Moving to a new iPhone: the order that keeps your data

TwinHop team · Updated October 7, 2026

Back up the old iPhone to your computer, turn off Find My on the new one, restore the backup, and after the restart choose “Don’t Transfer Anything”. When something goes missing after a move, the order is usually to blame, not the transfer: the old phone was erased too early, the wrong option was tapped after the restart, or the backup was restored twice. Here is the order step by step, for an iPhone 17 or any other new iPhone.

Before you start

1. Update the apps on the old iPhone, and iOS too if you can. Check the iOS version on both phones in Settings → General → About. A backup made on a newer iOS than the new phone has can’t be restored until the new phone is updated. New iPhones come with a recent iOS, so this rarely matters, but it takes a minute to check.
2. Save what a backup doesn’t carry. Make sure you know the passwords for the apps that matter: passwords from the Keychain don’t move. Move codes in authenticator apps with the app’s own transfer feature. Call history won’t come along either.
3. Check your photos. If iCloud Photos is on with “Optimize iPhone Storage”, the phone keeps only lighter versions and the originals are in iCloud. They will appear on the new phone as soon as you sign in to the same Apple Account. If you want the originals inside the backup too, choose “Download and Keep Originals” first. It needs free space on the phone and can take hours for a large library.
4. Free space on the computer. You need about as much as the old phone uses. In TwinHop you can choose another folder or an external drive in Settings → Storage.

Moving day

5. Back up the old iPhone. Connect it to the computer with a cable, unlock it and tap “Trust”. If the phone asks for its passcode, enter it: until you do, the backup waits. The first backup takes 10 to 40 minutes, and it needs no key.
6. Prepare the new iPhone. Turn off Stolen Device Protection (Settings → Face ID & Passcode), then Find My (Settings → [your name] → Find My → Find My iPhone). iOS refuses to restore a backup while Find My is on. You can turn both back on when the move is finished. See Apple’s About Stolen Device Protection.
7. Start the move. Connect the new iPhone and choose “Move your old iPhone to the new one”. The new iPhone becomes a copy of the old one: anything already on it that isn’t in the backup will be gone, and TwinHop says so before you click. Sign in to your Apple Account in TwinHop if you want the apps installed over the cable before the data goes in.
8. Let it run. The restore usually takes 40 to 90 minutes, mostly for photos and videos. You don’t need to watch: TwinHop keeps the computer awake and shows what is being transferred. Don’t unplug the cable.

After the restart

9. Go through Setup Assistant. The phone restarts once and asks a few questions. If it offers to transfer apps and data, choose “Don’t Transfer Anything”: the data is already there. Don’t choose “Set Up as New iPhone” and don’t restore from iCloud: either one erases what was just moved. Signing in to your Apple Account here is fine.
10. Give it time. For a while after the move the phone may still be downloading apps or syncing Messages in iCloud. Leave it on Wi-Fi and charging for an hour.
11. Apps with a cloud icon. If you didn’t sign in to your Apple Account in TwinHop, the phone downloads the apps from the App Store itself. On iOS 26 the icons show a cloud: tap one, and the app downloads with its data from the backup.
12. Sign in where asked. Some apps want your password again because the Keychain didn’t move. Their data is in place.

What not to do

• Don’t erase the old iPhone on day one. Keep it for a few days, until you have opened the apps that matter on the new phone.
• Don’t restore twice. If something seems to be missing, don’t start over: a second restore erases the phone again, including anything new on it. Check first: often the data is there and the phone is still downloading or syncing.
• Don’t delete gray app icons. An icon that is still waiting holds the record of the app. Removing it makes the app harder to get back.

Moving only part of the phone

If the new iPhone is already set up, you don’t have to start over. You can bring over only the apps you need with their data: see Transfer apps to a new iPhone after setup, with their data. This also uses a restore. After any restore, iOS may remove photos and messages that aren’t in iCloud, so TwinHop backs up that phone first.

Apple’s own guide to the other ways of moving, Quick Start and iCloud, is Transfer data from your previous iOS device to your new iPhone.