iPhone 11 Pro Debating whether to upgrade after WeChat gets banned

[kevjen888]

I’m currently on IUP and was definitely going to upgrade to 12 next month. But with the news of WeChat gets banned next week I’m having second thought. I use WeChat a lot to communicate with my family back in China. After 9/20 it won’t be available on App Store for download. I do back up my current phone regularly, but I’m afraid something would go wrong during the restore process onto my new phone and WeChat will somehow not get installed back onto the new phone.

How reliable is the the iCloud backup? Do apps disappear when need to restore?

 

[Wando64]

I guess you could return the phone if it doesn’t install propery.

 

[chrfr]

I’m currently on IUP and was definitely going to upgrade to 12 next month. But with the news of WeChat gets banned next week I’m having second thought. I use WeChat a lot to communicate with my family back in China. After 9/20 it won’t be available on App Store for download. I do back up my current phone regularly, but I’m afraid something would go wrong during the restore process onto my new phone and WeChat will somehow not get installed back onto the new phone.

How reliable is the the iCloud backup? Do apps disappear when need to restore?

iCloud does not back up the actual apps, only their data. Any app that is totally removed from the App Store, as will likely be the case with WeChat, will not be reinstalled to a new phone.

 

[kevjen888]

iCloud does not back up the actual apps, only their data. Any app that is totally removed from the App Store, as will likely be the case with WeChat, will not be reinstalled to a new phone.

so iCloud backup just backing up the app data, the actually app would have to be downloaded from the app store onto the new phone. so if wechat isn't available at that time then i'm out of luck, is this correct?

 

[acorntoy]

The “phone to phone” transfer is amazing. As far as I can tell it just copies everything over. Used it the other day when I got a replacement XS Max. I’ve had trouble with both backup to computer and iCloud so to see that work was great.

 

[kevjen888]

The “phone to phone” transfer is amazing. As far as I can tell it just copies everything over. Used it the other day when I got a replacement XS Max. I’ve had trouble with both backup to computer and iCloud so to see that work was great.

i just did a quick google search, phone to phone only for Verizon customers? I’m using T-Mobile

 

[chrfr]

i just did a quick google search, phone to phone only for Verizon customers? I’m using T-Mobile

That migration is independent of cell provider. I still don't think it actually copies the actual apps.

 

[acorntoy]

That migration is independent of cell provider. I still don't think it actually copies the actual apps.

Mhhm darn. It was quite more reliable than the other backups though.

 

[nrvous1]

i just did a quick google search, phone to phone only for Verizon customers? I’m using T-Mobile

It works with T-Mobile customers as well. I just did phone-to-phone yesterday with my 11 pro to pro max.

 

[JPack]

Buy the iPhone, visit Canada to download the app, then go back across the border.

Even then, I'm not sure it will work properly due to U.S. firewalls. Overall, it's a bad situation for Americans even if you have the app. Perhaps you can subscribe to a Canadian or Australian VPN for continued service?

 

[ian87w]

Buy the iPhone, visit Canada to download the app, then go back across the border.

Even then, I'm not sure it will work properly due to U.S. firewalls. Overall, it's a bad situation for Americans even if you have the app. Perhaps you can subscribe to a Canadian or Australian VPN for continued service?

US Firewalls? Do those things even exist? I mean does the US government manage to enforce IP traffic control to the internet backbone and all US ISPs?

 

[acorntoy]

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The software macrumors is promoting is capable of downloading the .ipa (App) and saving it so if it is deleted from the store it can be transferred to a new phone. Judging from the description it needs to be on the App Store to initially download (not off your phone) so if you want to explore this route I’d do it before Sunday. There are also competitors that do the same. I just thought it was funny this was on the front page.

 

[ian87w]

I’m currently on IUP and was definitely going to upgrade to 12 next month. But with the news of WeChat gets banned next week I’m having second thought. I use WeChat a lot to communicate with my family back in China. After 9/20 it won’t be available on App Store for download. I do back up my current phone regularly, but I’m afraid something would go wrong during the restore process onto my new phone and WeChat will somehow not get installed back onto the new phone.

How reliable is the the iCloud backup? Do apps disappear when need to restore?

If you don't mind having two phones, I would just grab a cheap Android phone and sideload wechat on it.

Or you can create a non-US iTunes account to download wechat. As I understand it, it would only be banned in the US app store.

