So earlier today I was upgrading the iPhone 15 Pro Max to the iPhone 16 Pro Max, which was running iOS 18.1 dev beta 4. The initial stages of the upgrade seemed smooth as usual, with the iPhone 16 prompting the standard update before the data transfer could proceed. However, things quickly took a turn when the wireless transfer between the phones froze for an extended period. After concluding that the process had stalled, I stopped and restarted it, but this led to a new issue - the transfer wouldn't initiate at all. It seemed as though the previous attempt had caused a conflict that prevented the process from beginning again.
I reset the iPhone 16 Pro Max, hoping a fresh start would fix the issue, but the transfer still wouldn’t work. At this point, I suspected that the problem might lie with the software, so I updated the 16PM to iOS 18.1 beta 4, which seemed to take forever. Despite this, more problems surfaced during the next attempt, including a strange situation where my passcode was repeatedly rejected. Even though I was certain I had entered the correct code, it failed three times, leaving me locked out of the phone. To make matters worse, my eSIM had already transferred to the new device, but without the data, I couldn’t access anything on the new phone, and the old phone no longer had the eSIM. So I couldn't even use my phone to phone apple or my network provider.
This led to a trip to a store to transfer the eSIM to a physical SIM, but that process was delayed for several hours due to issues on their end. Eventually, I resorted to putting the iPhone 16 into recovery mode, but even then, I encountered errors retrieving the necessary files from the server. After switching to a different Mac, I was finally able to restore the iPhone 16 Pro Max and proceed with another data transfer attempt. This time, after a lengthy process of reinstalling iOS 18.1 beta 4, the transfer succeeded.
The entire experience was a reminder of the potential pitfalls when upgrading with beta software, particularly during a critical transfer. The challenges with the eSIM added another layer of frustration, and the passcode issue remains a mystery. In hindsight, it's clear that attempting a transfer with beta software is not advised. I really should know better.
I reset the iPhone 16 Pro Max, hoping a fresh start would fix the issue, but the transfer still wouldn’t work. At this point, I suspected that the problem might lie with the software, so I updated the 16PM to iOS 18.1 beta 4, which seemed to take forever. Despite this, more problems surfaced during the next attempt, including a strange situation where my passcode was repeatedly rejected. Even though I was certain I had entered the correct code, it failed three times, leaving me locked out of the phone. To make matters worse, my eSIM had already transferred to the new device, but without the data, I couldn’t access anything on the new phone, and the old phone no longer had the eSIM. So I couldn't even use my phone to phone apple or my network provider.
This led to a trip to a store to transfer the eSIM to a physical SIM, but that process was delayed for several hours due to issues on their end. Eventually, I resorted to putting the iPhone 16 into recovery mode, but even then, I encountered errors retrieving the necessary files from the server. After switching to a different Mac, I was finally able to restore the iPhone 16 Pro Max and proceed with another data transfer attempt. This time, after a lengthy process of reinstalling iOS 18.1 beta 4, the transfer succeeded.
The entire experience was a reminder of the potential pitfalls when upgrading with beta software, particularly during a critical transfer. The challenges with the eSIM added another layer of frustration, and the passcode issue remains a mystery. In hindsight, it's clear that attempting a transfer with beta software is not advised. I really should know better.
