Phone upgrade checklist
Most phone upgrades go fine. The ones that don't lose a chat history or lock someone out of an account, and both are avoidable with the right order.
18 items
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The items
- Full backup of the old phone taken before touching anythingThe one step that makes every other item on this list reversible if something goes wrong.
- Signed into the account — Apple ID or Google — on the new phone
- SIM transferred or new eSIM activatedSome providers need this arranged in advance rather than on the day — check first if it isn't instant.
- Photos confirmed synced before the old phone is wipedOpen the photos app on the new phone and actually count — don't assume the sync finished.
- Contacts confirmed present on the new phone
- Chat apps transferred using their own toolWhatsApp and similar need an in-app transfer or backup — reinstalling the app alone carries no history across.
- Authenticator apps re-enrolled on the new phoneDo this before the old phone is wiped, or the accounts behind it become very awkward to get back into.
- Banking apps reinstalled and re-registeredThese usually need a fresh sign-in and sometimes a card or a call to unlock on a new device.
- Password manager confirmed working on the new phone
- Find My device or equivalent turned on
- Case and screen protector fitted before the first time it's put down anywhere
- Health or fitness app data merged across, if used
- Accessibility settings carried over
- Home screen layout rebuilt, or accepted as a fresh start
- Screen time or parental controls reapplied, if used
- Old SIM or eSIM deactivated once the new one is confirmed workingConfirm calls and texts actually arrive on the new phone before doing this — not just that it looks activated.
- Old phone factory reset only after everything above is confirmedSign out of every account on it first — a reset with accounts still attached can leave it locked to the previous owner.
- Trade-in, recycling or sale of the old phone decided
Makes your own editable copy. No account needed.
Questions people ask
- What's the one thing that catches people out?
- Two-factor authentication apps. They don't transfer with a normal backup, and re-enrolling them on the new phone before wiping the old one avoids being locked out.
- How long should I keep the old phone before wiping it?
- A couple of weeks, signed out of nothing, doing nothing. Wiping it the same day is exactly when a missing photo or chat gets noticed too late to fix.
- Do WhatsApp chats move over automatically?
- Only with the in-app transfer or backup, run before the switch — copying the app itself carries no history at all.