New iphone, forced me to update to iOS 26, now won’t transfer data

Question

Level 1

17 points

New iphone, forced me to update to iOS 26, now won’t transfer data

I bought a refurbished iPhone 16. I want to set it up by copying from my old iPhone 12 mini. Went through the process – it was nearly complete. But then it REQUIRED me to update to iOS 26 before I could complete set up. No way past the gate.

I updated. I find it needing to start the setup/transfer process all over again. The old phone scans the new phone's.pattern, then it says "Getting things ready" for too long, then it says, "Could not sign in on other device. An error occurred connecting to the other device. Check that your Bluetooth is turned on and try again."

Well Bluetooth is doing just fine, I can use it for other things. And this scenario is quite repeatable. So now what?

Details:

old phone: iPhone 12 mini, ios 18.6.2

new phone: iPhone 16, was ios 18, updated to ios 26

iPhone 16

Posted on Dec 19, 2025 7:39 AM

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Answer 1

KiltedTim

Level 10

225,300 points

Dec 19, 2025 7:45 AM in response to Sparklight

It's entirely possible that the refurbished phone you purchased is defective.

Try putting it in recovery mode and restoring iOS using your computer, then try the transfer again. if it fails at any point in that process, return it and get your money back.

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Answer 2

Sparklight Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 19, 2025 8:47 AM in response to KiltedTim

I don’t think so, because the first time around it connected well. Problem was that late in the process it demanded to be updated to iOS 26, which reset the transfer process back nearly to start.

Can I put it in recovery mode when I can’t even get to the home screen?

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Answer 3

Sparklight Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 20, 2025 5:05 PM in response to Sparklight

In the end I just did it by restoring from an iCloud backup, which worked. Only a few items from the interim were lost. But somehow in the update my phone lost the ability to speak Bluetooth (with any reliability) to another iPhone. Sad.

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Answer 4

Dec 20, 2025 5:14 PM in response to Sparklight

Sparklight wrote:

In the end I just did it by restoring from an iCloud backup, which worked. Only a few items from the interim were lost. But somehow in the update my phone lost the ability to speak Bluetooth (with any reliability) to another iPhone. Sad.

When you move from one phone to a new phone, the Bluetooth pairings DON'T transfer to the new phone. So you need to put the Bluetooth devices in pairing mode and pair them to the new iPhone.

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Answer 5

Dec 20, 2025 6:27 PM in response to Sparklight

Sparklight wrote:

I’m afraid you missed the point. iPhone on setup tries to use Bluetooth to transfer data FROM ONE PHONE TO THE OTHER and this faculty got much worse after the OS update.

I guess I did miss the point, because iPhone to iPhone pairing via Bluetooth has never been supported. So I wouldn't have thought that's what you actually meant.

If you are transferring data from one phone to another phone over the air, this is how it's supposed to work --> Use Quick Start to transfer data to a new iPhone or iPad - Apple Support -- For this peer to peer transfer to work, both phones MUST be connected to Wifi. Bluetooth isn't involved here.

OR you can download the iCloud Backup you have from the old phone, which works over Wifi --> Use iCloud to transfer data from your previous iOS or iPadOS device to your new iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

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Answer 6

KiltedTim

Level 10

225,300 points

Dec 19, 2025 11:03 AM in response to Sparklight

Yes.

If you can't update or restore your iPhone or iPod touch - Apple Support

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Answer 7

Sparklight Author

Level 1

17 points

Dec 20, 2025 6:03 PM in response to lobsterghost1

I’m afraid you missed the point. iPhone on setup tries to use Bluetooth to transfer data FROM ONE PHONE TO THE OTHER and this faculty got much worse after the OS update.

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