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So for anyone who has tested how long would it take to transfer a virtually ‘full’ 256GB iPhone to a new phone?
Are we talking a couple of hours or quicker? Thank you in advance!
 
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This is just me, but, I always start fresh (except for contacts/calendar/notes/reminders) when I get a new phone. :)
Me too… And I also use the Apple iPhone Upgrade program so I never have the old one to transfer over to the new one. I'm not even sure who would use this? How many people have 2 iPhones?
 
Me too… And I also use the Apple iPhone Upgrade program so I never have the old one to transfer over to the new one. I'm not even sure who would use this? How many people have 2 iPhones?
Also anyone replacing a damaged or malfunctioned iPhone via courier. My Apple Store is over 100 miles away and I’m disabled so I can’t do that I don’t use iCloud because I don’t like it and now I can get a replacement phone and sync both of them together without having to spend a whole week trying to get my settings right and downloading loads of apps and data.
 
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I may do that with my next phone, just to get rid of the cruft built up over time.

so do we know that the "cruft build up" transfers over with this process? i was hesitant to use it and ended up just setting up my phone as new. which takes so long, but at least it's safe)
 
Me too… And I also use the Apple iPhone Upgrade program so I never have the old one to transfer over to the new one. I'm not even sure who would use this? How many people have 2 iPhones?

That used to be the case with the iPhone upgrade program but now you have the option of getting the new phone mailed to you and then you've got a window (2 weeks?) where you have to return the old phone. I like this so much better than when I had to give back the old phone at the Apple Store when I got my new phone.
 
so do we know that the "cruft build up" transfers over with this process? i was hesitant to use it and ended up just setting up my phone as new. which takes so long, but at least it's safe)
I’m not totally convinced on this cruft thing, it feels like a modern tech urban legend. I’ve had a large amounts of other on a phone that’s a year old and I’m not completely sure that loads of useless data is actually transferred. Also if you bought a new phone and it malfunctioned and you need to have it replaced this would be a great way of doing that without setting up as new all over again. I think the days of wondering what’s coming from previous backups isn’t such an issue a bit like on macs when everyone was repairing disc permissions in the past but after they removed that option most people have forgotten that was even a function of the old OSX.
 
I’m not totally convinced on this cruft thing, it feels like a modern tech urban legend. I’ve had a large amounts of other on a phone that’s a year old and I’m not completely sure that loads of useless data is actually transferred. Also if you bought a new phone and it malfunctioned and you need to have it replaced this would be a great way of doing that without setting up as new all over again. I think the days of wondering what’s coming from previous backups isn’t such an issue a bit like on macs when everyone was repairing disc permissions in the past but after they removed that option most people have forgotten that was even a function of the old OSX.

unfortunately i think it's still an issue. i'm pretty sure at some point i set up the same model phone as "new" and it was much snappier( :)) than the other one running for a year or two.

what about "first aid"? is it that different from disc permissions?
 
In most upgrade situations I would run e newer iOS version on my old device than the new device is delivered with. I guess the migration wouldn't work then aka most cases.
 
Right. You actually a Mac user? If so. Take a look around in the Application Support folders and find the skeletons of applications long since "Deleted". iOS really isn't any different. Not mention the bombs left in iCloud/Game Center etc... from applications that "sync" or back up their settings in there.
iOS is not macOS. They may start from the same Unix kernel, but iOS is from bottom up is a single-user OS, designed to avoid the very cruft you're talking about. Single-user allows for a different architecture. iOS was designed so that deleting an app clears everything associated with the app.

In macOS, the vast majority of apps are installed at the system level. While each User folder has its own Applications folder (should a user or developer want the installation to be limited to that user), by default apps are installed at the system level, where they can be accessed by all Users. Further, apps are allowed to add new components to the OS (kernel extensions, startup items, and login items). Fewer restrictions on the freedom of developers, greater opportunity for the installation of malware and cruft.

