iPhone 12 Clue me in

[WeatherWeasel]

I am 73 and at the age when I should be FTD (Fixing to die) but not yet. I have a question about upgrading from my iPhone 8 Plus to anything newer. If I order a phone from Apple, can I set it up with my carrier I have on the older phone myself or should I make an appointment to go in to the local store and have them do it as I have always done.

I can do the electronics and all, but need some clarification. I see that I can place the new phone by the old phone and there i a procedure for transferring setting, data and all that wireless, but I have Verizon and have wondered about getting that activated on my new phone . Can that be done at home too?

Not sure which phone i am going to go for, Kind of hanging around to see what the iPhone 13 has that is better that the 12. I am interested in Watch 7 because of the blood glucose. I can set up the watch just fine.

 

[now i see it]

From what I've heard, if you want 5G service (if it's available where you are) you'll probably need a new SIM card to utilize 5G. But if you don't care about 5G at least for now, you can just swap the SIM card from your 8 Plus into the new iPhone and you'll be set.
Best to back up your 8 plus to a Mac and iCloud, then as you say, the two iPhones can have sex and transfer info.
If that method doesn't work for some reason, set up the new iPhone from your backup either from your Mac or iCloud. ICloud has always worked flawlessly for me.

 

[Spudlicious]

I also am 73 and RTD (refusing to die) while there is such a wonderful flow of new toys. The OP can be assured that Apple make migration to a new phone easy-peasy; in fairness all phone makers do. Your carrier will detect your sim has been transferred to a different phone and may send settings that will self-install. As far as I know 5G does not require a new sim just an extra payment but I'm willing to be corrected on that.

Grey wolves unite! Power to the elderly people!

 

[Apple_Robert]

When you get your new phone, you can use your current phone to transfer user settings over to the new phone in 1 simple step. Apple makes it very easy for FTD and RTD people. You shouldn't need to have Apple help you. If you have a question or a problem, we can help you from the comfort of your home.

 

[Thirio2]

Migrating ip6 to ip12 pro was easy. Getting my new phone to work with T-Mobile was not. I got my new phone months after the takeover (merger?) with Sprint and there was some issue with the SIM card. It took over an hour at the T-Mobile store with a very patient store employee talking to two levels of tech support to get me able to make and receive calls. All has been well since. Age is a state of mind.

 

[CrashTestWalrus]

I moved from an iPhone XS to a 12 Pro and it was the easiest it has been. I transferred directly from phone to phone and then was prompted by the iPhone 12 Pro that I could move the service from my old iPhone to my new phone. I was curious if that would actually work since it seemed to be suggesting it would activate the eSIM on the new phone and transfer service. Once that completed the physical SIM in my iPhone XS would be deactivated. I figured it likely wouldn’t work because I had problems previously with using just the eSIM on AT&T on my iPhone XS and gave up, went to the store and asked for a SIM card back. To my surprise it worked fine though, I was prompted on the old phone that a new iPhone wanted my service and it wanted me to OK that. So I did and everything transferred over. The only thing I did have to do is call AT&T and change plans to get 5G service since I was on an older plan that didn’t include it. Long winded way of saying you have got this, it seems to be easier than ever to swap phones these days. And if you need some help you can always ask here, we are always happy to help.

 

[valinda]

You can purchase from Apple directly. I would suggest you order the sim free model, not the Verizon one. It should save you the upgrade fee(which is a scam) You can use the same SIM card you have now, but it will be without 5G.
When I purchased my sim free model last February I let the Apple guy set it up for me. He gave me an extra Verizon 5G SIM card, no cost, and told me to bring it to Verizon to have them activate it if I wanted 5G.
My phone worked fine with the old 4G card. I took it to Verizon to have it activated, they didn’t charge me anything.
5G is not much better than 4G right now. I turned it off in settings so my battery last longer. If I were you, I would just use my old SIM card.

 

[canuckRus]

Merely put phones beside each other, tick country, language, agree and scan coded circle. All automatic from there.

 

[ian87w]

I am 73 and at the age when I should be FTD (Fixing to die) but not yet. I have a question about upgrading from my iPhone 8 Plus to anything newer. If I order a phone from Apple, can I set it up with my carrier I have on the older phone myself or should I make an appointment to go in to the local store and have them do it as I have always done.

I can do the electronics and all, but need some clarification. I see that I can place the new phone by the old phone and there i a procedure for transferring setting, data and all that wireless, but I have Verizon and have wondered about getting that activated on my new phone . Can that be done at home too?

Not sure which phone i am going to go for, Kind of hanging around to see what the iPhone 13 has that is better that the 12. I am interested in Watch 7 because of the blood glucose. I can set up the watch just fine.

Apple has a guide for this

Transfer data from your previous iOS or iPadOS device to your new iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Set up your new iOS or iPadOS device from a backup of your previous iPhone or iPad.

support.apple.com

With the device to device transfer feature, it is quite easy imo. I've done it for a friend and I'm still quite amazed how simple it was.

 

[ghanwani]

I am 73 and at the age when I should be FTD (Fixing to die) but not yet.

I also am 73 and RTD (refusing to die) while there is such a wonderful flow of new toys.

I thought 73 was the new 33.

As long as you don't have any significant health issues, you could go another 40 years, maybe longer if they find a way to reverse aging.

So definitely a good idea to stay on top of technology.

 

[bevsb2]

Setting up a new phone is easily done as everyone has stated here. However, there is nothing wrong with choosing to have it done by your carrier or at the Apple store if that is not inconvenient. If there is any problem with the new phone (unlikely) or the transfer you have help readily available. I often set up new phones at the Apple store to be sure the phone is satisfactory before taking it home as I can be picky about screen irregularities.

 

[HDFan]

With esims I have had no problem with my last few upgrades. Just called my carrier (T-Mobile), gave them the relevant numbers (from about preferences) and it was done.

 

[WeatherWeasel]

thank you. I have Verizon and they have 5g. I am going to wait to see what apple claims their phone 13 does and decide between that and a new watch 7. if the phone has something worth the expense, I will get that, if not heading to the 12 series. My 8Plus is a tad heavy and the battery drains quickly.

I appreciate very much all the help here. Now to figure if I am wearing my glasses and set up the face recognition,, will it recognize me if I don't or the otherway around. I only wear the glasses for seeing and fighting.

 

[HDFan]

Now to figure if I am wearing my glasses and set up the face recognition,, will it recognize me if I don't or the otherway around.

Yes.