Hi,

Has anyone bought a new iPhone online, either from Apple or one of the carriers?
Just wondering if it is pretty easy and straight forward to do?
I'm going to help my Dad get a new phone. His either 6+ (or is it a 6s+) is giving him troubles.
We'll figure out what model, but just wondering about the actual transfer process etc.

Thanks,

Steve

There are several options. Anything you choose will usually require some “down time” ( a partial day when he has no phone he can use ). But I’m pretty sure you can do the work on his behalf so he’s not waiting around inside a store or wrangling with some online environment.

I walked into Walmart because they had the best deal on the 8 Plus I wanted a few years ago. I had some issue getting my number ported to it (on my own, at home) and walked into my Verizon store and they took care of it, but I had to stand there for 20 minutes and watch them fiddle at their computer.

I went through hell this Summer trying to buy an SE for my sister at AT&T's website. I got many "something went wrong. Please try again later" messages. They couldn't port the old number over, plus a very poorly designed website, IMO.

I finally got the order through, but it really bugged me that a large telecom company can't get a website to work properly.

I would have went to the not so local AT&T store, but they are closed due to the pandemic.

---

Mr. Lahey: A lot of people, don’t know how to drink. They drink against the grain of the liquor. And when you drink against the grain of the liquor? You lose.

Randy: What the @#$%& are you talking about?

I replaced my Mother In Law's SE with an SE 2020. I ordered it from AT&T (half off). It came in a couple of days later. My daughter had helped her granny backup her phone to iCloud the evening before. I switched the SIM card had her log in. He stuff started showing up. She was up and running in minutes. I erased her old phone. Still looking for a buyer.

---

San Antonio, TX (in the old city)


"All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke
“Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." - Eli Weisel

"To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." - Theodore Roosevelt (1918)

"I don’t want to see religious bigotry in any form. It would disturb me if there was a wedding between the religious fundamentalists and the political right. The hard right has no interest in religion except to manipulate it." - Billy Graham 1981

"Politics and governing demand compromise. But these Christians believe they are acting in the name of God, so they can't and won't compromise" - Barry Goldwater

Unless he's switching carriers, it's a simple SIM swap.

Quote
macphanatic
Unless he's switching carriers, it's a simple SIM swap.

Data transfer will be the most difficult part of the entire exchange.

Quote
sekker

Quote
macphanatic
Unless he's switching carriers, it's a simple SIM swap.

Data transfer will be the most difficult part of the entire exchange.

IIRC, put both on the same Wifi network, put the phones next to each other and the new phone will transfer everything over from the old phone. That's how I just migrated my work iPhone 7 to a new XR.

Quote
macphanatic

Quote
sekker

Quote
macphanatic
Unless he's switching carriers, it's a simple SIM swap.

Data transfer will be the most difficult part of the entire exchange.

IIRC, put both on the same Wifi network, put the phones next to each other and the new phone will transfer everything over from the old phone. That's how I just migrated my work iPhone 7 to a new XR.

yep. it's automagic. that's how i moved from an IP6s to IP11 and my old iPad to an iPad Pro.

---

"Success isn't about how much money you make. It is about the difference you make in people's lives."--Michelle Obama

Has anyone bought a new iPhone online, either from Apple or one of the carriers?
Just wondering if it is pretty easy and straight forward to do?


Buying the 'Phone is a walk in the park.

Decide if he's sticking with a carrier or switching carriers.

If he's sticking with the same carrier, then buy the 'Phone without a SIM.

Back up the old 'Phone, pull its SIM, and install it in the new 'Phone.

Wait a few minutes, and you have service, and can make and receive calls.

Then you either retore from your last backup, or use it as a new 'Phone.


If he were to switch carriers, you pick the new carrier's phone, (and plan, I assume) and order.

When you get the 'Phone, it'll have to be activated and the number ported to the new 'Phone.

As I recall, or at least in my case, activating at home means connecting to iTunes, though maybe now in the 21st century, it can be down with iCloud (?).


One caveat— any apps on his 'Phone that are no longer available in the App Store, will be lost.

Apps not compatible with iOS 14 will be lost unless they have updates.

There's not really anything that can be done about it, if that's a consideration.

But it might explain what happened to that ancient Candy Crush game that Dad loved.

---

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

Everybody matters or nobody matters.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

Mister, that's a ten-gallon hat on a twenty-gallon head.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.

Thanks for all the advice.
I should have been more clear, I was wondering about the process of buying the phone on online instead of going in to the BM Store, in these Covid times.
My bad.
We ordered an Xr from the Apple Store website. Should deliver Wednesday.
Slight hick up trying to get the Verizon account moved over ahead of time. We'll have to deal with it when it comes.

Thanks,

Steve

Quote
macphanatic

Quote
sekker

Quote
macphanatic
Unless he's switching carriers, it's a simple SIM swap.

Data transfer will be the most difficult part of the entire exchange.

IIRC, put both on the same Wifi network, put the phones next to each other and the new phone will transfer everything over from the old phone. That's how I just migrated my work iPhone 7 to a new XR.

Nice! I had no idea this was possible. I thought you had to save everything in iCloud or via iTunes first.

Nice! I had no idea this was possible. I thought you had to save everything in iCloud or via iTunes first.


I forgot about that.

jdc recommended that method some time back.

When I got my OG SE to replace my 5s, that method automatically popped up, but I did a misstep and was unable to recover.

So I had to backup and restore via iT.

---

When a good man is hurt,
all who would be called good
must suffer with him.

Everybody matters or nobody matters.

You and I have memories longer than the road that stretches out ahead.

There is no safety for honest men except
by believing all possible evil of evil men.

We don’t do focus groups. They just ensure that you don’t offend anyone, and produce bland inoffensive products. —Sir Jonathan Ive

-An armed society is a polite society.
And hope is a lousy defense.

You make me pull, I'll put you down.

Mister, that's a ten-gallon hat on a twenty-gallon head.

I *love* SIGs. It's Glocks I hate.