Switching Carriers - What transfers?

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Level 1

5 points

Switching Carriers - What transfers?

OK - I have spent well over an hour reading FAQ's and other information on this site but I'm still confused so here is goes. I am going to switch from carriers (Sprint to Verizon but I do not think it matters). I plan to make an encrytped back-up of my phone before I head to the store to make the switch. It appears that I need to use the encryted feature so all my health type data is backed up. Here is where I still have question:

Will I need to reload all my Applepay cards? I also have an Apple Watch so will that transfer or need to be done.
It appears that all my text messages will be backed-up as long as I use iTunes for back-up. Can someone confirm.
Not sure about photos. Do they or do they not get backed-up? If they are not part of the back-up, can I assume that they will need to be manually reloaded to the phone?
Related but just a question - I have always used the itunes back-up method because you only get 5GB free in iCloud but I have about 30GB of data on my phone. What am I missing here. When I read the iclould information, their is a laundry list of items that are not included in the back-up because they are included in the iCloud. How can anyone seriously use the iCloud backup without buying additional storage?

Thanks

Windows 7

Posted on Feb 17, 2017 6:57 AM

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Answer 1

turingtest2

Level 10

278,395 points

Feb 17, 2017 1:03 PM in response to Jashinski

I would think so. It will have a new secure enclave. I had to put mine back after a recent restore from encrypted backup to the same device.
Message history should be preserved.
Photos should be included in an iTunes backup, but don't rely on it. Since most videos are excluded from Photostream they might not be included in an iCloud backup. See Import photos and videos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support.
iCloud backup is fine for modest users that don't generate lots of content of their own.

If you think there is anything on the device that might not be included in the backup and your existing library see Recover your iTunes library from your iPod or iOS device. See also Archive iPhone backup in Windows.

tt2

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Answer 2

cjahn50

Level 4

2,083 points

Feb 17, 2017 8:45 AM in response to Jashinski

Check out this link - About backups for iOS devices - Apple Support. It should answer most, if not all of your questions, And yes, if you need space in the cloud beyond 5GB, you'll have to pay for it.

As for your Apple watch, I recently got an iPhone 7 Plus and I had to go through the initialization from scratch with my watch. No big deal, just a time killer.

Hope this helps!

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