Is the iCloud backup restore as thorough as the iPhone to iPhone transfer? Does iCloud backup now backup everything? I was under the impression that app data has to be designated by the app developer to be backed up via iCloud. Maybe a direct iPhone to iPhone transfer would copy more things? Or is my knowledge outdated?
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iPhone 15 Pro iCloud backup restore vs iPhone to iPhone transfer?
- Thread starter Avenger
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I went with phone to phone transfer under similar assumptions. But I’m not really positive either way.
I plugged a USB-C to Lightning cable between my 12 Pro Max & 15 Pro Max. Still took 2 hours or so to restore everything. Some things were missing, so this morning I wiped the new phone and did a restore from my Mac. Sadly, in both cases, I couldn't stick around to time them, although the Mac one (with a TB4 cable on a Studio) seemed to be faster. But more like 2x-3x, not 10x or 20x like the data speeds might suggest. Same net results though. Same stuff was still missing (email setups)
I did an iCloud restore. took like 15-20 mins for it to transfer enough stuff to where I could start using the phone. my 20,000 pics and videos restored in like 15 minutes after it booted up and all the apps downloaded quickly for the most part. most things I had to log back into. eSIM transfer took about 2 min to complete. I booted up the 15 first and it proceeded to download the OS update in the beginning of the transfer so no need to log into it or do a DFU update. I wanted to make sure it was on 17.0.2 before attempting the transfer and honestly it went quicker than it ever has before in the past.
only thing that got bonked was the watch transfer. it said it was moving the pairing over from my 13 but it hung up and I ended up needing to backup the watch, erase it and restore for it to pair to the new 15 pro. no biggie overall.
only thing that got bonked was the watch transfer. it said it was moving the pairing over from my 13 but it hung up and I ended up needing to backup the watch, erase it and restore for it to pair to the new 15 pro. no biggie overall.
Phone to phone is still the most thorough, saving you from having to login to accounts while also automatically transferring over your Watch. We did it with two phones and while it took a while (maybe 90 minutes?), neither of us needed to do any additional configuration once complete.
That’s how I did it this time except my watch transfer went smoothly for a change. Last two most recent transfers before that I did phone to phone and it took so long and was a pain in the butt. I now prefer doing the backup from the iCloud.
Except I’m having trouble signing into Google mail accounts from Apple mail app. Last time I couldn’t get Google photos. It’s always something these days.
Does this mean next year we could use a thunderbolt 4 cable between a 15 pro and 16 pro for potentially a fast transfer setup?
I did iCloud since I didn't want to wait to begin exploring the settings; went from iPhone 14 Pro 1TB to iPhone 15 Pro 1TB the over the air update took forever; the phone heated up drastically as it was downloading my apps and other items; the screen self-dimmed and the battery stopped charging until the phone "returns to normal temperatures" but 4 hours later, seamless migration; had to sign in to a ton of apps though including all my authenticators and whatnot but in general iCloud restoration is pretty solid; even made sure both phones were updated (I'm sure it does this with wired also; and it might even be faster, I am just lazy and eager).
The end result was everything moved over EXCEPT logins; your passwords will move over, so will your account settings, most your app settings; but you will need to individually login to each app (bank, adobe, microsoft, google, facebook, instagram, what's app, etc) and re-enable facetime by logging in else you may think your logged in to some apps but no; that's the only manual labor you need to do after (btw some apps did have logins migrate, like Hulu, but Netflix, HBOMax, Disney+, etc. those I had to manually login to once restoration was done).
Now the iPhone is identical to its predecessor.
The end result was everything moved over EXCEPT logins; your passwords will move over, so will your account settings, most your app settings; but you will need to individually login to each app (bank, adobe, microsoft, google, facebook, instagram, what's app, etc) and re-enable facetime by logging in else you may think your logged in to some apps but no; that's the only manual labor you need to do after (btw some apps did have logins migrate, like Hulu, but Netflix, HBOMax, Disney+, etc. those I had to manually login to once restoration was done).
Now the iPhone is identical to its predecessor.
I did iCloud since I didn't want to wait to begin exploring the settings; went from iPhone 14 Pro 1TB to iPhone 15 Pro 1TB the over the air update took forever; the phone heated up drastically as it was downloading my apps and other items; the screen self-dimmed and the battery stopped charging until the phone "returns to normal temperatures" but 4 hours later, seamless migration; had to sign in to a ton of apps though including all my authenticators and whatnot but in general iCloud restoration is pretty solid; even made sure both phones were updated (I'm sure it does this with wired also; and it might even be faster, I am just lazy and eager).
