How should I migrate iPhone?

I’m about to upgrade my iPhone 6 to the new iPhone XR. What’s the best way to do this: using iCloud or iTunes? Any other tips?

Moving your SIM is straightforward using the tool provided with your new phone, except that it mounts face down in the XR’s carrier. If you’re unsure, get the Apple shop to do this for you.

How best to move your data depends on where it’s currently stored. If all important information, photos, and so on are stored in iCloud, you should still make a backup using iTunes for convenience, in case something goes wrong. However, you may not need to restore from that as you can connect the phone to your iCloud account during setup.

If you can’t share everything in iCloud, you’ll need to restore from a backup stored either in iTunes or iCloud. The snag is that you may have to update iOS on the XR beforehand, requiring you to set it up as a new iPhone first. Once updated, you can reset the iPhone and restore the contents of your backup to it.

Health data is a problem. You can preserve it in an encrypted backup in iTunes, or store it in iCloud (Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Health). Even then, we’ve found it may not make it across to a new phone. Once your data has transferred, the XR needs to download all your apps. If there are many, ensure you’re on uncapped Wi–Fi, with several hours to spare, to avoid overrunning your mobile data allowance.

Some banking and other apps require separate authorization on a new device. Keep your old iPhone available on Wi–Fi without its SIM till you’re happy all is working properly.