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Clean install via iCloud

R

Rhino1

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 12, 2012
71
33
So I have a new iPhone running iOS12 and Id like to use a backup from another iPhone running 9.3.5.. Everybody mentions clean installing to avoid any issues so that's what I did. I setup the phone as new and would like to migrate my photos and WhatsApp across everything else is working fine.

The problem is WhatsApp and Photos are not backing up as individual options in iCloud in order for me to just sync them onto my new phone (they are backing up as one complete backup however). So the issue I am faced with is I have no choice but to apply this backup. The question I have is; does applying this backup no longer count as a clean install?

I had a discussion with the Apple guy (who I think is incorrect) but he mentions that backing up to a computer and then restoring is not the same as backing up to iCloud. He said if you want to do a clean install you can use iCloud because that doesn't backup the phone's "unclean" data. It just takes the bare minimum to get you started on the new iPhone which means your getting a clean install even if your using an old backup from an older iOS (9.3.5) device.

Is this true? Or does installing an iCloud backup carry all the "accumulated leftover" data and dump it onto the new device no longer making it a clean install?
 
From my understanding, if you have corruption in your backup and restore from it your install will be corrupted also regardless if it is from iCloud or iTunes..
 
That's what I thought too. He's point was you cant have a corrupt iCloud backup because Apple servers won't accept corrupted data in the first instance.
 
Rhino1 said:
That's what I thought too. He's point was you cant have a corrupt iCloud backup because Apple servers won't accept corrupted data in the first instance.
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I don’t see how they could know what’s corrupt or not. I’ve actually had it happen to me and I ended up having to dump my backup and start from a fresh install to get rid of the problems
 
BugeyeSTI said:
I don’t see how they could know what’s corrupt or not. I’ve actually had it happen to me and I ended up having to dump my backup and start from a fresh install to get rid of the problems
Click to expand...

Mate I'm with you on this one.. So what do you suggest I do to achieve the restore without loosing that data..?
 
Rhino1 said:
Mate I'm with you on this one.. So what do you suggest I do to achieve the restore without loosing that data..?
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So your sure the backup is corrupted? If yes, you have to do restore using iTunes without using the backup, a clean install. When you log back into iCloud, most of your important data will be recovered but you won’t get everything that’s for sure. There may be a way to offload important data using 3rd party software but, I really don’t have any experience with that
 
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Can try third party iTunes-like apps (eg. AnyTrans, iMazing). They have functions that allow limited restores, i.e., restore from backup just the data for app XYZ.

(have not done this myself, so, no idea if would work for Whatsmajicchatmabob and ilk)
 
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Rhino1 said:
I had a discussion with the Apple guy (who I think is incorrect) but he mentions that backing up to a computer and then restoring is not the same as backing up to iCloud. He said if you want to do a clean install you can use iCloud because that doesn't backup the phone's "unclean" data. It just takes the bare minimum to get you started on the new iPhone which means your getting a clean install even if your using an old backup from an older iOS (9.3.5) device.

Is this true? Or does installing an iCloud backup carry all the "accumulated leftover" data and dump it onto the new device no longer making it a clean install?
Click to expand...

This is true, but it wasn't always. iCloud backup & restore has much improved and the best way to get your new device up and running. Though, as with anything technical, there is a chance for bugs. it's like the text only version of a Word doc - raw data and no formatting.

So your messages, phone logs and list of apps/positions on screens are probably the biggest reason to do this. Apps all download as new on an iCloud restore. As opposed to a full iTunes backup which I believe still backs up the actual app, which is likely where any corruption has occurred.

Even if you set up your phone as a clean install, as soon as you log into iCloud, it should sync down anything in there like photos, messages etc if you toggle it "on" but now you have to manually download, arrange and log into all your apps.
 
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Rhino1 said:
That's what I thought too. He's point was you cant have a corrupt iCloud backup because Apple servers won't accept corrupted data in the first instance.
Click to expand...
I can first-hand confirm that I have had a corrupted iCloud backup. It refused to restore. It would error out and would cause the phone to respring. I attempted to restore it 3 times before calling Apple and they said that it was an issue with the backup.
 
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E3BK said:
As opposed to a full iTunes backup which I believe still backs up the actual app, which is likely where any corruption has occurred.
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No app backup, not since iTunes that rolled out with iOS 11.
 
Mlrollin91 said:
I can first-hand confirm that I have had a corrupted iCloud backup. It refused to restore. It would error out and would cause the phone to respring. I attempted to restore it 3 times before calling Apple and they said that it was an issue with the backup.
Click to expand...

Was this recent?
 
NoBoMac said:
No app backup, not since iTunes that rolled out with iOS 11.
Click to expand...
Yep, true. Apps are not backed up they are re-downloaded wereas iTunes they are actually reinstalled so you could be very out of date if you haven't updated prior to backing up. So that's the very first sign of relief
 
NoBoMac said:
No app backup, not since iTunes that rolled out with iOS 11.
Click to expand...
The app itself is not backed up, but all associated data is (which can become corrupt and the app data won't properly restore. This has also happened to me. Typically why I refuse to use backups.). iTunes never backed up the app, the app was merely stored in iTunes library.
 
