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Advice on restoring iOS 6 on iPhone 4 and prepping for new 5S

M

msp1518

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 14, 2010
15
0
NYC or thereabouts
I am no iPhone expert and have always found iTunes a nightmare to understand and use (it seems to want to delete everything). So that needs to be stated right up front. The basics...

iPhone 4 8GB Verizon
iTunes 10.0 on a PC

I'm 4 weeks out from my Verizon contract ending with my iPhone 4. My cousin will buy it from me as long as it has iOS 6 on it and NOT 7.

The issue is I want to back up my stuff and wipe my data out properly but am confused by all the contradictory stuff online.

For resetting and deleting some say just go into SETTINGS/GENERAL/RESET and RESET ALL SETTINGS.

Others say use iTunes and as long as it is 10.7 or older click RESTORE.

Which is right? Are both right? Or neither?

Also... I would like my apps, email, photos backed up for when I buy the 5S next month. Should I turn iCloud on for everything? Right now it is not on for my Photostream. It seems to be on for Mail, Contacts, Calenders, Reminders, Safari, Notes, Find My iPhone and Docs & Data.

I did a backup today with iTunes, but have no idea what it backed up. It's just too damned confusing. What to check and what not to check?

Will my long Viber history of conversations, contacts, etc. be backed up or will I lose that? God help me, I don't want to lose my music or ring tones.

So I would greatly appreciate some advice. Thanks!
 
N

numlock

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2006
1,590
88
msp1518 said:
I am no iPhone expert and have always found iTunes a nightmare to understand and use (it seems to want to delete everything). So that needs to be stated right up front. The basics...

iPhone 4 8GB Verizon
iTunes 10.0 on a PC

I'm 4 weeks out from my Verizon contract ending with my iPhone 4. My cousin will buy it from me as long as it has iOS 6 on it and NOT 7.

The issue is I want to back up my stuff and wipe my data out properly but am confused by all the contradictory stuff online.

For resetting and deleting some say just go into SETTINGS/GENERAL/RESET and RESET ALL SETTINGS.

Others say use iTunes and as long as it is 10.7 or older click RESTORE.

Which is right? Are both right? Or neither?

Also... I would like my apps, email, photos backed up for when I buy the 5S next month. Should I turn iCloud on for everything? Right now it is not on for my Photostream. It seems to be on for Mail, Contacts, Calenders, Reminders, Safari, Notes, Find My iPhone and Docs & Data.

I did a backup today with iTunes, but have no idea what it backed up. It's just too damned confusing. What to check and what not to check?

Will my long Viber history of conversations, contacts, etc. be backed up or will I lose that? God help me, I don't want to lose my music or ring tones.

So I would greatly appreciate some advice. Thanks!
Click to expand...

while a restore is a better option in your situation i dont believe you have a choice. the only thing you can do is reset it.

an itunes backup should backup everything (no checkboxes to check there) and restore from that onto a new phone. will you get a new phone before giving this one to your cousin?
 
M

msp1518

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 14, 2010
15
0
NYC or thereabouts
numlock said:
while a restore is a better option in your situation i dont believe you have a choice. the only thing you can do is reset it.

an itunes backup should backup everything (no checkboxes to check there) and restore from that onto a new phone. will you get a new phone before giving this one to your cousin?
Click to expand...

Yes, I will get the new phone first. I am greatly concerned about the ringtones. I am reading horror stories online about iTunes not backing up their ringtones. This is beyond confusing.
 
N

numlock

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2006
1,590
88
msp1518 said:
Yes, I will get the new phone first. I am greatly concerned about the ringtones. I am reading horror stories online about iTunes not backing up their ringtones. This is beyond confusing.
Click to expand...

well then you have the luxury of seeing how the restore works. if the ringtones are in itunes (the music as well) then they should get copied to the new phone as well.

where did those ringtones come from?
 
M

msp1518

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Sep 14, 2010
15
0
NYC or thereabouts
I believe a few were purchased. Many I made long ago and came from my Blackberry. I did just find an old folder on an external drive that has most of them.

The thing about iTunes is it seems to want to erase everything when syncing so i never do. Honestly it is terribly confusing. I have watched numerous tutorials on it but can never figure it out. What do i check or not check, etc? So i just don't sync anything for fear of doing harm.

I turned on icloud a few hours ago and it has been syncing over WiFi but i am thinking that won't do anything with my actual ringtones or music. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
N

numlock

macrumors 68000
Mar 13, 2006
1,590
88
msp1518 said:
I believe a few were purchased. Many I made long ago and came from my Blackberry. I did just find an old folder on an external drive that has most of them.

The thing about iTunes is it seems to want to erase everything when syncing so i never do. Honestly it is terribly confusing. I have watched numerous tutorials on it but can never figure it out. What do i check or not check, etc? So i just don't sync anything for fear of doing harm.

I turned on icloud a few hours ago and it has been syncing over WiFi but i am thinking that won't do anything with my actual ringtones or music. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...

regarding itunes if i were you i would upload screenshots of all the tabs in itunes for the iphone when its plugged in
 
DoctorKrabs

DoctorKrabs

macrumors 6502a
Jul 12, 2013
689
882
msp1518 said:
I'm 4 weeks out from my Verizon contract ending with my iPhone 4. My cousin will buy it from me as long as it has iOS 6 on it and NOT 7.

The issue is I want to back up my stuff and wipe my data out properly but am confused by all the contradictory stuff online.

For resetting and deleting some say just go into SETTINGS/GENERAL/RESET and RESET ALL SETTINGS.

Others say use iTunes and as long as it is 10.7 or older click RESTORE.

Which is right? Are both right? Or neither?
Click to expand...


If you want it to stay on iOS 6, DO NOT use iTunes to restore. iTunes will only successfully restore the phone to iOS 7.1.2.

You will have to go to General > Reset > ERASE ALL CONTENT AND SETTINGS, not Reset All Settings.

That will delete everything from the phone and make it as if it were turned on for the first time. It will stay on iOS 6. Make sure you have everything backed up on iTunes and on iCloud in case anything goes wrong.

iCloud backups keep ringtones, but iTunes backups do not. I recommend restoring from iCloud on your new phone for that reason.
 
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