Follow these steps to back up your previous device and then restore the backup to your newly purchased device. Your saved messages, email accounts, photos, notes, and other personal settings will be transferred to your new device.
Use the iCloud steps below if both your devices use iOS 5 or later and you have an iCloud account. If one or both devices use an earlier version of iOS or if you don’t have an iCloud account, follow the iTunes steps, below.
Using iCloud to transfer information from your current iOS device to a new one
Follow these steps if both your devices use iOS 5 or later and you have an iCloud account. If not, please follow the iTunes steps below.
- Back up your old device to iCloud by going to Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup and toggling iCloud Backup on. Ensure that your device is connected to Wi-Fi and connected to a power source before backing up.
Note: The time required to back up and restore from a backup depends on the amount of data contained in the backup and on the speed of your Internet connection. - iCloud backs up your device once a day. If your device needs to be backed up before migrating, tap Back Up Now in Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup to view the status of your backup. Do not begin migration before the backup is finished to ensure all data has been backed up. For more information about backups in iCloud, see iCloud: Backup and restore overview.
- When the backup of your old device is finished, turn on your new device and complete the setup assistant by selecting your language and country, and choose whether to enable Location Services. When prompted, choose your Wi-Fi network.
- When prompted to set up, choose “Restore from iCloud Backup,” tap next, and enter your Apple ID and password.
- Select the backup of your old device and tap Restore. Wait until the device has finished restoring from the backup.
Note: The time required to back up and restore from a backup depends on the amount of data contained in the backup and on the speed of your Internet connection.
- When the restore process is complete, your device will restart. Then it will be ready for use. You should connect the device to iTunes to sync data not contained in the backup (such as music, videos, apps, and so on). You can verify and change which data are synced by clicking the syncing tabs in iTunes.
Note: When restoring an iCloud backup to a new device, you will need to enter your password for your Apple ID, email and other accounts, and voicemail again. If you’ve forgotten your voicemail password, contact your carrier.
Using iTunes to transfer information from your current iOS device to a new one
Follow these steps if one or both your devices use a version of iOS earlier than iOS 5 or if you don’t have an iCloud account.
- Verify that you have installed the latest version of iTunes and the latest version of iOS before continuing.
- Back up your old device using iTunes and transfer your data from your device to your computer. Find more information about iTunes backups.
- If your device uses a SIM card: Use the SIM-extractor tool or a paper clip to remove the SIM from your old device and insert it into your new device. If your carrier provided you with a new SIM card, use that instead.
- Turn on your new device and complete the Setup Assistant by selecting your language and country, and choose whether to enable Location Services. When prompted, choose your Wi-Fi network.
Note: If you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection, you can also activate by tapping “Connect to iTunes”. - When prompted to set up your device, select “Restore from iTunes Backup”.
- Connect your new device to iTunes (on the same computer you used to back up your current iPhone). iTunes will ask you to restore from backup or set up as new. Select the backup of your old device and choose Continue.
Note: During the process of restoring your old backup to a new iPhone, you may see the iTunes progress bar pause. If this occurs, please allow for additional time for the restore to complete. - When the restore process is complete, your device will restart. Then it will be ready for use. You should keep your device connected to iTunes to sync data not contained in the backup (such as music, videos, apps, and so on). You can verify and change which data are synced by clicking the syncing tabs in iTunes.
Note: If you restored from an unencrypted backup, you will need to enter password for your Apple ID, email and other accounts and voicemail again. If you’ve forgotten your voicemail password, contact your carrier.
Additional Information
iTunes and iOS do not support installing backups of newer versions of iOS onto devices using earlier versions of iOS. If your backup was taken from a device that has a newer version of iOS installed, update your new devicebefore transferring the information. To learn more, see iOS: Unable to restore from a backup of a newer iOS device.
Learn how to set up your old device so that someone else can use it (set up as a new device).
Learn how to set up your old iPhone to be like an iPod touch (without a carrier plan).
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