You just unboxed it. That smell of fresh factory adhesive and pristine glass is intoxicating, but then reality hits: you have to transfer information from one iphone to another and you’re terrified of losing that one specific thread of messages from 2019 or your high score in a game that isn’t even on the App Store anymore.
It's a process. Honestly, it’s gotten way better since the days of tethering your phone to a dusty MacBook and praying iTunes didn't crash midway through the sync. But even in 2026, things can get weird. Sometimes Quick Start hangs at "Preparing to Transfer" for an hour. Sometimes your eSIM decides it doesn't want to move to its new home.
If you're sitting there with two iPhones and a slight sense of dread, take a breath. We’re going to walk through how this actually works in the real world, including the glitches Apple doesn't mention in the manual.
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Quick Start is the Gold Standard (Usually)
Most people should use Quick Start. It’s that magical proximity-based feature where an animation of blue dust appears on your new screen and you scan it with your old one. It’s basically Apple’s way of saying, "I see you bought a new toy; let me move your stuff."
But here is the thing: your Wi-Fi has to be rock solid. If you’re trying to do this at a Starbucks or on a shaky home mesh network that drops signal in the kitchen, you’re asking for a headache. The phones talk to each other via a private peer-to-peer connection, but they still need the internet to verify your Apple ID and download your apps.
Make sure both phones are plugged into power. Seriously. If your old battery is degraded—which it probably is if you’re upgrading—a sudden power dip during the handshake can corrupt the local database. I've seen it happen. The phone reboots, and suddenly you're staring at a "Data Recovery Failed" screen that is the digital equivalent of a heart attack.
The Wired Workaround Nobody Uses
If you have a Lightning-to-USB 3 Camera Adapter and a standard Lightning cable (or USB-C for the newer models), you can actually wire the two phones together. This is the "pro" move. It’s significantly faster than wireless and avoids any interference from your microwave or your neighbor's router. If you have over 256GB of data to move, go wired. Your sanity will thank you.
Why iCloud Might Be Better for You
Sometimes Quick Start isn't the right call. Maybe you're trading in your old phone at the store and can't sit there for two hours waiting for a progress bar. This is where the iCloud backup shines.
Apple actually gives you unlimited temporary iCloud storage just to transfer information from one iphone to another. You go to Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, and tap "Get Started" under the "Prepare for New iPhone" banner. They give you 21 days of free space to park your entire digital life.
It's clean. You back up the old one, turn it off, walk away, and restore the new one whenever you get home.
The eSIM Headache
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the eSIM. Since Apple ditched physical SIM slots on US models, moving your phone number has become a software dance. Most of the time, the "Transfer from Nearby iPhone" option during setup works perfectly. Your old phone asks for permission, you double-click the side button, and boom—service moves over.
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But carriers like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile occasionally have "stuck" activations. If your new phone says "Activating" for more than 20 minutes, stop waiting. It's not going to happen. You’ll likely need to log into your carrier's app on the new phone (using Wi-Fi) and trigger a fresh eSIM download. It’s annoying, but it’s a five-minute fix versus a two-hour wait.
What Actually Moves (and What Doesn't)
People assume everything moves. It mostly does, but there are gaps.
- Banking Apps: You will almost certainly have to log back in. FaceID won't just work immediately for security reasons.
- Google Authenticator: This is the big one. If you use 2FA apps, they do not always migrate their "seeds" automatically for security. You often have to manually export accounts from the old app to the new one using a QR code. Do not wipe your old phone until you check your codes!
- Wallet and Apple Pay: Your cards will "move," but you'll have to re-enter the CVV security codes for every single card to re-verify them with your bank.
- Music: Only stuff bought from iTunes or synced via Apple Music moves. If you have "side-loaded" MP3s from your college days, they probably won't make the jump unless you sync with a computer.
The "Other" Storage Trap
Ever notice how your phone says you have 50GB of "System Data" or "Other"? When you transfer information from one iphone to another, this junk often stays behind. That’s actually a good thing. A fresh transfer is like moving to a new house and realizing you don't need to bring the broken toaster and the pile of old newspapers.
If your old phone was sluggish, a "Restore from iCloud" is often better than a direct "Transfer from iPhone." The direct transfer clones the file system more closely, which can sometimes bring over the very software bugs that were making your old phone slow. A fresh iCloud restore forces the phone to download brand-new copies of your apps from the App Store.
Dealing with WhatsApp and WeChat
Third-party messaging apps are notoriously finicky. While Apple’s system-wide backup includes them, I always recommend doing a manual backup within the app itself.
For WhatsApp: Settings > Chats > Chat Backup > Back Up Now.
Doing this ensures that if the iPhone-to-iPhone transfer glitches out on the "Messages" portion, your chat history is safely tucked away in WhatsApp's specific cloud silo. It's an extra five minutes that prevents losing a decade of conversations.
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Verification is Key
Before you hit "Erase All Content and Settings" on your old device, run a checklist. Open your Photos. Scroll to the bottom. Does it say "Synced with iCloud Just Now"? Open your notes. Are they all there? Check your Voicemails.
Surprisingly, voicemails are stored in a weird way by carriers and sometimes don't migrate if the visual voicemail handshake isn't finished. Listen to that one saved message from your grandma before you wipe the old device.
Troubleshooting the "Infinite Loop"
If you’re stuck on the "Software Update" screen during setup—a classic Apple bug—there’s a workaround. Sometimes the new phone demands an iOS update before it can accept the data from the old phone (because the old phone is on a newer version).
If it freezes here:
- Force restart the new phone.
- Set it up as a "New iPhone" without transferring anything.
- Skip every screen (FaceID, Apple Pay, etc.).
- Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the update.
- Once updated, go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset > Erase All Content and Settings.
- Now start the transfer process again.
It feels redundant. It is redundant. But it works because the phone is now on the correct firmware to receive your data.
Final Steps for a Clean Transition
Once the transfer is "done," your phone will look right, but it's not actually finished. It will be downloading apps in the background for hours. It will also be re-indexing your entire photo library so you can search for "dog" or "beach." This eats battery and makes the phone run hot.
Don't panic if the phone feels like a hot potato for the first four hours. That's just the processor working through the backlog of metadata. Leave it on the charger, stay on Wi-Fi, and let it do its thing.
Actionable Next Steps:
- Audit your 2FA: Open Google Authenticator or Authy and ensure your accounts are backed up or ready for export.
- Check your iCloud Status: Go to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud and make sure "Photos," "Keychain," and "Messages" are toggled ON.
- Clean up your storage: Delete those 400 blurry screenshots of memes before you start the transfer; why move trash to a new house?
- Update your old phone: Ensure your current iPhone is running at least iOS 15 or later to ensure the Quick Start handshake is stable.
- Keep the old phone for 48 hours: Do not trade it in or wipe it immediately. Give yourself two days to realize you forgot to move a specific app's data.