Looking for how to switch iPhones? Once you learn about it, the process is really easy. And just in case it wasn’t clear when we say “switching” iPhones, we’re talking about the process of moving over your previous data like contacts and media from the old iPhone to the new one. 

So, if that’s what you’re looking for, then keep on reading!

How to Switch iPhones

Setting Up

When it comes to ease of use in the mobile world, Apple is without a doubt one of the best. Moving from your old iPhone to a new one is remarkably easy. However, there are a few things that must do before moving on with the process. 

If you’ve got an Apple Watch, now is the time to unpair it from your smartphone. The watch will automatically backup everything after unpairing, which means that reconnecting it with your new phone will restore everything as it was. 

After that, you also want to make sure that you have backups from your last iPhone. This can be done in a number of ways, but the easiest and most effective one is using either the iCloud or iTunes. 

Backups are useful not only for moving our files to a new phone but also for security. For example, if something bad happens to the phone, all of your photos, documents, contacts, videos, and anything else will be safely stored on the cloud. 

If you haven’t made your backups yet, we’ll explain how further down below in this article. You also want to have your password and Apple ID ready at hand. That’s assuming that you don’t remember them, of course. 

And last, but not least, check out the SIM card slot of your new iPhone. It may be using a different format (Mini-SIM, Micro-SIM, e-SIM, etc). In which case, you’ll want to head over to your carrier and replace your SIM card with the appropriate size for your new phone. 

Most carriers will do that for free. But, some of them may charge you a few bucks for the service. So, do keep that in mind. 

Now that this is out of the way, let us move on with the guide. 

1: How to Switch iPhones With iCloud

This is by far one of the easiest and quickest ways of switching iPhones. The only thing to remember is that you need to do this while setting up your new phone for the first time. 

If your new phone is already logged in and you haven’t gone through this process, then you may have to wipe it and start from zero again. In any case, just keep on reading and we’ll figure it out. 

The Whole Backup and Restore Process

The first thing you wanna do is backup everything to the iCloud with your old phone. If you’ve already done it, then feel free to skip these steps. If not, now is your chance: 

1. Make sure you’re connected to the Wi-Fi
2. Go to your settings
3. Tap on your name (iCloud for those who are running an older version of iOS)
4. Select “iCloud”
5. Enable “iCloud backup”
6. If the phone doesn’t start backing up automatically at that point, select “Backup now” 

After the old phone finishes backing up, you need to log in with the new one, log in to your account, and then restore everything that was backed up with the old iPhone. To do that: 

1. Power up the phone and erase it if you went through the setup before without bringing your old data to it
2. Keep on going through the on-screen instruction texts until you reach the “Set up your iPhone screen” 
3. Once there, select “Restore from iCloud Backup” 
4. Now is the time to bring up your Apple ID and password. Again, no need to do that if you remember everything
5. Choose the backup that you previously made
6. Wait for the download to finish

Now, do keep in mind that the loading times will greatly vary depending on how you much stuff you backed up and also your internet connection. You may have to wait anywhere from a few minutes to even hours. 

So, if you notice that the restore process is taking a while, consider leaving the phone plugged in and connected to the Internet. It’s not uncommon for those with slow Internet to leave the phone downloading through the night. 

2: How to Switch iPhones With Quick Start

Quick Start is a little bit easier to use, but it also requires you to have at least iOS 11 for a simple setup and at least iOS 12.4 if you wish to transfer files as well. For those who can’t transfer their files due to outdated software, relying on iCloud is pretty much necessary. 

Now, do keep in mind that this process may end up taking a while and it will keep both of your phones busy. So, don’t do it until you’re sure that you won’t need the phones for a while; just to be safe. 

Now that this is out of the way, here is how to use Quick Start: 

1. Make sure that Bluetooth is enabled on both devices
2. Put your new phone right next to the old one and Quick Start should appear (Both phones need to be running at least iOS 11)
3. Insert your Apple ID
4. Use your camera to authenticate or do it manually if, for any reason, you can’t rely on the camera
5. Follow the on-screen instructions
6. Select anything that you want to keep/restore

If you wish to restore anything that was backed up over to iCloud, then an Internet connection is required. Wi-Fi is recommended; otherwise; data charges may apply. 

3: How to Switch iPhones With iTunes

This is a very good solution for those who own a computer and are using a very slow internet connection. That’s because you’ll essentially be backing up everything from your phone to the computer and then back to the new phone. The only thing that you’ll need is an iTunes account/Apple ID.

In order to backup your old data to the computer: 

1. Open iTunes on the PC
2. Select the phone
3. On the summary tab, go to where it says “Automatically Back Up” and select “Back up Now” 
4. Select the “Encrypt iPhone Backup” box if you want to backup passwords and health-related data as well
5. Hit apply
6. And wait for the process to finish

Now that we finished backing up your data to the computer, it’s time to restore them on the new iPhone. To do that :

1. Grab your new iPhone
2. If you’ve set it up before without restoring your data then you need to erase it
3. Follow the instructions until you reach the part where you select what to do with the new device
4. Select “Restore from iTunes Backup” 
5. Connect the phone to the PC 
6. Launch iTunes
7. On the phone summary tab, click on the “Restore Backup” button to the right
8. Enter the password if you are asked to

And that’s about it. Now you just wait and everything should be good to go after the last few steps. Just follow the on-screen instructions until the end.