In iOS the app container (folder) includes everything associated with that app - code, user data, app configurations, etc. Whether the app misbehaves or is simply unwanted, Delete is designed to clean house. Further, unlike Mac, an iOS app cannot install kernel extensions (kexts), login items, etc. It's all part of Apple's design for safety - isolate each app so it can't modify/undermine the system as a whole, either when it's installed or when it's gone.

Over time, Apple responded to demands to modify this behavior, so that app data can be preserved when the app is deleted. So now we can Offload apps (and the OS will even offload un-used apps automatically, if we wish). What happens is that the app container is preserved, but only the app is deleted from the container.

Just within the past week there was a fairly active debate here with someone who was complaining that the iOS convention of deleting data with the app was a "violation of standards;" that no other OS (including Mac) does it this way. Now we have someone claiming that iOS is exactly the same as Mac. So, which is it?

Why is ‘Other’ so big in my iPhone storage then? It’s unexplainable and over 10GB+. Could be the cruft the previous commenter is referring to.

per https://support.apple.com/HT209249, "Other" includes:
  • Other: Everything else, like system files, software updates, Siri voices, cached files, logs, and more.
iOS only displays the top categories. If a category doesn't take much space, it might be counted as "Other." Storage space taken by "System" is a combination of space taken by iOS and its supporting files. The amount of space required by "System" varies from device to device depending on the device type, model, country, carrier, Siri voices, and more.
Some of "Other" is going to be preserved in iTunes/iCloud backups, or transferred using this new feature. many parts of "Other" are never backed-up. Of the items specifically identified on the list above only Siri voices are backed up - system files, uninstalled software updates, cached files, and logs are not backed up.

As I noted earlier, app data and configuration files are stored in the app's container (folder) - the amount of storage attributed to an app (in Settings > General > iPhone Storage) includes all of that.
 
This is just me, but, I always start fresh (except for contacts/calendar/notes/reminders) when I get a new phone. :)
Well, for people who just use their phones sparingly (relative to heavy/typical users in 2019 and more typical of 2007-2009 usage), that’s fine. For people who have many, many apps and don’t want to manually reinstall and more to the point lose saved data associated with many of those apps, this method doesn’t work out well.
 
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The lack of syncing photos is mind boggling to me. I have a massive photos library, and even on fast wifi it takes often well over a day when I bring a new device online (and restore the device). I mean it's clearly doing some background speed download (even if photos is in front) so it can take forever, and given this would allow point-to-point communications then let me go at full speed (especially if wired). Never understood that photos have to sync from the online library vs. simply copying the library from your prior device. I suppose this gets rid of library catalog corruption, and I know apple downloads various sized files based on device storage size, so maybe they feel it's more important to optimize rather than get the user going quickly....
 
Well, for people who just use their phones sparingly (relative to heavy/typical users in 2019 and more typical of 2007-2009 usage), that’s fine. For people who have many, many apps and don’t want to manually reinstall and more to the point lose saved data associated with many of those apps, this method doesn’t work out well.

I'm a pretty heavy user but I don't mind going through this every 2-3 years.
 
Me too… And I also use the Apple iPhone Upgrade program so I never have the old one to transfer over to the new one. I'm not even sure who would use this? How many people have 2 iPhones?

So with the Apple Upgrade Program you never get both iPhones at the same time? You have to return the old iPhone when you get your new iPhone. This means you have no working iPhone when getting home and restoring the backup?

Here in Norway the carrier Telenor offers a service called SWAP where you get a new phone every year and pay a monthly fee, almost exactly the same as Apple Upgrade Program.

When you order a new iPhone they mail it home and you have both iPhones for a few days to transfer/restore data and test everything before sending the old back.
After returning the old one it is placed into quarantine for 14 days and then you get an SMS/email confirming receipt of the old iPhone.
 
So with the Apple Upgrade Program you never get both iPhones at the same time? You have to return the old iPhone when you get your new iPhone. This means you have no working iPhone when getting home and restoring the backup?

