What‘s the fastest way to transfer data from an iPhone 15 Pro Max to a 16 Pro Max?

So … I'm getting my new phone today and will need to transition the data and settings.


What‘s the fastest way to transfer data from an iPhone 15 Pro Max to a 16 Pro Max?


  1. Restore from a backup on a Mac via USB-C
  2. Direct transfer from the iPhone 15 Pro Max
  3. Restore from an iCloud backup over a Wifi 7 mesh using a 2.2 gbps/350 mbps internet connection


I know that direct transfer used to be the answer, but now I'm curious if that's still the case given higher USB-C speeds (10 gbps) and higher internet and Wifi 7 speeds.


Now that I've transitioned to a Deco Wifi 7 mesh, my office iMac gets the full 2.2 gb/350 mb speeds using a 10 gb LAN port on my office satellite using Speedtest.app. Actually my last speed test to Comcast in Chicago got 2297/357 mbps. I would think that a Wifi 7 connection to the office satellite should be something similar, though I'm not sure if Wifi 7 is full duplex and there would be more latency than on ethernet.


So … what do you think?

iPhone 16 Pro Max

Posted on Sep 20, 2024 12:07 AM

Reply
5 replies

Sep 27, 2024 12:38 PM in response to Big Iron

Ok, so I just did it... My vote is No.1 - from a Mac backup using the USB-C

It was pretty painless and didn't take more than an hour. But Apple always seems to insist on re-downloading all apps over the internet, that took longer.


Last time I migrated using phone to phone... it was similar, a bit slower, but forgot all my banking stuff. This time was a bit better I think (hard to remember exactly from a year ago), it remembered my saved credit cards / Apple Pay too... I just had to verify the CVV numbers again



Sep 27, 2024 09:08 AM in response to Big Iron

So what was the final answer to this question, I'm about to begin the process too.


If I use Phone to Phone over WiFi, will I have to still login to all the accounts and activate software, banking, Apple Watch, AirTags etc. ?


And is it true if I do a Apple MacBook backup restore then all of the above is carried over without the need for any sign-ins?


My brain says the MacBook backup/restore should be fastest/best, but I'm not 100% sure.

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What‘s the fastest way to transfer data from an iPhone 15 Pro Max to a 16 Pro Max?

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