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Does restoring from backup impact performance?

JerTheGeek

JerTheGeek

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 15, 2014
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Hello all, so I'm getting the iPhone 7 Plus when it comes out, and I'm trying to decide whether to set up as new, or restore from a backup.
I've always usually done the restore thing using iTunes, and I've heard that maybe it impacts performance by bringing "junk" over to the new device. Is this true? Does restoring from a backup on a brand new device affect performance at all? Is it better to just setup as new? Or is it fine to restore without any effects like this?
 
I've been restoring from backups for over 5 years. No problems. I don't intend to ever set up from scratch. Seems to me like a waste of time, and in spite of others who will no doubt say differently, I've seen nothing to suggest that performance is affected.
 
joeblow7777 said:
I've been restoring from backups for over 5 years. No problems. I don't intend to ever set up from scratch. Seems to me like a waste of time, and in spite of others who will no doubt say differently, I've seen nothing to suggest that performance is affected.
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Thanks for the info.
 
Agree with Joeblow7777. Been doing it for years and never had a problem. Did an encrypted iTunes backup and restore only took lees that 5 minutes with all passwords and health info set up and ready to go.
 
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I've heard this as well and I'm genuinely curious. Speaking from my own usage (using iPhones since 4s) - I can't tell the difference in "speed" but I've definitely heard the rumors of "junk" and what not. On my Android phones years ago, there was definitely a HUGE difference between a "clean" device and a restored backup. I don't notice anything on my iPhones though. I've had the habit of setting phone up as new every 2 years when I upgrade but now I don't bother anymore. iOS 10? I'm not setting up as new.
 
Up until a few months ago, I'd agree with people who say that restoring from backup has no effect (I've also been doing it for years).

However, I recently changed my phone (got an SE) and had a major issue with my health data: Steps from my watch would not update to health and no amount of resetting and restoring fixed it.

I still had my old phone and pairing my watch back to it worked fine and steps updated. I tried backing up to iCloud and to iTunes multiple times and restoring to my new phone but nothing would work to get my steps coming across

After many hours of fruitless conversations with Apple Support, the only solution they could come up with was to set the phone up as new. It worked and the watch started updating my steps again, but I lost every single bit of data I had in Apple Health (which I was less than impressed about!)
 
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Phil A. said:
It worked and the watch started updating my steps again, but I lost every single bit of data I had in Apple Health (which I was less than impressed about!)
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I had a similar experience. Lost ALL my Apple Health data (years worth). Man, that pissed me off so bad. Reset can definitely fix problems.
 
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Phil A. said:
Up until a few months ago, I'd agree with people who say that restoring from backup has no effect (I've also been doing it for years).

However, I recently changed my phone (got an SE) and had a major issue with my health data: Steps from my watch would not update to health and no amount of resetting and restoring fixed it.

After many hours of fruitless conversations with Apple Support, the only solution they could come up with was to set the phone up as new. It worked and the watch started updating my steps again, but I lost every single bit of data I had in Apple Health (which I was less than impressed about!)
Click to expand...
So, would you still restore from backups after having this issue?
 
One thing that I should mention is that in all but one case my backup was made based on the same version of iOS that I was restoring to.

I wonder if those who have had problems were going from an older version to a newer one, and if maybe that increases the likelihood of issues.
 
joeblow7777 said:
One thing that I should mention is that in all but one case my backup was made based on the same version of iOS that I was restoring to.

I wonder if those who have had problems were going from an older version to a newer one, and if maybe that increases the likelihood of issues.
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Could be. I'll be upgrading my 6 to the public release of 10, backing up, then restoring my 7 plus to it as soon as I get it unboxed most likely.
 
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JerTheGeek said:
Could be. I'll be upgrading my 6 to the public release of 10, backing up, then restoring my 7 plus to it as soon as I get it unboxed most likely.
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By the time you get your 7 plus the final wide release of 10 should be out. I suggest upgrading to that before backing up, so both phones will be on exactly the same OS.
 
joeblow7777 said:
By the time you get your 7 plus the final wide release of 10 should be out. I suggest upgrading to that before backing up, so both phones will be on exactly the same OS.
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Yes exactly, that is what I plan on doing, should yield the best results hopefully. I did the same when I got my 6 last year, restored from a backup using iTunes and it worked fine.
 
JerTheGeek said:
Hello all, so I'm getting the iPhone 7 Plus when it comes out, and I'm trying to decide whether to set up as new, or restore from a backup.
I've always usually done the restore thing using iTunes, and I've heard that maybe it impacts performance by bringing "junk" over to the new device. Is this true? Does restoring from a backup on a brand new device affect performance at all? Is it better to just setup as new? Or is it fine to restore without any effects like this?
Click to expand...
I got an iPhone 3GS from my sister for Christmas 2011. My current iPhone 6s+ was restored to a backup that originated with that 3GS in September of last year when I got it.

I've never had an issue with it and my backup has been on jailbroken iPhones, every version from 5 to 9.

EDIT: Do note that I keep nothing on my device I cannot afford to lose. Anything of value is transferred from the device. So, if I ever lost my data it would be a PITA to recreate but not a tragedy. My important things such as contacts, mail, music are stored in different clouds (not iCloud) so unless Google or Dropbox servers go belly up I'll never lose that. Simple matter of reconnecting it. And there's nothing of importance really in my text messages because the really important stuff is discussed in person with my wife.
 
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Never had a problem either. But, agree about being on same iOS.

Concur with comment on Android phones. I always set up new. But, I did lot of rooting and flashing roms. Did not want any "junk" left behind. So, if your iphone is not having any issues, Restore. You can always set up as new if needed. 98% chance you won't need to. Do an itunes encrypted restore from your computer.
 
So it sounds like from many people's experiences there is no performance difference when restoring from a backup?
 
You miss the little speed difference of having an empty device which is faster technically but you'll still be getting a significant speed bump per generation anyway.
 
Gav2k said:
You miss the little speed difference of having an empty device which is faster technically but you'll still be getting a significant speed bump per generation anyway.
Click to expand...
But theoretically once you put your stuff back on it would perform the same whether that stuff was restored or just manually put back on, right?
 
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