iPhone Reset Question

[Alameda]

I just got a new iPhone 12 from the phone store. He gave it to me with the service working and booted up. In other words, it wasn’t in the state where I could tell it to restore from another iPhone.

I’d like to reset the phone so that it restores via iCloud from my old iPhone 11. But when I try this, the phone says it will also reset the carrier settings. I don’t want to reset my carrier settings, so is there a way I can restore from another iPhone without killing my carrier settings?

 

[Samdh90]

I just got a new iPhone 12 from the phone store. He gave it to me with the service working and booted up. In other words, it wasn’t in the state where I could tell it to restore from another iPhone.

I’d like to reset the phone so that it restores via iCloud from my old iPhone 11. But when I try this, the phone says it will also reset the carrier settings. I don’t want to reset my carrier settings, so is there a way I can restore from another iPhone without killing my carrier settings?

To be honest, I don't think that really matters much. When you erase and then restore(using a backup), you are clean slating, then rolling back the data and config files from the backup. In all the years that I have owned a smartphone, a wipe never made the phone inoperable because the data lies within the sim card for carrier communication.

 

[now i see it]

Normally a phone doesn’t have special carrier settings. All it needs is a SIM card and be compatible with your network. All of my past iPhones I could erase and restore with no issue.

 

[Alameda]

Normally a phone doesn’t have special carrier settings. All it needs is a SIM card and be compatible with your network. All of my past iPhones I could erase and restore with no issue.

Thank you very much!
Here is the resolution: I called the carrier and asked. The answer is that it WILL wipe out the carrier data, because the iPhone 12 has an eSIM.

With the agent on the line, I began the Erase All Content and Settings process… which, displayed a second warning screen which let me choose whether to erase all content and settings while keeping my carrier data.

So there you have it: After telling you it will erase the carrier data, the iPhone asks you to choose… so I erased the phone without wiping the carrier settings.

All is well.