How to Set Up a New iPhone: Complete Checklist (Transfer, Settings, Security)

Here’s how to set up a new iPhone: turn it on, hold your old iPhone next to it and let Quick Start copy your apps, data and settings across. If you don’t have the old phone, restore from an iCloud or computer backup. If you’re coming from Android, use Apple’s Move to iOS app. This checklist covers every route, plus eSIM, Face ID, the security settings worth changing on day one and what to do with your old phone.

Quick answer: Update and back up your old iPhone, charge both phones and join Wi-Fi. Turn on the new iPhone, place it next to the old one and follow the Quick Start prompts. Activate your cellular service or eSIM, set up Face ID, then choose Download from iCloud or Transfer directly. Keep both phones close and plugged in until the transfer finishes. Then turn on Stolen Device Protection and check Find My.

Which setup method should you use?

Before you start: a 5-minute checklist

• Update your old iPhone. Apple recommends updating both devices to the latest iOS before using Quick Start (Settings > General > Software Update).
• Make a fresh backup. Even if you plan to transfer directly, a backup is your safety net. Our guide on backing up an iPhone to iCloud, a Mac or a PC walks through each option.
• Charge both phones and keep chargers nearby. Every Apple transfer method asks you to keep the devices plugged in.
• Join Wi-Fi and turn on Bluetooth on the old phone.
• Know your Apple Account password and keep the phone that receives your verification codes handy.
• Set aside time. You won’t be able to use your old iPhone for several minutes, and a big transfer takes longer. Apple says the time depends on how much data you have and your network.

Method 1: Set up your new iPhone with Quick Start (old iPhone to new)

Quick Start is the easiest way to move from one iPhone to another. Your old iPhone needs iOS 11 or later. These steps follow Apple’s Quick Start guide (external site).

1. Unlock your old iPhone and go to the Home Screen.
2. Turn on the new iPhone and place it near the old one. A setup prompt appears on the old phone; follow it. If the prompt disappears, restart both phones and try again.
3. Connect the new iPhone to Wi-Fi or your cellular network.
4. If asked, activate your cellular service (see the eSIM section below).
5. Set up Face ID or Touch ID.
6. Choose how to move your data:
   • Download from iCloud: your apps and data download in the background, so you can start using the new iPhone straight away.
   • Transfer directly from your previous iPhone: data goes phone to phone. You have to wait until the transfer finishes on both devices before using either one.
7. Keep both phones near each other and plugged in until the migration is complete.

Which transfer option is better? Pick Download from iCloud if your iCloud backup is recent and you want the phone in your hand quickly. Pick Transfer directly if your iCloud storage is full, your backup is old, or your internet is slow, since it doesn’t depend on iCloud.

Note: if your new iPhone is enrolled in Apple School Manager or Apple Business (a work or school device), Quick Start can’t transfer data from your old phone.

Method 2: Restore from an iCloud backup (no old phone needed)

Use this if your old iPhone is lost, broken or already gone, as long as it was backing up to iCloud.

1. Turn on the new iPhone and follow the setup steps until you reach the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen.
2. Tap From iCloud Backup.
3. Sign in with your Apple Account.
4. Choose the most recent backup. Check the date and size of each one to pick the right one.
5. If asked, sign in again to restore your apps and purchases. If you’ve forgotten a password, you can skip this and sign in later.
6. Stay connected to Wi-Fi and power until the progress bar finishes.
7. Finish setup. Photos, music and apps may keep downloading from iCloud for a while afterwards, so leave the phone on Wi-Fi and charging overnight if you can.

If the new iPhone says it needs a newer version of iOS to restore your backup, follow the onscreen prompts to update first.

Method 3: Restore from a Mac or Windows PC backup

If you back up to a computer instead of iCloud, restore from that backup:

1. On a Mac with macOS Catalina 10.15 or later, open Finder. On a Windows 10 or later PC, open the Apple Devices app.
2. Connect the new iPhone with a USB cable. If asked, enter your passcode or tap Trust This Computer.
3. Select your iPhone in the sidebar.
4. Click Restore Backup.
5. Choose the most recent backup, checking its date and size.
6. Enter the password if your backup is encrypted.
7. Click Restore and keep the iPhone connected while it restarts and syncs. Disconnect once the sync is done.

A computer backup is also handy if you’re short on iCloud storage, because it doesn’t use any.

Method 4: Set up a new iPhone from Android (Move to iOS)

Apple’s free Move to iOS app for Android copies your content over Wi-Fi, or faster over a USB-C cable connecting both phones.

1. Turn on the iPhone, place it near your Android phone and, on the Quick Start screen, choose Set Up Without Another Apple Device. You may be asked to activate an eSIM.
2. On the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From Android, then Transfer with App.
3. On Android, install and open Move to iOS from Google Play (or scan the QR code shown on the iPhone). Tap Continue, agree to the terms and allow the permissions it asks for.
4. On the iPhone, tap Continue and wait for a six-digit or ten-digit code. Type that code on the Android phone.
5. The iPhone creates a temporary Wi-Fi network. Tap Connect on Android to join it.
6. Choose what to move and tap Continue.
7. Leave both phones alone until the loading bar on the iPhone finishes, even if Android says it’s done. Then tap Done on Android and Continue on the iPhone.

What moves: contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, albums, files and folders, calendars, call history, voice memos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, WhatsApp messages and media, some accessibility and display settings, and free apps that are on both Google Play and the App Store.

What doesn’t: music, books and PDFs have to be moved by hand, and paid apps need to be downloaded again from the App Store. Don’t use other apps or take a call on the Android phone during the transfer, or content won’t come across.

If you want to move Chrome bookmarks, update Chrome on the Android phone first. And make sure everything you’re moving, including a microSD card, fits in your new iPhone’s storage.

