Transferring iPhone 8 (iOS 14.5) to new 15: Upgrade 8’s iOS & best method of transfer

[autozonejawana]

I recently (1 week ago) bought a 15 Plus & my old phone that I’ll be transferring over the contents of to the 15 is an 8 Plus w/ a 14.5 iOS (I just was dumb & never upgraded my iOS, yes i am ashamed of that this) And now the highest iOS an 8 can have is 16. So one of my questions is: do I have to upgrade the 8 to iOS 16 to be able to transfer to the 15? And even if its not absolutely necessary to upgrade the 8’s iOS, will I have an easier time/less issues with transferring the whole phone to the 15 if I DO / am able to upgrade the 8 to iOS 16? Im just nervous to upgrade to 16 now considering how old my phone & its current iOS is. And its only 128GB so I dont know if that makes a difference re: the upgrade to iOS 16.

My other question is: with my specific 2 phones - transferring an 8 to a 15 - & also possible iOS upgrade issues with the 8 (if in fact the 8 does need an iOS update for the transfer) … what would be the best method to do the transfer so that ALL of the 8’s contents successfully moves over to the 15 with the least amount of issues: Restore from recent iCloud backup - direct transfer - restore from
back up on PC (itunes).

Also, I know that iCloud Backup includes all the info and settings stored on your phone - except - for the data/apps that are continuously syncing to iCloud. So iCloud backups dont include your whole phone - it doesnt include the data that is continuously syncing - which is photos, iCloud drive, & notes (on my 8, these are switched on to backup to iCloud) Is this correct? If so, how then do you transfer photos - drive - & notes to a new phone?
[ From: What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support
“What iCloud Backup includes:”
Your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro backups include all the information and settings stored on your device that don't already sync to iCloud.” ]

I know sound like nervous Nelly but last time I did this, itunes was still the preferred/main method & using an iCloud backup to restore was pretty new & took forever. Thanks!

 

[J. A.]

Photos and the content from iCloud Drive are synced to your devices using the same iCloud ID. You habe to enable iCloud Photos on your older iPhone. On your new device, go to your name - iCloud - Photos/iCloud Drive, and select “Sync this iPhone”.

As soon as you set up the ID used on your iPhone 8, the data/photos will be synced to your new device. You don‘t have to transfer them. Just make sure, nothing is in the “On my iPhone“ folder in iCloud Drive on your iPhone 8.

 

[carolineM]

I recently (1 week ago) bought a 15 Plus & my old phone that I’ll be transferring over the contents of to the 15 is an 8 Plus w/ a 14.5 iOS (I just was dumb & never upgraded my iOS, yes i am ashamed of that this) And now the highest iOS an 8 can have is 16. So one of my questions is: do I have to upgrade the 8 to iOS 16 to be able to transfer to the 15? And even if its not absolutely necessary to upgrade the 8’s iOS, will I have an easier time/less issues with transferring the whole phone to the 15 if I DO / am able to upgrade the 8 to iOS 16? Im just nervous to upgrade to 16 now considering how old my phone & its current iOS is. And its only 128GB so I dont know if that makes a difference re: the upgrade to iOS 16.

My other question is: with my specific 2 phones - transferring an 8 to a 15 - & also possible iOS upgrade issues with the 8 (if in fact the 8 does need an iOS update for the transfer) … what would be the best method to do the transfer so that ALL of the 8’s contents successfully moves over to the 15 with the least amount of issues: Restore from recent iCloud backup - direct transfer - restore from
back up on PC (itunes).

Also, I know that iCloud Backup includes all the info and settings stored on your phone - except - for the data/apps that are continuously syncing to iCloud. So iCloud backups dont include your whole phone - it doesnt include the data that is continuously syncing - which is photos, iCloud drive, & notes (on my 8, these are switched on to backup to iCloud) Is this correct? If so, how then do you transfer photos - drive - & notes to a new phone?
[ From: What does iCloud back up? - Apple Support
“What iCloud Backup includes:”
Your iPhone, iPad, and Apple Vision Pro backups include all the information and settings stored on your device that don't already sync to iCloud.” ]

I know sound like nervous Nelly but last time I did this, itunes was still the preferred/main method & using an iCloud backup to restore was pretty new & took forever. Thanks!

It is not essential but desirable to update your old phone as updates contain new settings and sometimes even new Apps. I would recommend making a fresh iCloud backup and using that to set up your new iPhone.