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Mlrollin91 said:
Yes, last month. Restoring my backup from my iPhone 8Plus to XS.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. I haven't had any issues w/ iCloud restore in a long while. Except for iCloud messages - not everything synced up/down for some reason and so I was missing messages on the XS.
 
NoBoMac said:
Can try third party iTunes-like apps (eg. AnyTrans, iMazing). They have functions that allow limited restores, i.e., restore from backup just the data for app XYZ.

(have not done this myself, so, no idea if would work for Whatsmajicchatmabob and ilk)
Click to expand...
I've seen so many of these but to be perfectly honest they don't seem very safe - I know that's hypocrisy since I havent tested them but there is something about those apps I don't trust - yet it seems like this may be the only way :(
 
E3BK said:
Sorry to hear that. I haven't had any issues w/ iCloud restore in a long while. Except for iCloud messages - not everything synced up/down for some reason and so I was missing messages on the XS.
Click to expand...
Yeah, I lost everything but health and messages. Thank God that Health was finally separated from backups because I would have been furious. Over the last 4 years on multiple occasions I have lost health data due to iCloud backup and iTunes backup issues. There are too many little bugs that screw up backups.
 
You can manually extricate your Photo Library/Camera Roll from an iTunes backup of the old phone. I'm not sure if WhatsApp can do this too, but believe they offer cloud backup that may be separate from iCloud.
 
BugeyeSTI said:
So your sure the backup is corrupted? If yes, you have to do restore using iTunes without using the backup, a clean install. When you log back into iCloud, most of your important data will be recovered but you won’t get everything that’s for sure. There may be a way to offload important data using 3rd party software but, I really don’t have any experience with that
Click to expand...
I'm not sure the backup is corrupted - if anything it works fantastic on my older 9.3.5 device but everyone just keeps on talking about the clean install effect being far more 'neater' and a better smartphone experience. Also removes any possibility of battery problems. I mean is that all really true or is it some sort of placebo ocd effect?
 
Rhino1 said:
I'm not sure the backup is corrupted - if anything it works fantastic on my older 9.3.5 device but everyone just keeps on talking about the clean install effect being far more 'neater' and a better smartphone experience. Also removes any possibility of battery problems. I mean is that all really true or is it some sort of placebo ocd effect?
Click to expand...
No, it's definitely true. Especially huge jumps like 9.3.5 -> 12.1. There is a lot of room for things to go wrong. Some people will swear by never having issues from backups. But running iOS for 11 years, backups have caused me nothing but headaches. It's easier to just bit the bullet and start clean.
 
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Mr_Brightside_@ said:
You can manually extricate your Photo Library/Camera Roll from an iTunes backup of the old phone. I'm not sure if WhatsApp can do this too, but believe they offer cloud backup that may be separate from iCloud.
Click to expand...
Yep, there are a few programs that allow you to backup and restore just whatsapp, etc. data but they just seem a little worrying since they are messing with the way the phone was originally meant to be backed up and restored. I can sort out photos some way or another I guess but the messages are the issues.
 
Rhino1 said:
I'm not sure the backup is corrupted - if anything it works fantastic on my older 9.3.5 device but everyone just keeps on talking about the clean install effect being far more 'neater' and a better smartphone experience. Also removes any possibility of battery problems. I mean is that all really true or is it some sort of placebo ocd effect?
Click to expand...
If there’s nothing wrong with the backup I’d use it and see what happens. I’ve had excellent results restoring from backup with no issues at all. Only time I’ve started from a fresh install is when I have had problems that would not go away no matter what I tried, that’s only happened 3 times in the last 5 years so I’d say restoring from backup works very well. I can honestly say I’ve never restored from a backup as old as the one your referring to so I suppose it would be more of an experiment to see if it actually would work without issues..
 
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Mlrollin91 said:
No, it's definitely true. Especially huge jumps like 9.3.5 -> 12.1. There is a lot of room for things to go wrong. Some people will swear by never having issues from backups. But running iOS for 11 years, backups have caused me nothing but headaches. It's easier to just bit the bullet and start clean.
Click to expand...
Yea, I had a look at few of the apps usages in comparision and some sizes are ridiculosy different. I removed the app and reinstalled it on the older device and all of a sudden its using 1 quarter of the space so there is definitely issues with backups I guess... This whole issue is because Whatsapp is just not backing up to iCloud Drive! Otherwise I've already pretty much set the device up as new with all my apps reinstalled
 
Rhino1 said:
Yea, I had a look at few of the apps usages in comparision and some sizes are ridiculosy different. I removed the app and reinstalled it on the older device and all of a sudden its using 1 quarter of the space so there is definitely issues with backups I guess... This whole issue is because Whatsapp is just not backing up to iCloud Drive! Otherwise I've already pretty much set the device up as new with all my apps reinstalled
Click to expand...
Doesn't WhatsApp have their own backup service? I could have sworn they did. Or an export/import option.
 
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