Activate your iPhone or iPad If you're setting up an iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Mobile), you might need to insert your iPhone SIM card or iPad SIM card first. You might also be asked to activate your eSIM. Get help if you can't connect to Wi-Fi or if you can't activate your iPhone.
You should turn off your iPhone and insert the SIM card before turning it on. Good luck! Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.
Regardless of the device you're switching from, don't switch your SIM card until the entire transfer is complete. Before you get started, you'll also want to make sure both your old device and your new device have at least 20 percent battery life.
Insert the new SIM into your phone, and have the phone turned on. Activate your new SIM card by using its accompanying activation key (this will be included in the package).
If you transfer your data before you put in your SIM, you could wipe everything you moved over. So, we recommend swapping your SIM card first.
Activate your iPhone or iPad
If you're setting up an iPhone or iPad (Wi-Fi + Cellular), you might need to insert your iPhone SIM card or iPad SIM card first. You might also be asked to activate your eSIM. Get help if you can't connect to Wi-Fi or if you can't activate your iPhone.
Secondly, unless you're planning on switching phone numbers too, you need to take the SIM card out of your current iPhone and put it into the new one. The SIM card is a small data chip that carries your phone number and cell carrier account information.
Since your SIM card is essential to get network connectivity on your device, you must transfer it to your new iPhone. The process is pretty simple and you can even get your contacts with it.
After you remove your SIM card from the tray, notice the notch in one corner of the new SIM card. Place the new SIM card into the tray — it will fit only one way, because of the notch. Then insert the tray into the device completely and in the same orientation that you removed it. The tray also fits only one way.
Remove SIM and SD Cards
If your phone has a SIM card, it may store your personal information. Remove the SIM card. If you'll keep the same phone number, you may be able to transfer your SIM card to your new phone. But if you don't re-use the SIM card, destroy it.
Start by backing up your old phone. If it's an iPhone, this will make copying over your data a bit easier. The simplest method is to back up to iCloud by going to Settings, iCloud, iCloud Backup, and tapping Back Up Now. You can find alternative methods and more details in our guide on how to back up your iPhone.
Make sure that the SIM tray closes completely and isn't loose. If you use a SIM tray from a different model iPhone, iPad, or from another phone manufacturer, it might not fit properly. Try using another SIM card. If you don't have one, go to your carrier's retail store and ask them to test with another SIM card.
You can activate a cellular plan on an eSIM from a carrier that supports Dual SIM. iPhone 13 models and earlier also have a SIM tray for a nano-SIM card—you can use a nano-SIM card from a carrier. iPhone 13 models support Dual eSIM.
Go to Settings > Cellular, tap Set Up Cellular or Add eSIM, then choose the phone number with a physical SIM. Tap Convert to eSIM, then follow the onscreen instructions.
To pop open the SIM tray, insert a paper clip or a SIM-eject tool into the hole beside the tray. Push in, towards your iPhone, but don't force it. If you're having difficulty ejecting the SIM tray, take your device to your network provider or an Apple Store for help.
If you download from iCloud, your apps and data download in the background so that you can start using your new device right away. If you transfer directly from your previous device, you'll need to wait for the transfer to complete on both devices before you can use them.
You will have to have your new carrier activate your SIM card. Apple does not activate carrier service. Once you get your new device simply call the carrier you want and have them activate your SIM card. If you go to an Apple store they will activate it.
Your photos, contacts, videos, message history, music, calendars, mail accounts, and many of your apps can all be transferred from your previous device to the new one. We've outlined the steps below. Updated September 2022: We tweaked the instructions for the latest version of iOS and added details on eSIM.
The easiest and quickest method to set up your new iPhone is to restore from a recent iCloud backup. As you walk through the initial setup process, tap Restore from iCloud Backup, sign in with your Apple ID and then pick the most recent backup of your old iPhone.
The only means of transferring data from an old iPhone to a new iPhone is by restoring from iCloud backup, restoring from backup on a computer, or via Quick Start, and all these can only come in handy during iPhone setup. To transfer data between iPhones after set up, you need the help of advanced data transfer tool.
Apple typically drops the pricing of its current generation iPhones when the next generation is released, so you'll almost certainly be able to buy an iPhone 13 for $699 after September 7 compared to the $799 retail price it has today.
Therefore, we recommend the following: Do not fully charge or fully discharge your device's battery — charge it to around 50 percent.