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What information will I lose when setting up from new?

R

rkoshack

macrumors regular
Original poster
Want to setup my iPhone X as new rather than restore from backup of my 7+ as I’ve heard you encounter less issues and starting fresh ensures you’re not carrying over any bugs.

My question is what information will I not be able to carry over? I want to keep all my photos, iMessages, whatsapp messages, notes, safari passwords etc.
 
No imessages, no pictures, no app data. If you have icloud pics you may get those back. Can always backup the pics first. Can also sync notes to a google account or something like that.
 
Basically anything not in iCloud or any cloud.

Hard to say fully because not every 3rd party app saves to iCloud or their own server.

iOS wise. iMessages won’t carry over.
 
I always setup as new. I have photos synced with iCloud. I turn off Photostream as that has caused me issues. With photos in the cloud all I lose are text messages I think. My contacts are in Gmail so those can be turned on/off at will. I also backup all photos to Google Photos.
 
I did that with the iPhone 8 and iTunes ate a bunch of my music/.. almost all of it... I did back it up but still I have a ton of non Apple Music that got into the twilight zone that way. I recommend you do the automated change over to the new phone unless it’s coming from an android device... even then there’s some stuff that is doable .
 
I set up as new everytime and you'll be gold with just a few minutes of double checking. Back your photos up to a drive (should be doing that periodically anyway), check every app you love's settings for iCloud capabilities. Decide if the data is worth having to restore an entire old backup on a new phone. Then go ahead and cut the cord.

It's really freeing starting anew. My app count is significantly reduced, my photo library is cleared and statistics like Health are noted down elsewhere anyway. But it's all down to personal preference. I also never use iMessage, except for incoming automated messages, either, which a lot of users here call a dealbreaker, so consider that. Everything else like Notes, passwords and so forth WILL stay.
 
I have always done an encrypted iTunes back up and used it to restore my new phones. Has worked without flaw for years now and you are up and running in only a few minutes.
 
rkoshack said:
Want to setup my iPhone X as new rather than restore from backup of my 7+ as I’ve heard you encounter less issues and starting fresh ensures you’re not carrying over any bugs.

My question is what information will I not be able to carry over? I want to keep all my photos, iMessages, whatsapp messages, notes, safari passwords etc.
Click to expand...

I started my X and Watch from new this year just for a fresh start; not entirely sure its ever necessary though. The only things I couldn't get back are iMessages, although hopefully that will change soon if Apple ever releases iMessage in iCloud.

Also be aware that Watch backups are stored with the Watch app and not in iCloud, so if you don't restore from a backup you'll have to start your Watch as new too.
 
jhearty99 said:
Is this a proven thing or just something people assume? I have had every iPhone since the 3gs and have always restored from a backup without encountering any issues.
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Pretty close to prove.

If the data is not in icloud and you set your phone up as new, then all your photos will be gone. ITs a new phone and you didn't store your images up in the cloud so of course they'll be gone. App data tends to be tied to the device and not stored in the cloud, though there are exceptions.
 
maflynn said:
Pretty close to prove.

If the data is not in icloud and you set your phone up as new, then all your photos will be gone. ITs a new phone and you didn't store your images up in the cloud so of course they'll be gone. App data tends to be tied to the device and not stored in the cloud, though there are exceptions.
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I meant is it really necessary to set up as a new phone instead of restoring from a backup to avoid issues/bugs. Most people I know restore from a backup without any issues arising.
 
jhearty99 said:
I meant is it really necessary to set up as a new phone instead of restoring from a backup to avoid issues/bugs. Most people I know restore from a backup without any issues arising.
Click to expand...
It's not necessary but if you restore from a backup and encounter issues it is advisable to restore and set up as new.
 
jhearty99 said:
I meant is it really necessary to set up as a new phone instead of restoring from a backup to avoid issues/bugs. Most people I know restore from a backup without any issues arising.
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I always restore from backup. Done it since the my 3g. When you restore 90% is being downloaded as a new anyway if you are set up right. Just settings and data files are the same. I have seen those get screwed up but it is very rare. If it’s working fine now it should work fine after the restore.
 
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I had every iCloud synch feature turned on, and iMessage was the only thing that didn’t transfer.

I’m never worrying about backups again.
 
tromboneaholic said:
I had every iCloud synch feature turned on, and iMessage was the only thing that didn’t transfer.

I’m never worrying about backups again.
Click to expand...

I was on a cruise and my iPhone bricked on me. I found a tech shop on the island to get it working as I had no computer with iTunes on the ship. They hooked to iTunes and got working but I could not restore from backup. WiFi sucked. So ended restoring as new. Once I was logged into everything on my phone every came back except apps and my setting. Just had to download the apps I needed. Most of All my pics, notes, contacts and iMessages came back. It took awhile but only lost a few things from the last few hours before it bricked. I’m not sure if iMessages came from the cloud or through handoff from my iPad but they can back.

I ended up restoring from backup when I got home as I had a new released 7+ waiting at home but the newer iMessages again appeared.
 
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Note. If you want ALL your photos backed up to iCloud I recommend not selecting Photostream. I think PS is the 1,000 recent and I’m pretty sure having both selected recently jacked my photos collection.
 
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