How to transfer data from your old iPhone to your new iPhone 7

What's the easiest and best way to transfer all your data from your old iPhone to your brand new iPhone 7? This way!

When you get your shiny — or matte! — new iPhone 7, you'll need to move all your old data to its new home. Whether you're using iTunes a cable, or iCloud and the internet, the first thing you'll need to do is backup your old iPhone, then restore everything to your new iPhone. The process is straight forward but I'll walk you through it every step of the way!

How to transfer your data to your new iPhone using iTunes
How to transfer your data to your new iPhone using iCloud
How to transfer your data to your new iPhone from an old Android, Windows, or Blackberry smartphone

How to transfer your data to your new iPhone using iTunes

Here's the deal: If you make an encrypted backup of your old iPhone using iTunes, then restore it to your new iPhone, it'll bring most — if not all — your password information along with it. That'll save you a lot of time and effort getting set back up.

You do need a Lightning to USB cable (or 30-pin Dock to USB if you have an iPhone 4s or earlier), and you'll still have to re-download apps — the App Store gives you slightly different versions for each device, optimized to run best on that specific hardware — but overall I still find it to be much, much faster.

Make sure you're running the most recent version of iTunes.
Plug your old iPhone into your Mac or Windows PC.
Launch iTunes.
Click on the iPhone icon in the menu bar when it appears.
Click on Back Up Now.
Click on Encrypt Backup and add a password.
Skip Backup Apps, if asked. (They'll likely re-download anyway.)
Unplug your old iPhone when done.
Turn off your old iPhone.
Take your SIM card out of your old iPhone. (If you don't have a new or separate SIM card for your new phone.)

Wait for the backup to complete before proceeding.

Put your SIM card into your new iPhone. (If it didn't come with a new or different SIM card.)
Turn on your new iPhone.
Plug your new iPhone into your Mac or Windows PC.
Slide to set up on your iPhone.
Follow the directions to choose your language and set up your Wi-Fi network.
Select Restore from iTunes backup.
On iTunes on your Mac or Windows PC, select Restore from this backup.
Choose your recent backup from the list.
Enter your password if your backup was encrypted and it asks.

Keep your iPhone plugged into iTunes until the transfer is complete, and on Wi-Fi until all re-downloads are complete. Depending on how much data you have to re-download, including music and apps, it might take a while.

Your iPhone might feel warm or even hot, and you might burn a lot of battery life for the first few hours or even a day or due to the radios working and the Spotlight search system indexing. Just let it finish.

How to transfer your data to your new iPhone using iCloud

If you use Apple's online service, iCloud, to backup your iPhone, then you can transfer all your data over wirelessly. Depending on when your last backup was, however, you might want to manually trigger a backup before making a transfer. That'll ensure everything is as up-to-date as possible.

Pick up your old iPhone.
Make sure your iPhone or iPad is connected to Wi-Fi. (If you're low on power, plug in as well.)
Launch Settings from the Home screen.
Tap on iCloud.
Tap on Backup.
Tap on Back Up Now.
When the backup is done, turn off your old iPhone.
Take your SIM card out of your old iPhone. (If you don't have a new or separate SIM card for your new phone.)

Wait for the backup to complete before proceeding.

Put your SIM card into your new iPhone. (If it didn't come with a new or different SIM card.)
Turn on your new iPhone.
Slide to set up.
Follow the directions to choose your language and set up your Wi-Fi network.
Select Restore from iCloud backup.
Sign into your iCloud account. (Your Apple ID.)
Tap Next.
Agree to the Terms and Conditions and Confirm.
Choose your recent backup from the list.
Enter your iCloud password when and if requested.

Depending on how much data you have to re-download, including music and apps, it might take a while for the transfer to complete. Stay on Wi-Fi as much as possible to speed up the process.

Your iPhone might feel warm for a while, and battery life may take a big initial hit. Don't worry, that's the radios and processors working overtime to get everything back in place, and the Spotlight search system indexing it as fast as it can.

How to transfer your data to your new iPhone from an old Android, Windows, or Blackberry smartphone

If you're coming from an Android phone, Windows Phone, or BlackBerry, you can still move some of your data, though you can't transfer apps, for instance.