Two questions: iCloud storage use and transferring data to a new iphone

I've had about a week to think this over, and I want to review my current situation to see if I can get any more help. I've learned a few more things that help me focus on what I need.

I can transfer my settings and data to a new phone: directly, or by backup and restore.

If I do it directly I avoid the issue of backup space, but the "animation" thing still makes no sense, and "the animation will be quite obvious" triggers all sorts of alarms for me. I've been in situations before where some part of a process didn't make sense but was supposed to be obvious when I got to it, and that turned out to depend on some unspoken assumption that obviously didn't apply to me... except that I didn't know it because I took "will be quite obvious" on faith. I do not want to get caught in that kind of situation when my carrier has sent me a new phone and is going to bill me for $800 if I don't return the old one within ten days.

But I also don't want to delay changing phones, when the free-upgrade offer is likely to be restricted or withdrawn when the new phones start costing my carrier 34% more.

If I back up and restore, I have to deal with the iCloud space problem. According to the phone I have used 4.3 GB of my 5 GB allowance, and I have one backup that occupies 3.7 GB. So I should be home free if I delete that backup so I can make another one... except that there appears to be no way I can delete the backup from the phone, or even see when it was made.

I can log into my Apple account from my computer's browser, but iCloud's browser interface doesn't even mention backups. I've downloaded the iCloud app for Windows, but it won't let me log in, for mysterious reasons.

In summary, I would like to know:

• Exactly how does direct transfer work? I'll be happy with a link to an explanation, if it really describes the process instead of saying something vague like "Just scan the animation and follow the instructions."
• Is there any way I can see and delete the existing backup from the iPhone? From the browser? From the iCloud app?
• If I can only do it from the iCloud app, how can I get the app to let me log in? (See my April 1 message for a description of what it does.) I'd like to be able to use the app in any case, but if it's the only thing that lets me see and delete backups, I need it.

Thank you, but I'm afraid your response to my "scan the animation" question is just as baffling as the original instruction. What animation? Does this mean that something displays an animation on the old phone, and I'm supposed to scan it with the new phone? What would that mean? I know how to scan a QR code, but "scan the animation" means no more to me than "scan the ring tone" or "scan the zebra."

I didn't go into this, but the reason I was messing with cloud space in the first place was because I wanted to ensure that there was enough space to make a backup. According to Settings there currently are no backups, which makes perfect sense, because I never made any. I thought the phone might have backed itself up automatically at some point, but apparently not.

I haven't tried to access iCloud from a computer before, but I tried now (in Windows 11). When I tried to log into my Apple account with the email address that my records say is associated with it, iCloud said, "Your Apple ID must be used to set up iCloud on a Mac or an iOS device before you can use iCloud for Windows." I just finished fussing with iCloud in Settings and going through its list of items stored in iCloud and the amounts of storage that they take. It's not clear to me how much more setup I can do, or how.

I thought I might have used the wrong email address, so I tried logging in with the phone number instead. Then iCloud said that "Your Apple Account or password is incorrect." Well, I know the phone number is correct, and since it didn't display that message when I tried to log in with the address, I think the password (and address) must be correct, too. The password is also the one I've recently used to download apps from the App Store. But iCloud doesn't like the password with either address or phone. Does this make any sense?

You can ignore my Mar 30 2025 @8:41 PM reply. It's now out of date, but I apparently can't edit or delete it.

It was rather involved, but I reset my password through my phone. I still can't log in, but the problem has changed.

When I enter my phone number and password, the app now accepts them. It sends a security code to my phone and prompts me to type it in. When I do so it displays a spinning disk around the Apple logo for a few seconds, and it displays the message "Signing in..." Then it returns to the phone/password prompt. Over and over.

I tried entering a bogus password, and it displayed "Verification failed" instead of sending me a security code, so I know the phone/password I originally tried are correct. That leaves security code. Please take it on faith that I couldn't possibly type in six-digit numbers and get them wrong, three times.

So, I'm baffled. What next?

This forum's software is very confused. I entered the message above (April 1 12:00 PM) and it gave me an error message. I couldn't get around it so I came back later, made some changes, and tried again, and now it's displaying both versions.

Anyway, for what it's worth, here's my latest:

You can ignore the message of March 30. It's now out of date, but I apparently can't edit or delete it.

I reset my password through my phone. Now I still can't log in, but the problem has changed.

When I enter my phone number and password, the app accepts them. It sends a security code to my phone and prompts me to type it in the browser. When I do so it displays the message "Signing in...," and it displays a spinning disk around the Apple logo for a few seconds, and Then it returns to the phone/password prompt. Over and over.

I tried entering a bogus password, and it displayed "Verification failed" instead of sending me a security code, so I know the phone/password I originally tried are correct. That leaves security code. Please take it on faith that I couldn't possibly type in six-digit numbers and get them wrong, three times.

I chatted with Apple support. They had me log in to iCloud through my browser, which worked, so strictly speaking the problem is solved. I still can't use the app, though. They had me uninstall and reinstall it, which didn't help. While I was doing that the chat lost its connection, and I couldn't restore it. I'll try again later. Meanwhile, if you have suggestions, they're welcome!