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iOS 11 Makes Setting Up New Devices Super Easy
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I see zero reason why the NFC chip built into the iPhone 6 and 6s is really any different than the NFC chip built into Android phones from those years. Apple Pay with the iPhone 6 worked usually out-of-the-box with existing NFC terminals in stores around the world, without those terminals needing any modification.
Apple had made it very clear until iOS 11, that only Apple apps and the OS could use this NFC chip. This had been lamented for quite some time (eg, because it complicated the pairing of cameras with iPhones).
I cannot prove anything with absolute certainty, I just find my assumptions to be much more sensible than yours (that Apple wasn't using 'proper' NFC chips in the iPhone 6 and 6s, or however you phrased it).
Oh I didn’t say “proper” or imply that they were incorrect chips. I said “that NFC chip is only in iPhone 7 or later”. The one that is enabled for NFC tag reading by hardware design or otherwise.
Thanks for putting words in my mouth!
And it isn’t simply laziness. There’s a very specific reason why it’s not enabled for more, reasons which we aren’t permitted to know or will find out in September.
Your words were: "new features of the NFC chip" which means the older NFC chips (in the iPhone 6 & 6s) didn't have those features. And since most of those new NFC features available to third-party apps in iOS 11 are fairly standard features that NFC chips in Android phones have supported for years, you were implying the iPhone 6 & 6s didn't have the same fairly standard NFC chips of the Android phones of those years.
Linked to Manu's point, is anyone aware whether this copies your settings exactly?
I don't use iCloud and don't want to, but every time I set up a new iPhone, Apple tries to strongly encourage me to enable it.
I'm a little concerned that if I use an automatic approach that they will just go ahead and do it.
Hopefully not, because if it does copy my exact settings, it could make the process quite a bit quicker when I pick up the iPhone 8.
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Yes, will be interesting to see what proves to be the best approach to setting up a new phone.
I wonder if this will restore as much as an encrypted iTunes backup?
For example, game data that allows you to carry on, on the level you were on at the point of when the backup was taken (example, if I had been on level 20 of a particular game) the restore would put me back on to that level when I went to play the game again when it had finished restoring to the new iPhone?
If it does all of the above and restores all of the other app data (preferences settings for apps) then this would be a really convenient feature.
For example, game data that allows you to carry on, on the level you were on at the point of when the backup was taken (example, if I had been on level 20 of a particular game) the restore would put me back on to that level when I went to play the game again when it had finished restoring to the new iPhone?
If it does all of the above and restores all of the other app data (preferences settings for apps) then this would be a really convenient feature.
I had no idea it existed until I started to setup my new 8 plus from my old 6. It did everything. All I had to do was populate the apps with passwords again after it finished which is fair enough. Everything else was seamless. No one talks about this **** but this is such a time saver when you move between devices.
I have a question that I wondered if you could answer for me please?
Usually when I am setting up a new iPhone, I take a full backup (which is also encrypted) of my old iPhone with iTunes and use this to set my new iPhone up. This restores everything that I had on my old iPhone.
Now when I do this, it restores all of the apps into the folders I had created and also arranges them on the screens, exactly as I had them on my old iPhone.
Also, with the games I have been playing. If I were at level 20 in the game at the time I had taken the backup. When I later restored my new iPhone up off of it, I would be able to continue the game on my new iPhone on level 20.
I was wondering if you could tell me, if this new setup feature does everything that I have mentioned above?
That's great to hear.
I'm beginning to see now, the reasons why Apple have gotten rid of the app section now in iTunes.
Definitely going to try this new setup method when I get my next iPhone.
Thanks again
Yes, it will still do what you described with the new method. After paring up with your old phone and moving settings over, you will be asked if you want to restore from a backup. After that, the restore process works like it used to, with the exception that apps now get downloaded again from the App Store rather than moved over from iTunes.
Thanks very much for all that info, its most useful, thank you
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Normally with iTunes, you have to choose encrypted backup, so that it backs up and restores the Health and Activity data.
I was wondering, does the new backup method restore all of the Health and Activity data?
Thanks in advance.
Yes... the iTunes restore part still works like it did before with the exception of the apps now having to download.
Sorry I should have been more clear.
But does this new setting up method described in this thread, transfer the Health and Activity data?
Or is the Health and Activity data only restored when using iTunes, when Restoring off of an encrypted backup?
Ah... gotcha. No that initial setup just brings over the passwords and iCloud and iTunes accounts. The health data is in the encrypted iTunes backup.
That's a pity, as it seems a really quick and easy method (the new setup feature).
But, as I do not want to lose all of my Health and Activity data, I'm going to need to continue using iTunes to do my Restores for the time been at least. Hopefully Apple will one day, make this new setup method transfer Health and Activity data.
Thanks for all the help, appreciate it
So are you saying that basically as long as you have both devices handy, there's no reason to do an encrypted iTunes backup and restore when transitioning between personal devices anymore?
From what I can gather from what I was told earlier, if you don't do an encrypted backup with iTunes, and restore the new iPhone back off of this same backup with iTunes, you would lose your Health and Activity data, as encrypted backups are the only way to restore the Health and Activity data to a new iPhone.
It's a shame really, as the new restore method (that's the subject of this thread) seems really easy. Hopefully Apple will one day add the option to this restore method to fetch over Health and Activity data.
Dude I setup my new iPhone 8+ using the new method. I only had a backup on iCloud and used that. Everything came over EVERYTHING except passwords. And to add, I have some digital scales that I hadn't used for a while. The data was still in the health app. I reinstalled the Scales app and that came back too.
That's good to know.
Just wondering if the Activity data gets restored with the new method?
No... I'm not saying that at all. That initial device to device sync gets you setup with your wifi and iCloud/iTunes passwords. But you will still need to restore from an encrypted iTunes backup to get all your app passwords back as part f the new device setup. The individual app passwords do not come over with the device to device sync.
Well, I was told earlier in this thread that iCloud was now encrypted and was the same as an iTunes backup (saved passwords). Either I read it wrong or as is stated above, it's not 'enough'. GF didn't know her iTunes encrypted password and we didn't want to blow iTunes away and reinstall it, so I trusted iCloud.
Same old thing, had to reenable all email accounts.
So, if it's encrypted and you have to verify all this stuff to get to use iCloud, why can't it save your passwords? iTunes still loads everything and you don't need to add any passwords anywhere, as I recall when I restored my backup to my 8 Plus.
And, on topic, I wish the new autosetup would just do that, copy everything between the two phones. I don't care if the apps have to download from the app store, they do anyway, but the DATA (settings etc.) should come from the old phone!
Same old thing, had to reenable all email accounts.
So, if it's encrypted and you have to verify all this stuff to get to use iCloud, why can't it save your passwords? iTunes still loads everything and you don't need to add any passwords anywhere, as I recall when I restored my backup to my 8 Plus.
And, on topic, I wish the new autosetup would just do that, copy everything between the two phones. I don't care if the apps have to download from the app store, they do anyway, but the DATA (settings etc.) should come from the old phone!