Despite pre-ordering my iPhone X at the exact moment they started taking orders, I’ve only had my new phone for about two weeks. It seemed those who ordered directly with Apple, rather than direct with the carrier, got them significantly faster. None the less, it’s finally in my hands. This new phone upgrade is the first time I have ever moved my data wirelessly, which is pretty remarkable considering this is my seventh iPhone! I have always done the traditional back up via iTunes and then my photo back up to Photos. This process took hours and hours and I’d inevitably lose an entire evening to syncing, updating, backing up and troubleshooting. Have I mentioned enough how much I love using iCloud?
In addition to the benefits of iCloud back up ( when it all works as it should! ) Did you know that iOS 11 now also has a hidden trick to make your phone upgrades even more seamless?
If your old iPhone is running iOS 11, you can use Quick Start, a new iOS 11 feature that makes the transfer easy. Just turn on the new iPhone, set it next to the old one, and tap Continue when asked whether you want to use your Apple ID to set up your new iPhone. An animation appears on the new iPhone for you to scan with the old iPhone—once you’ve done that, follow the rest of the instructions to enable Touch ID or Face ID and then restore your data and settings from your most recent iCloud backup (you can update the backup first if necessary). Leave the two iPhones next to each other while data is being transferred, and if possible, keep the new one plugged in and on Wi-Fi after setup so it can download your apps, photos, and music. Once you have done this you will be ready to start using your new phone in just a few minutes! Less than 30 minutes after I had gotten my new phone, I’d transferred information over and started the download from my iCloud back up. I was able to use the new phone immediately but had to hit the road before all my apps and photos downloaded. During the day I was not on wifi so I will say some apps didn’t work just yet. However, unlike upgrades of the past, I was not tethered to a computer and endless updates. When I returned home at the end of the day to wifi again it took less than 30 minutes everything updated and downloaded. This was by far, the easiest phone upgrade.