Restore and setting up my X as new phone

[The.316]

So there are a few things that are going on with my X that are annoying. Nothing serious, but Id like to do a clean install of the latest iOS, but with a twist. I have SO many apps on my phone, and i maybe use a quarter of them. I really want to download the apps that I use often, and get rid of the rest. How can I set up my phone as new, but restore my photos that are currently on my iPhone? Is there a way I can just restore them via iCloud on my phone?

 

[Banglazed]

Manually do an iCloud backup. Do an iTunes backup. Restore iPhone. Set up as new device. Sign into iCloud to sync back all data such as photos etc.

 

[Cmd-Z]

How can I set up my phone as new, but restore my photos that are currently on my iPhone? Is there a way I can just restore them via iCloud on my phone?

Where exactly are your photos now?

Do you have iCloud Photos enabled? (Settings>Photos>iCloud Photos>ON or OFF?)

• If you're using iCloud Photos, not a problem. Just restore your iPhone as new and your photos will be available from your iCloud account. Photos are not part of your backup and they don't need to be, since they're in iCloud.

If you're not using iCloud Photos, that means that you have photos save on your iPhone in Camera Roll, and possibly "My Photo Stream" (if enabled).

• Camera Roll is not a problem either since it is part of your backup (whether you backup to iTunes or iCloud).
• But "My Photo Stream" is deceiving ... in iCloud only the last 30 days' worth of photos are in My Photo Stream, but on your iPhone that copy of My Photo Stream may have many more photos than the last 30 days. But the devious part is that My Photo Stream is not backed up, so if you restore your backup the only thing that you get back in My Photo Stream is the last 30 days' worth of photos.

So before you proceed, know where your photos are being kept.

 

[The.316]

Where exactly are your photos now?

Do you have iCloud Photos enabled? (Settings>Photos>iCloud Photos>ON or OFF?)

• If you're using iCloud Photos, not a problem. Just restore your iPhone as new and your photos will be available from your iCloud account. Photos are not part of your backup and they don't need to be, since they're in iCloud.

If you're not using iCloud Photos, that means that you have photos save on your iPhone in Camera Roll, and possibly "My Photo Stream" (if enabled).

• Camera Roll is not a problem either since it is part of your backup (whether you backup to iTunes or iCloud).
• But "My Photo Stream" is deceiving ... in iCloud only the last 30 days' worth of photos are in My Photo Stream, but on your iPhone that copy of My Photo Stream may have many more photos than the last 30 days. But the devious part is that My Photo Stream is not backed up, so if you restore your backup the only thing that you get back in My Photo Stream is the last 30 days' worth of photos.

So before you proceed, know where your photos are being kept.

It seems that my photos are on mi iCloud, since it takes up 27gbs. How do I download them after I do the restore?

 

[Cmd-Z]

It seems that my photos are on mi iCloud, since it takes up 27gbs. How do I download them after I do the restore?

That's a good indication that they're in iCloud, but do check the iCloud Photos ON/OFF setting on your iPhone.

If you're using iCloud Photo Library, then its just a matter of signing into iCloud after you restore your iPhone w/o your current backup. The iCloud sign-in will automatically trigger your photo syncing, nothing else really needs to be done, just be patient while photos are downloaded while on Wi-Fi (you can allow photos to sync over cellular, but not recommended for this much activity). By default you'll just get thumbnails of the photos, which are fully downloaded only if you select one for viewing or sharing.

If you want the full resolution photos on your iPhone at all times, change the setting for "Optimize iPhone Storage" which is meant to minimize the space taken up by photos on your iPhone (default for this is ON ... turn this OFF if you want full resolution photos on your iPhone, but it will take a lot longer to sync them). You should check how you have this set now and do the same thing after restoring your iPhone.

 

[Apple blogger]

If your photos take up more than 5 GB you’re surely paying for iCloud is my guess. In that case go in settings >> photos>> turn on iCloud photos. If it’s already on, go into the photos app, in the photos tab and scroll to the bottom. Check that no photos are yet uploading or remaining to upload. If they are, then turn on wifi and let them upload.

iCloud Photo Library is the easiest option for you since you have more than 27 GB of photos