isn't.
Your apps will be grayed out. They are downloading in the priority the phone thinks is best. If you need Slack for work, tap it first to move it to the front of the queue. Your phone will also run hot for about 48 hours. This is normal. It's indexing every photo, every text message, and every email so that when you search for "dog" in your photos, it actually works.
Real-world Checklist for Success
- Check your Apple ID password before you start. You'll need it at least three times.
- Update your old phone to the latest possible iOS version tonight.
- Clean out your "Recently Deleted" photos. No point moving trash to a new house.
- Verify your WhatsApp or Signal backups within the apps themselves. They sometimes live outside the standard iCloud backup.
- Give it time. A 256GB transfer can take an hour or more. Do it when you don't need to leave the house.
The goal isn't just to move the data; it's to make the new phone feel like your old one, just faster and shinier. Take it slow, keep them plugged in, and don't panic if the progress bar stays at "1 minute remaining" for ten minutes. It’s just finishing the handshakes.
Once you’re sure every photo is there and your banking apps are logged in, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings on the old device. Only then is it safe to trade it in or give it away.
Actionable Next Steps
Start by checking your current storage usage in Settings > General > iPhone Storage. If you have 50GB of "System Data" or "Other," a fresh iCloud backup followed by a restore is often better than a direct transfer, as it tends to leave that cached junk behind. Verify your iCloud Backup status right now to ensure the most recent "snapshot" of your messages and settings is ready for the move. If you use physical SIM cards, find your SIM ejector tool now so you aren't hunting for a paperclip mid-setup.