Method 5: Set up as a new iPhone (clean start)

Starting fresh makes sense for a child’s first iPhone, a work phone, or if your old phone was cluttered. Choose Set Up Without Another Apple Device on the Quick Start screen, then pick the option to start fresh instead of transferring data. You can still sign in with your Apple Account afterwards, so iCloud Photos, contacts, notes and passwords sync back down if you used them before.

How to set up eSIM and your phone number

Many new iPhones use eSIM instead of a physical SIM card. During setup you’ll see one of these options:

• eSIM Quick Transfer (from your old iPhone): if your carrier supports it, move your number without calling them. Both iPhones need iOS 18.4 or later, the same Apple Account, Bluetooth on, and the old iPhone unlocked. Follow the prompts when setup asks to transfer your number. With iOS 26 or later you can transfer more than one number.
• eSIM Carrier Activation: if your carrier assigned an eSIM when you bought the iPhone, just turn it on and follow the setup prompts.
• QR code: on the Set Up Cellular screen, tap Use QR code and scan the code your carrier gave you.
• From Android: contact your carrier, who will move your number with eSIM Carrier Activation or a QR code. Some carriers and phone makers also support a direct Android-to-iPhone transfer on iOS 26 or later.

eSIM needs an iPhone XS, XS Max, XR or later, and you should be on Wi-Fi or a hotspot when you activate it.

Security settings to change on day one

Once your apps and data are in place, spend ten minutes on these. They matter more than any wallpaper.

1. Install the latest iOS update

New phones often ship with an older version. Go to Settings > General > Software Update and install anything waiting.

2. Use a strong passcode and Face ID

If you skipped Face ID or Touch ID during setup, add it in Settings > Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode). A six-digit or longer passcode is far harder to guess than a four-digit one.

3. Turn on Stolen Device Protection

This is the most useful security setting most people never switch on. Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode, enter your passcode, tap Stolen Device Protection and turn it on. When your iPhone is away from familiar places like home or work, it then needs Face ID or Touch ID (no passcode fallback) to use saved passwords, use saved payment cards in Safari or erase the phone. Changing your Apple Account password or passcode also triggers a one-hour security delay. It needs iOS 17.3 or later, two-factor authentication, a passcode, Face ID or Touch ID, Find My and Significant Locations turned on.

4. Check that Find My is on

Find My lets you locate, lock or erase a lost phone, and it turns on Activation Lock so a thief can’t simply reset and reuse it. Check it under Settings > [your name] > Find My. Here’s how Find My tracks a lost iPhone, iPad or AirPods.

5. Silence spam calls

A new number or a fresh phone is a good moment to cut robocalls. These built-in iPhone settings for blocking spam calls take a minute to turn on.

6. Turn on automatic backups

Your new iPhone should start backing itself up from the first night. Turn on iCloud Backup, or plan regular computer backups if you’d rather not pay for iCloud storage.

Setting up an iPhone for a child

If the new iPhone is for a child or teen, set it up with their own Apple Account added to your Family Sharing group, rather than your account. Then use Screen Time in Settings to set downtime, app limits and content filters. Our step-by-step guide shows how to block adult content on iPhone with Screen Time.

What to do with your old iPhone

Before you sell, trade in or hand down your old iPhone, Apple’s checklist is:

1. Make sure your new iPhone has everything (or make a final backup).
2. Unpair your Apple Watch from the old phone if it was paired.
3. Cancel or transfer AppleCare if you have a plan.
4. Sign out of iCloud and the App Store: Settings > [your name] > Sign Out.
5. If you’re moving to a non-Apple phone, deregister iMessage so texts from iPhone users reach you.
6. Erase the phone: Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings. If it uses an eSIM, choose to erase the eSIM too when asked. Erasing turns off Find My and Activation Lock.
7. Remove the old iPhone from your list of trusted devices in your Apple Account.

Troubleshooting common setup problems

• The Quick Start prompt doesn’t appear or disappears: restart both iPhones, make sure Bluetooth is on and the old phone is unlocked on its Home Screen.
• “Update required” when restoring a backup: your backup came from a newer iOS than the new phone has. Follow the onscreen prompt to update, then restore.
• You already finished setup and forgot to transfer: to use Quick Start or restore a backup, you have to erase the new iPhone first (Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings), then start setup again.
• Move to iOS stalls or fails: keep Move to iOS open on Android for the whole transfer, turn off apps that manage Wi-Fi (network optimizers), forget other known Wi-Fi networks, turn off cellular data on Android, then restart both phones and retry.
• Storage full after an Android transfer: the content didn’t fit. Erase the iPhone, trim what you send, and try again.

FAQ

How long does it take to set up a new iPhone?

The setup screens take a few minutes; the data transfer is what varies. Apple says it depends on how much data you have and your network speed. With Download from iCloud you can use the phone almost straight away while apps and photos fill in.

Can I set up a new iPhone without my old phone?

Yes. Restore from an iCloud backup or a Mac or PC backup on the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, or set it up as new and sign in to iCloud to sync contacts, photos and notes.

Do I need Wi-Fi to set up a new iPhone?

Quick Start can use Wi-Fi or a cellular connection, and an iCloud restore needs Wi-Fi. For eSIM, Apple recommends Wi-Fi or a hotspot, though eSIM-only models can activate without Wi-Fi in some countries.

Does everything transfer to the new iPhone?

Quick Start and backups bring over your apps, data and settings. From Android, music, books, PDFs and paid apps don’t come across automatically. Some apps, such as banking and authenticator apps, may ask you to sign in or verify again on the new phone.

Should I set up my new iPhone as new or restore from a backup?

Restore if you want everything exactly as it was. Set up as new if your old phone felt cluttered or it’s a different person’s phone; anything you kept in iCloud still syncs back once you sign in.