Restoring data from iPhone 6 to iPhone 4, need help?

Question

Restoring data from iPhone 6 to iPhone 4, need help?

Hello everyone, just want to thank you all in advance for any answers. The problem: Recently, the display on my iPhone 6 stopped working. I do not have the means to get it fixed at the moment, so i decided to switch over to my iPhone 4 for a little until I can get the 6 fixed. The iPhone 4 is not compatible with IOS9 so there is no way for me to get my latest iCloud backup onto my iPhone 4. The only backup option is from my latest iTunes backup. However my iPhone 4 is 16gb while my iPhone 6 is 64gb. The backup from iTunes will never fit onto my iPhone 4. The issue is I don't need the whole backup, just the data from a couple apps that were on my iPhone 6 that had important info stored in them. Is there any way to obtain the data for these apps from the backup? Also, what will happen if I choose to back up from iTunes, will it just restore as much as possible until the phone is full or not restore at all? What would you guys say is my best bet? Thanks for any advice.

iPhone 4, iOS 7.1.2, iPhone 6 to iPhone 4

Posted on May 13, 2016 1:19 PM

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Answer 1

elcpu

Level 7

31,586 points

May 13, 2016 1:26 PM in response to music shadows

Sorry to say but it will not work. You cannot do partial restores nor can you restore a newer version of iOS to an iPhone 4.

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Answer 2

KiltedTim

Level 10

225,888 points

May 13, 2016 1:27 PM in response to music shadows

You can't do it. You can not restore a backup made with a device running a newer version of iOS to a device running an older version. It doesn't matter whether you backed up to iCloud or iTunes, you will not be able to restore that backup, any of it, to an iPhone 4.

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Answer 3

Rysz

Level 8

44,449 points

May 13, 2016 1:30 PM in response to music shadows

It will not let you restore. Not just because of the difference in storage capacity, but because you can't restore from a newer iOS to an older one.

You can't pick-and-choose bits and pieces from a backup. It's all or nothing.

There might be another option...

If you regularly sync your device, the data on your iPhone 6 might have been already synced to your computer, or iCloud web apps. This would be true of, calendar, contacts, Pages documents, etc. In this case, set up your iPhone 4 as a new device, then instead of restoring it from a backup, just sync it via iTunes. All of your purchases can be re-downloaded for free from the various Stores' Purchases tabs. Just make sure to set up the phone with the same Apple ID - don't create a new one!

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