 

[JPack]

US Firewalls? Do those things even exist? I mean does the US government manage to enforce IP traffic control to the internet backbone and all US ISPs?

The new law says businesses must, so national service providers will comply by using firewalls. Whether the firewall is centralized or not, the effect is the same.

 

[acorntoy]

US Firewalls? Do those things even exist? I mean does the US government manage to enforce IP traffic control to the internet backbone and all US ISPs?

If anything you wouldn’t be able to change the store from your first selection on your Apple ID.

The new law says businesses must, so national service providers will comply by using firewalls. Whether the firewall is centralized or not, the effect is the same.

I imagine Apple will block people from having an iTunes account changed to a different country and then downloading it if it was first set to U.S

Using VPN (if it’s address isn’t flagged as fake) + New account in foreign country should work just fine. But then you’d have to deal with two accounts.

 

[JPack]

I imagine Apple will block people from having an iTunes account changed to a different country and then downloading it if it was first set to U.S

Using VPN (if it’s address isn’t flagged as fake) + New account in foreign country should work just fine. But then you’d have to deal with two accounts.

That would be pretty strange. Apple currently allows users to change country settings because people legitimately move and travel for work and study. Apple engineers traveling to their R&D centers and partner factories included.

I suspect Apple will remove the app from the U.S. App Store but leave everything else to network operators. That’s not their legal responsibility. Which should mean a booming business for Canadian VPN providers.

 

[EM2013]

so iCloud backup just backing up the app data, the actually app would have to be downloaded from the app store onto the new phone. so if wechat isn't available at that time then i'm out of luck, is this correct?

If it’s no longer in the App Store you will not be able to install it.

 

[kevjen888]

What if I do a full back of my current phone to my Mac then do a restore on my new phone. Will that work?

 

[ian87w]

The new law says businesses must, so national service providers will comply by using firewalls. Whether the firewall is centralized or not, the effect is the same.

Not trying to debate, but I'm just trying to understand what the actual restrictions are.

From reuters:

The order bars data hosting within the United States for WeChat, content delivery services and networks that can increase functionality and internet transit or peering services.

“What immediately is going to happen is users are going to experience a lag or lack of functionality,” a senior Commerce official said of WeChat users. “It may still be usable but it is not going to be as functional as it was.” There may be sporadic outages as well, the official said.

Seems like US will ban local servers for WeChat, but won't actually block the traffic. Meaning that Wechat can still function, just not optimal since there will be no local servers allowed.

 

[Givmeabrek]

What if I do a full back of my current phone to my Mac then do a restore on my new phone. Will that work?

Apps are not backed up period...

 

[ian87w]

If anything you wouldn’t be able to change the store from your first selection on your Apple ID.

I imagine Apple will block people from having an iTunes account changed to a different country and then downloading it if it was first set to U.S

Using VPN (if it’s address isn’t flagged as fake) + New account in foreign country should work just fine. But then you’d have to deal with two accounts.

You could.

Change your Apple ID country or region - Apple Support

You might need to update the country or region for your Apple ID. Learn how.

support.apple.com

Or one can simply create another iTunes account for another non-US region. The only downside is that unlike Android, iOS doesn't allow multiple iTunes accounts in one device logged in at the same time. A hassle, but doable. I do exactly this to download some games that are only available in countries like Japan.

 

[EM2013]

What if I do a full back of my current phone to my Mac then do a restore on my new phone. Will that work?

The device will download each of your apps one by one from the App Store when you restore.

If it’s no longer in the App Store you will not be able to install it.

 

[acorntoy]

What if I do a full back of my current phone to my Mac then do a restore on my new phone. Will that work?

I believe that using a third party software to download the actual app on a computer is the only option if you wish to continue to have the same user experience as you have now.

 

[maerz001]

I believe that using a third party software to download the actual app on a computer is the only option if you wish to continue to have the same user experience as you have now.

I believe that doesn’t work

 

[petercoffin80]

I’m currently on IUP and was definitely going to upgrade to 12 next month. But with the news of WeChat gets banned next week I’m having second thought. I use WeChat a lot to communicate with my family back in China. After 9/20 it won’t be available on App Store for download. I do back up my current phone regularly, but I’m afraid something would go wrong during the restore process onto my new phone and WeChat will somehow not get installed back onto the new phone.

How reliable is the the iCloud backup? Do apps disappear when need to restore?

Icloud is used for backup data not apps.