New iPhone Question

[Fingolfin269]

Hey guys, this is pretty simple stuff but I imagine asking here will be a lot easier than poking around for the information.

My gf has an upgrade and we'll probably get the iPhone 5. I currently have a 4S and will probably give her the 4S and use the iPhone 5 as my phone. What's the best way to go about this? Should I wipe my 4S to stock (I assume there is an easy way to do this) and then upon logging into the iPhone 5 should it pull in all of my information automatically via iCloud backups? I think it probably is this simple just want to be sure before we make the swap.

One other side question, for some reason all of my Safari bookmarks disappeared the other day and now when I bookmark something it doesn't show up. Any ideas?

 

[rsutoratosu]

If she has nothing, you backup your 4s to your itunes, transfer the apps and do a erase all content in the settings - general - reset (all the way on the bottom) - erase all content & settings and give it to her. I assume you switch sim card, etc.

you take the 5 and do a sync app and a restore from your itunes and you're down.

I would encrypt the backup on the 4s backup so it saves your password. if you do a unencrypted backup, you'll need to enter all your passwords.

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Problem is your 4s sim is micro, 5 is nano. You'll probably need to shell out money to buy new sim cards. doubt they'll transfer them, unless its verizon.


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Option 2, icloud everything and just wipe the 4s and do a icloud restore on the 5.

 

[jpeyton]

Problem is your 4s sim is micro, 5 is nano. You'll probably need to shell out money to buy new sim cards. doubt they'll transfer them, unless its verizon.

AT&T (and any other carrier) will bend over backwards to sign you up for a 2-year contract.

A SIM card is a 5 cent piece of plastic. Do you think AT&T won't hook him up with a free SIM transfer when he's signing a $2000+ contract? Their sales reps work on commission, so turning away a contract because of a 5 cent piece of plastic is silly. Find me one sales rep that won't give away SIM cards like candy with a contract, and I'll find you a dozen who will.

 

[Aikouka]

This should work...

• Backup the iPhone 4S.
• Get the iPhone 5.
• Have AT&T swap the SIM card data to put the active info from the 5 (it should be your girlfriend's number by default) to the 4S and vice-versa.
• Restore the 4S via iTunes and tell it to initialize as a new phone.
• Restore the 5 via iTunes and tell it to initialize using the backup created earlier.

AT&T won't mind swapping the devices as long as they're on the same account. You might even be able to circumvent some of the swapping SIM step if AT&T lets you upgrade your 4S using her upgrade eligibility. This way, the iPhone 5 will have your information on the SIM card already. They will disable your iPhone 4S's SIM card, so your GF will need to get a new Micro SIM for it then.

 

[Fingolfin269]

Thanks for the tips. In terms of SIM card we're on VZW so no issue there.

 

[Aikouka]

Thanks for the tips. In terms of SIM card we're on VZW so no issue there.

I believe the LTE phones do have SIM cards.

 

[ControlD]

I believe the LTE phones do have SIM cards.

My Verizon 4S came with a SIM as well. It isn't required however (at least for 3G). In fact, the only way Verizon could get my replacement 4S to activate was to throw the SIM card away.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

So wait. The 5 uses a different sim card? My wife's transitioning from a 3gs. Will she have to take it in to At&t to swap it?

 

[ThermalShark]

Yes, the iPhone 5 uses a "Nano sim"

It's possible to trim it down, but better to just get a new one.

Also, just FYI, Verizon's LTE sims are a single activation only sim, if you change numbers or use a different phone, you need them to activate a new sim that's tied to your phone.

Honestly not sure if the Verizon iPhone uses an LTE sim card or not though.

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Ah didn't realize that. My wife's phone just got delivered today. We won't be able to take it in till tomorrow sometime then. Thanks.

 

[Phanuel]

If she ordered it from AT&T it will come with the sim already in it. Mine did, all I had to do was follow the link in my e-mail and put in some codes from the lock screen on the phone.

 

[bearxor]

Yes, the iPhone 5 uses a "Nano sim"

It's possible to trim it down, but better to just get a new one.

Also, just FYI, Verizon's LTE sims are a single activation only sim, if you change numbers or use a different phone, you need them to activate a new sim that's tied to your phone.

Honestly not sure if the Verizon iPhone uses an LTE sim card or not though.

They keep telling me the SIM cards will be free to reactivate after 24h. Haven't gotten a single one I've done to reactivate yet.

To OP: Back up the 4S. Then just tell the VZW sales rep what you want to do. If both lines are on a family account, they'll just straight upgrade your line using her eligibility and then activate your device on her line after the 5 is activated.

If they're on different accounts, it's a little more convoluted, but he should be able to upgrade her line to a 5, then put her old phone back on it, swap it to your line, then put your 4S on her line. I can do that through my companies site in like 15 minutes. Shouldn't take a sales rep much longer than that once they actually start doing it.