Swapping 2 active iPhones data to one another.

hi, I was wondering if anyone could help me with this situation. Me and my mom want to swap iPhones due to me wanting her phone color and her wanting mine. Is there any way for me and my mom to put each others apps/photos/contacts onto each others phones without anything being lost? Please help me out.

iPhone 13, iOS 17

Posted on Dec 23, 2023 08:30 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 23, 2023 11:07 PM

The best way to do this is to backup both iPhones to iCloud or a computer. After that, restore both iPhones from the appropriate backup files.


Here is the guide on 👉 How to back up your iPhone on iCloud or on a computer

Here is how you would restore your iPhone from a backup file 👉 How to restore your iPhone from a backup on iCloud or on a Computer


Axel F.

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 23, 2023 11:07 PM in response to Laurenb1235

The best way to do this is to backup both iPhones to iCloud or a computer. After that, restore both iPhones from the appropriate backup files.


Here is the guide on 👉 How to back up your iPhone on iCloud or on a computer

Here is how you would restore your iPhone from a backup file 👉 How to restore your iPhone from a backup on iCloud or on a Computer


Axel F.

Dec 23, 2023 10:47 PM in response to Laurenb1235

When attempting to swap two Apple devices that are associated with different Apple IDs, a direct exchange isn't feasible due to the unique identification tied to each device. The Apple ID serves as a crucial link between the device and the user's personalized content, such as apps, data, and settings. Consequently, swapping devices with distinct Apple IDs would lead to an incomplete transfer of information and a disruption in accessing the individual user's content seamlessly. Thus, a direct swap between such devices isn't supported without first disassociating the devices from their respective Apple IDs and reconfiguring them to ensure the proper transfer and access to personalized data.


  1. Contacts: Unlike some Android devices, contacts are neither stored locally on an iPhone nor in SIM. They are synced to an email account that you have Google, iCloud, AOL, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo or any Other. Simply add the email account that stores your Contacts into another device.
  2. Photos: Upload them to iCloud Drive on two different folders then download them to any iPhone.
  3. Apps: Apps don't transfer from iPhone to iPhone, only the app data along with app links to the App Store gets transferred. App data cannot be transferred from one Apple ID to another.


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Swapping 2 active iPhones data to one another.

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