The end result was everything moved over EXCEPT logins; your passwords will move over, so will your account settings, most your app settings; but you will need to individually login to each app (bank, adobe, microsoft, google, facebook, instagram, what's app, etc) and re-enable facetime by logging in else you may think your logged in to some apps but no; that's the only manual labor you need to do after (btw some apps did have logins migrate, like Hulu, but Netflix, HBOMax, Disney+, etc. those I had to manually login to once restoration was done).
Now the iPhone is identical to its predecessor.
Yeah, I wasn't too surprised about that. It's just that I have a Gmail account, iCloud, Exchange, and two other "private ISP" email accounts. The "Big E-mail" accounts all came over. But the other ones, which include my most common email, did not
My Exchange account moved seamlessly, when opening my mail app Exchange was the only account I needed to re-enter my credentials for; my other POP3 and IMAP accounts (including Gmail) all were configured already; since Exchange is cloud driven all the messages downloaded perfectly (attachments, calendar, contacts, etc.) The other accounts since I use POP mostly downloaded mirrors of all my e-mails (except for the super old ones my server had long ago discarded for space or per policy). Gmail and Exchange will always retrain older messages; IMAP and POP varies based on server settings, profile settings and all that hoopla.Yeah, I wasn't too surprised about that. It's just that I have a Gmail account, iCloud, Exchange, and two other "private ISP" email accounts. The "Big E-mail" accounts all came over. But the other ones, which include my most common email, did not
If you want to confirm your older accounts e-mail availability, login to your web mail and see how far it goes - that is usually as far as the Mail app will download your messages. Each server varies by policy, profile and old messages stores on the physical device once downloaded if you migrate and they are no longer on the server, would explain why you didn't get your emails. I too thought physical e-mails stored on the device would move over, but it's actually just settings and the heavy work of downloading all your read and new messages all happens in sync with the mail server; so check your webmail and consider altering settings to keep messages on your server longer in the event that's the issue.
Almost every year I forget that iCloud is faster than phone to phone. At least on my gigabit connection. Reason being that the phone to phone locks you out of using either for an hour or two. iCloud is usable a lot faster and it just does everything else in the background and most my important page one apps load within a few minutes. I was itching to try out the new 120mm camera before it got dark! Maybe I will remember next year.
For me phone to phone transfer was the best. Everything transferred. On iCloud on 2 phones there was about 100 pictures and some videos that never transferred for some reason.
I used to do iCloud restore but now do phone to phone transfer. It is so simple and easy. Apple added it for a reason, I don’t think they would have the option if it was any worse.
The fact it keeps the logins vs iCloud that doesn’t makes it better to do phone to phone. The other way, iCloud, doesn’t seem to have any real benefits.
All I can say it is easier so I do it that way now.
The fact it keeps the logins vs iCloud that doesn’t makes it better to do phone to phone. The other way, iCloud, doesn’t seem to have any real benefits.
All I can say it is easier so I do it that way now.
I always do phone transfer when this feature was made available. It is awesome as it is very convenience. Everything installed and available in the old phone is automatically set-up. No more have to remember what apps needed to be installed in new phone etc. No courage anymore on restoring from iCloud.😁😆
I restored from the Cloud. I had to enter a lot of passwords along with the three digit code for my wallet credit cards. It seems like I always have to do this for every new phone. How can I set up a new phone and have it exactly like the old one without having to enter any info?
The other thing that was strange was that my old GoDaddy accounts moved over. I switched from GoDaddy in December when they tripled prices and removed the “catch all” function. I left the accounts on my phone, but “inactive.” I just need to enter my Siteground account info to set them up.
i wonder if things would have worked better if I’d upgraded the old phone to iOS 17 first? Probably not, but it’s bugging me 😜
you can do phone to phone transfers when you don’t have wifi access. Or a computer handy.
Aye at this point who knows, ideally it would seem smart to bring both master and slave devices to the same software version although that doesn't have, or shouldn't have, impact on the contents that move over. Cheers to getting over these hiccups
Last time I did an iCloud restore, I had to re-enter my email account passwords. I usually don't need to do that with iTunes encrypted restore or iPhone-to-iPhone transfer.
I still had to manually transfer Steam Guard/Authenticator from my old phone to the new one, though.