New iPhone: how to back up from an older IOS

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New iPhone: how to back up from an older IOS

Dear community,

thanks for reading me.

I have now a dilemma; I have an iPhone 6s, runs just fine, but now this is not compatible with the newly released IOS16.

Now, if in the short term I'd buy a newer iPhone (8-9-X-12-13, whatever), running the latest IOS, how do I manage the migration of data from old iPhone (with 10.15 at most) to the new one (16 or more!)?

I understand that iCloud (I do use it) is not an option, given that in order to back up this way the two devises must run the very same IOS.

The pc option is also not an option for me, I do have a iMac, but very old one, currently running 10.12 Sierra, and no system updates available. So iTunes option won't work either I guess. The Mac just does not read the iPhone at all.

I would appreciate any insight on how to manage migration under the given circumstances (I guess you can call it obsolescence).

Is there a way, or I am condemned to lose everything once my phone breaks down?

Many, many thanks.

Kind regards,

Wazzinga.

Posted on Sep 13, 2022 04:18 AM

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Answer 1

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SravanKrA

Community+ 2025

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429,874 points

Sep 13, 2022 04:25 AM in response to Wazzinga

Moving from a lower to a higher version was never an issue. You can't restore a backup from higher iOS to a lower one.

Please see the pic below which is self-explanatory. Here you have a backup taken on iOS 15.5 and trying to restore it to iOS 12.5.6 which is not feasible.

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Answer 2

Demo

Level 10

166,723 points

Sep 13, 2022 05:31 AM in response to Wazzinga

The two devices do not have to be running the same iOS. The new device must be running the same or newer iOS in order to restore your backup.

In other words, if your current phone is running iOS 15.7 and the new phone is running iOS 16,:you will be able to restore the backup from the old phone to the new one. If the new phone was running iOS 15.7 and you had a backup from an iOS 16 version, you would not be able to restore that backup.

You can keep using iCloud for your backups. The absolute worst case scenario would be that if the new phone was not running a newer iOS version than the old phone, you would have to update it first and then restore the backup. I have had to do this myself.

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Answer 3

Demo

Level 10

166,723 points

Sep 13, 2022 04:27 AM in response to Wazzinga

You can restore a backup from a device that is running an older iOS version to a device that is running a newer iOS version. What you can’t do is restore a backup from a newer iOS version to a device running an older iOS version. You will be able to restore the backup from your older phone to a new one.

You don’t need a computer to restore a backup. See this for help.

Transfer data from your previous iOS or iPadOS device to your new iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Wazzinga Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 13, 2022 05:10 AM in response to Demo

Demo,

many thanks for your answer.

If indeed it is possible, then, I wonder why I read here and there that I cannot do so with iCloud, because they state that the 2 devises must run the very same IOS version in order to be able to transfer.

Bottom line, can I still keep using iCould and be sure that, once I'll change to a new iPhone (with newer IOS), I can restore and migrate data from my current iCloud back-up (done with an older IOS version)?

Thanks again.

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Answer 5

Wazzinga Author

Level 1

4 points

Sep 13, 2022 05:29 AM in response to SravanKrA

Thanks.

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New iPhone: how to back up from an older IOS

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