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Can I restore my new iPhone to my old iPhone's settings?

I recently got a iPhone 5 after my 4s was stolen about a month ago. I was wondering if there is any way I can resore my new iPhone to the settings on my old iPhone 4s? I backed my old 4s up onto my iTunes instead of iCloud so is there any way for me to access my old backups?


Thanks!

iPhone 5

Posted on Nov 20, 2012 10:10 PM

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19 replies

Nov 20, 2012 10:13 PM in response to AHK019

Yes, as long as your new phone is running the same iOS as your old phone or higher. If you haven't set up your new phone yet, when you do choose the option to Restore from iTunes Backup when given the option (see image below). If you already set up your new phone, connect it to iTunes, then right-click on the name of your phone on the left side and select Restore from Backup.


User uploaded file

Nov 20, 2012 10:26 PM in response to AHK019

You can check to see if your 4S backup is still there by going to iTunes>Preferences>Devices and looking at the Backups list. If you can't recognize it, hover your mouse over the backup and it will reveal the serial number and other information. If it's there but you can't see it when you try to restore from backup, be sure your new phone isn't running an older version of iOS than your 4S was. If it is, you'll need to update it before the 4S backup will be available to restore from.

Dec 3, 2012 7:53 PM in response to AHK019

Did You Ever find your old backups? I restored my iphone lastnight & i was able to restore it from an old icloud backup from July 2012 ...it pretty much restored my phone to EXACTLY how my phone was set up, my old messages, contacts & photos. but i wanted a more recent restore. Now i cant seem to find that option again??

Dec 3, 2012 7:59 PM in response to CSalinas

If you mean you want to be able to get back to the option to restore to your iCloud backup, this has to be done in the initial setup process. If you have any data on your phone now that is not in the backup that you want to save you'll need to do that first. Then go to Settings>General>Reset and tap Erase All Content and Settings. You will then go through the setup screens as you did when the phone was new. When given the option, choose Restore from iCloud Backup (see image below). Be sure you are connected to wifi and your charger as this will take some time to finish.


User uploaded file

Dec 3, 2012 8:11 PM in response to randers4

when i was able to restore to that old July 12 backup. it also had a backups from august, sept, & oct to todays date. but i used iTunes to do it all & it gave me an option in itunes to backup to all those dates i just named. will erasing everything give me that same option when just doing it from my phone the way you explained? (im sorry if i make no sense! im seriously the most dumest person ever when it comes to this stuff! i literally just happend to come across the old backups...i honestly didnt even think you could restore from an old backup)

Can I restore my new iPhone to my old iPhone's settings?

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