Two phones, one cable-free transfer, and a vague sense that something is going to be missing afterwards. Here is the short version: if you still have the old phone, use Quick Start. If you do not, restore from iCloud. Use a computer when your network is the bottleneck. Everything below is about the parts that are not obvious.
The three ways, and when each one is right
| Quick Start | iCloud restore | Computer backup | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Needs | Both phones, side by side | An iCloud backup that already exists | A recent backup on a Mac or PC |
| Speed | Fastest for large libraries | Bound by your internet | Fast over a cable |
| Best when | Old phone is still in hand | Old phone is already gone | Network is slow, or the library is huge |
Quick Start copies directly from one phone to the other over a peer connection — no cloud round trip, nothing to set up in advance. It is the only one of the three that needs no backup at all, which also makes it the least error-prone.
iCloud restore depends on a backup you made *earlier*. If the last backup is three weeks old, you are restoring a three-week-old phone.
Computer backup is the same idea with a cable instead of Wi-Fi. It is the right call when you have 400GB of photos and a slow connection.
What actually transfers — and what never does
Comes across in all three: contacts, calendars, notes, messages (unless they live in iCloud), photos (unless iCloud Photos is on), app data, device settings, Wi-Fi passwords, wallpapers, and home screen layout.
Does not come across on its own — in any of the three:
- WeChat, LINE and similar chat history. These apps keep conversations on their own servers under their own rules. They have their own migration tools, and iPhone migration does not carry the history for you.
- Banking and payment apps. Expect to log in again and re-verify the device. That is a security control working as intended, not a failed transfer.
- Authenticator codes (2FA). If your authenticator has no cloud sync, the codes exist only on the old phone. Set the new phone up as an authenticator before you erase the old one — otherwise you can be locked out of your own accounts, and some of them have no easy recovery.
- eSIM. A physical SIM simply moves to the new phone. An eSIM usually has to be reissued or transferred by your carrier; some support transfer during Quick Start, many do not. Budget a call or an app session with them.
- Apple Watch. The Watch pairs to one phone at a time. Unpair it from the old phone first — that also takes a fresh backup of the Watch — then pair it to the new one.
- Apple Pay cards. They are not carried over; you add them again.
- Bluetooth pairings, including most car systems.
What an iCloud backup really contains
This is the part that generates the most confusion, so it is worth stating plainly: an iCloud backup skips anything that is already in iCloud.
If iCloud Photos is on, your photos are not in the backup — they are in iCloud, and they come back through sync. Same for contacts, calendars, notes and Messages in iCloud. That is why a backup can be 4GB on a phone holding 200GB of photos, and why that is normal rather than broken.
Two consequences worth knowing before you start:
- Check the date and size of the last backup on the old phone:
Settings → [your name] → iCloud → iCloud Backup. A backup from three weeks ago restores a three-week-old phone. - A backup is not a copy of your apps' private data. If an app stores things on its own servers, no iPhone backup contains them. This is exactly why chat history needs its own migration step.
How long it takes
- Quick Start — roughly 1 hour per 100GB over the direct connection. A very full phone can run overnight.
- iCloud restore — bound by your internet. At 50 Mbps down, 100GB is about 4–5 hours.
- Computer — usually the fastest for large libraries over a cable, 1–2 hours per 100GB.
In every case the phone is partially usable while the rest finishes in the background. Keep both phones on power for the whole transfer.
The checklist to run afterwards
- Open your messaging apps and migrate history with their own tools if it is missing — WeChat, LINE and WhatsApp each have one
- Log into banking and payment apps and re-verify; re-add cards where needed
- Test your authenticator by generating a code before you depend on it
- Test the eSIM — place a call and use mobile data
- Re-pair the Apple Watch (unpair from the old phone first if you have not)
- Add cards to Apple Pay
- Wait for iCloud Photos and Messages to finish syncing —
Settings → [your name] → iCloudshows the progress - Only then wipe the old phone — sign out of the Apple ID *and* erase it
Two myths worth dropping
"The backup has everything, so I am safe." A backup only helps if it completed, and it never includes data an app holds on its own servers. Check the backup's date and size before you start, and treat chat history as a separate job.
"I will wipe the old phone and sell it." Wipe it *and* sign out of the Apple ID first — erasing alone leaves Activation Lock on, which turns the phone into a brick for the next owner. And if the only copy of your authenticator codes was on that phone, you have just locked yourself out.