Due to Apple seeding the iOS 13.1 beta prior to the public release of iOS 13, upgrading to a new iPhone may be a bit trickier this year.



In a support document, Apple has provided instructions for migrating data from an older iPhone running the iOS 13.1 beta to an iPhone 11, iPhone 11 Pro, or iPhone 11 Pro Max, which run iOS 13.0 out of the box.

The instant option is to set up the iPhone 11 as new, update the device to the iOS 13.1 beta, and then restore from an iCloud or iTunes backup:

Back up the older iPhone via iCloud or iTunes.

Power on the new iPhone, select "Set Up as New iPhone" during the set up process, and follow the steps as prompted.

On the new iPhone, install the iOS 13 beta profile from either the Apple Beta Software Program or the iOS Developer Program, depending on whether you had the developer or public beta installed on the older iPhone.

Upgrade the new iPhone to the iOS 13.1 beta.

After the upgrade is complete, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings on the new iPhone. This will bring the iPhone back to the "Hello" set up screen.

Set up the new iPhone via "Restore from iCloud Backup" or "Restore from iTunes Backup" during the set up process.

The second option is to set up the iPhone 11 as new and sign in to iCloud on the device. When iOS 13.1 is publicly released on September 24, install the update, then restore from your older iPhone's backup:

Back up the older iPhone via iCloud or iTunes.

Power on the new iPhone, select "Set Up as New iPhone" during the set up process, and follow the steps as prompted.

Wait until September 24 and install the publicly released version of iOS 13.1 via Settings > General > Software Update.

After the upgrade is complete, go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings on the new iPhone. This will bring the iPhone back to the "Hello" set up screen.

Set up the new iPhone via "Restore from iCloud Backup" or "Restore from iTunes Backup" during the set up process.

These steps are required because Apple does not allow an iPhone to be restored from a backup of a newer iOS version. Since the iPhone 11 models come preinstalled with iOS 13, they cannot be set up based on an iOS 13.1 backup.

If your older iPhone is running a version below iOS 13.1, these steps are not necessary.