They used to make you take your old phone to the Apple Store and then they would hand you a new phone. Thankfully this isn't a requirement anymore.
 
unfortunately i think it's still an issue. i'm pretty sure at some point i set up the same model phone as "new" and it was much snappier( :)) than the other one running for a year or two.

what about "first aid"? That it that different from disc permissions?
Yes first aid is checking the actual disk where as disk permissions with something completely different they were Permissions and file settings that affect the ability to read, write, or execute files. You ended up with loads of them generally after an update, and not all of them went away either. You verified and then repaired them, the feature was removed iwith El Capitan and they were protected after that. Running a cleanup of disk permissions was always once again maybe an old myth that helped to make your Mac run faster, I think the process is probably automated now.

I’m in a dilemma now because the iPhone XS that was sent to me as a replacement wasn’t sealed properly at the bottom so I’m having a brand new one sent to me tomorrow as a sorry for the inconvenience, in fact it was only manufactured last month and now I’m thinking do I set it up as new or do I set it up using the new system :confused:
 
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Yes first aid is checking the actual disk where as disk permissions with something completely different and you ended up with loads of them generally after an update, and not all of them went away either. Running a cleanup of disk permissions was always one of once again the old myths that helped to make your Mac run faster and sometimes I think you did, I think the process is probably automated now.

I’m in a dilemma now because the iPhone XS that was sent to me as a replacement wasn’t sealed properly at the bottom so I’m having a brand new one sent to me tomorrow as a sorry for the inconvenience, in fact it was only manufactured last month and now I’m thinking do I set it up as new or do I set it up using the new system :confused:

the first time i found out what permission repair was and ran it, it took about 40 minutes for it to complete, but after it did my computer ran twice as fast! this was 2004, i think.

how old is the iphone set up you have now?
 
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the first time i found out what permission repair was and ran it, it took about 40 minutes for it to complete, but after it did my computer ran twice as fast! this was 2004, i think.

how old is the iphone set up you have now?
Only about a month old if that The replacement phone I set up as new as my original iPhone Xs which I purchased at launch died because the ambient light sensor failed, and the replacement had to be updated to 12.3.1 from 12.1.4 and then to 12.4. I imagine the brand-new unit tomorrow will have 12.3.1 on it and will need updating to 12.4
 
Only about a month old if that The replacement phone I set up as new as my original iPhone Xs which I purchased at launch died because the ambient light sensor failed, and the replacement had to be updated to 12.3.1 from 12.1.4 and then to 12.4. I imagine the brand-new unit tomorrow will have 12.3.1 on it and will need updating to 12.4

i'm sure you're ok to do a transfer and save yourself some time! :)
 
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Only about a month old if that The replacement phone I set up as new as my original iPhone Xs which I purchased at launch died because the ambient light sensor failed, and the replacement had to be updated to 12.3.1 from 12.1.4 and then to 12.4. I imagine the brand-new unit tomorrow will have 12.3.1 on it and will need updating to 12.4

I've hit problems like that before. I upgraded my existing phone to the very latest point release of the new version of iOS and made a backup. Got the new iPhone in the mail which was running the release version of the new version of iOS and I couldn't upgrade it because so many people were trying to upgrade on launch day. I couldn't restore my backup on the new phone because the backup was done with a newer version of iOS than what the new phone was running. I had to wait until I was able to upgrade my new phone before I could restore.
 
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Does this data migration feature work for music or movies that are no longer available on iTunes? I have several classical music compilations that are no longer available on iTunes.
 
Im not a expert in security but what about a thief that get an iPhone luckly unlocked. They can transfer all your info to a new iPhone without a iCloud password or anything? Are you serious? Even if they apply flight mode so you can't delete your stolen phone online while is being cloned? This is a serious risk. Correct me if I am wrong or tell me you have to activate or deactivate this function by an iCloud password. Thanks
 
Please could you confirm that iTunes 12.6.5.3 does indeed work with Mojave. According to Apple’s website, this version does not work (is not supported) with Mojave. It has held me from upgrading to Mojave since I did not want to loose it once upgrading. I would greatly appreciate your response. Thanks.
It works. But not as perfect as it used to be.
Head to the following thread and the linked threads to evaluate your usage/situation and see if it is for you.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/mojave-10-14-4-not-compatible-with-itunes-12-6-5.2174977/
 
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