Setting up your new iPhone or iPad
Moving from one iPhone to the next has become simple — when all goes well. When the old phone is broken, when the backup is out of date, or when banking apps have to follow too, it gets complicated.
What is actually going on
There are two routes: a direct transfer between the two phones side by side, and a restore from an iCloud backup or from the Mac. The first is the most complete; the second is the only option if the old device no longer works.
Some apps never follow on their own: banks, two-factor authentication apps and occasionally messaging services need reactivating. That is the delicate moment, and it is the one where we stay with you.
What we do
- Restore the backupFrom iCloud, from the Mac, or by direct transfer — whichever you have.
- Bring the essentials acrossPhotos, contacts, messages, apps, and your accessibility settings if you use them.
- Reactivate what does not followBanking apps, two-factor codes, cards in the wallet. We put them back into service one by one.
- Set up the children’s phonesAn age-appropriate account, screen time settings, all attached to the family group.
Before we arrive
What helps
- Charge both devices and keep them close together during the transfer.
- Have your Apple ID and the old phone’s passcode to hand.
What is better avoided
- Trading in or selling the old phone before the new one has been checked.
- Switching off two-factor authentication to “make it simpler” — it is what protects everything else.
Your questions
My old iPhone is broken, have I lost everything?
Not if an iCloud backup exists, which is often the case without people realising. We check that first.
Does WhatsApp follow?
Yes, provided the steps are done in the right order and a chat backup exists. We handle it during the visit.
This topic is part of I have a new device to set up. The main page gathers the neighbouring cases and the full process.
See the main pageWe call you back
Leave your number. We call back within the hour during opening hours — otherwise, as soon as we reopen.