Updating from iPhone 8 to 14

I’d expect the telephone number will migrate as part of the usual migration process. If the cellular plan does not migrate as part of the usual transfer, contact your carrier. Here is how to migrate:

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

It is entirely possible to wipe an iPhone and transfer it. Here is how:

What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Apple Intelligence and related are not available on iPhone 14, so there won’t be a huge difference between an iPhone 8 on iOS 16 and an iPhone 14 on iOS 18.

If you want a less-complex and tailored interface for the iPhone, Apple has Assistive Access available:

Set up Assistive Access on iPhone - Apple Support

If you want more features than what Assistive Access offers but not the full cacophony of what iPhone can offer, you can set up what Apple calls a Focus. The Focus lets you tailor what apps are shown, what notifications can arrive, and other such.

Set up a Focus on iPhone - Apple Support

And a caveat: I would strongly discourage sharing an Apple Account, and will assume that access is not being shared here.

Two other things to consider configuring with the Apple Accounts in use here:

How to add a Legacy Contact for your Apple ID - Apple Support

Help a friend or family member as their account recovery contact - Apple Support

ScreenLono wrote:

I'm going to be upgrading my wife's iphone from an 8 to a 14. She wouldn't be comfortable with all of the new features of the latest iphone 16, so a 14 might fit the bill AND I like the 14's ability to use that version as a satellite phone. (That's another set of questions for another time.) It has been a while since I upgraded MY phone to a Iphone 12 and am trying to remember how a "new" phone (ordered from Apple) would recognize her phone number (with Verizon)...but vaguely recall when I did it I backed up my old phone to the cloud and my Mac, then activated my new phone and simply followed the process as it went through the activation steps. I recall it being easy.

Assuming the iPhone 14 you buy is a US model, there will be some extra configuration required. US iPhone 14s do not support physical SIM cards like the kind the iPhone 8 uses, so you probably will need to go to Verizon to get the new iPhone an eSim with her number and service. Verizon should do this for free in a few minutes. You should also be able to setup the eSim with her number and service through the Verizon app once the iPhone is set up.

click here ➜ About eSIM on iPhone - Apple Support

If you do give her your iPhone 12, then you can just transfer her SIM card from the iPhone 8 to the iPhone 12 to get her number and service on it if you want to, or do the same thing as with the 14, and convert it to an esim.

click here ➜ Remove or switch the SIM card in your iPhone - Apple Support

A SECOND question: she has asked if there was a way for me to buy myself a new iphone 14, and then wipe my current iphone 12 and give it to her. That's intriguing, but with her December birthday coming up I just wanted to make a gift statement with a new phone that she can become familiar with over time. Any thoughts on either of my two questions would be helpful. Thank you!

Not sure what the question is here.

Whether the iPhone you give her is new or your old one, the process will work exactly the same. You just need to restore your iPhone to factory condition, and when its turned on, it will follow the exact same step by step process as if it were brand new.

click here ➜ What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

It’s really easy, and it happens as if by magic. See→Transfer data from your previous iOS or iPadOS device to your new iPhone or iPad - Apple Support. Verizon will most likely just convert the NanoSIM to an eSIM when you follow the transfer instructions.

ScreenLono wrote:

I like the 14's ability to use that version as a satellite phone.

Here are a couple of Support articles that you might want to read, about the satellite features.

Connect to a satellite with your iPhone - Apple Support

Use Emergency SOS via satellite on your iPhone - Apple Support