How to Use Temporary iCloud Storage to Transfer Your Data

Want to use temporary iCloud storage to transfer your data? Read this guide to see you how you can get temporary iCloud storage and how to use it to transfer data to new iPhone.

Clara

By Clara / Updated on December 5, 2023

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Need to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone with iCloud

It is not difficult to transfer data from old iPhone to new iPhone. The device-to-device transfer of Quick Start can easily help us transfer data wirelessly. However, the device-to-device transfer does not apply to all situations.

If you have to give up the old iPhone before receiving the new iPhone, then you just can’t use Quick Start to transfer data.
If you need to transfer a lot of data but have no stable Wi-Fi, then Quick Start may not be a good choice as it will take a long time to complete the transfer.

In these cases, you can choose to set up new iPhone from backup. FIrst backup old iPhone with iCloud and then restore that backup to new iPhone during the setup process. Since iOS 15, Apple has introduced a new way to make it easier.

You can get temporary iCloud storage to transfer your data 

Usually, every Apple ID has 5GB of free iCloud space. Obviously, 5GB is not enough for most people to store iPhone backups. In the past, if you wanted to back up iPhone to iCloud when storage is full, you had no choice but to pay for more storage plan. Nowadays, fortunately, you can use temporary iCloud storage to transfer data.

Temporary iCloud Storage

Since iOS 15, Apple offers free, unlimited iCloud space to help users transfer data from iPhone to iPhone with iCloud. Whether you are on the free storage plan or a paid iCloud plan with no free space, you can use the temporary iCloud storage to create a full backup of old iPhone and restore the backup to new iPhone. It does not cost a penny.

What are the requirements to access temporary iCloud storage to transfer data?

Not every user can use temporary iCloud storage to transfer data. The following conditions must be met before you can get temporary iCloud storage.

🔧 When you buy a new iPhone and don’t have enough iCloud storage to backup the current iPhone, then you are eligible to receive temporary iCloud storage.

🔧 The current iPhone should be running on iOS 15 and later.

🔧 You should know the Apple ID and password of your iCloud account.

You have 21 days to restore the backup to your new iPhone. If your new iPhone doesn't arrive in the expected time, you are allowed to get an additional 21 days to restore your temporary backup before it's deleted.

If current iPhone has not installed iOS 15, you can go to the last part to get another way to transfer data to new iPhone.

How to use temporary iCloud storage to transfer your data

Let’s start to see how to use temporary iCloud storage to transfer your data. The whole procedure is divided into two major parts. First create a temporary iCloud backup on current iPhone and then restore the temporary iCloud backup to new iPhone.

When the network is bad, it may take a long time to complete the backup and restore. If you have a computer at hand, you can refer to the last part to see how to quickly transfer data with cable.

How to create a temporary backup on current iPhone

1. Go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.

2. Under Prepare for New iPhone, choose Get Started.

If a message says that your iCloud Backup is turned off, just tap Turn on Backup to Transfer.

3. Tap Continue.

4. Tap Move All App Data with iCloud.

If you have not connected to Wi-Fi, you can tap Use Mobile Data if you have enough plan.

5. Tap Done and wait for the backup to complete.

Use Temporary iCloud Storage to Transfer Data

You can see the status of your temporary iCloud backup under your name in the Settings app.

Backup Status

How to restore temporary backup to new iPhone

1. Turn on and set up your new iPhone.

If you have already set up new iPhone, you can go to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings to restart.

2. On the Apps & Data screen, choose Restore from iCloud Backup.

Restore from iCloud

3. Enter your Apple ID and password to sign in to iCloud.

4. Choose the temporary iCloud backup and wait for the restore to complete.

FAQs related to temporary iCloud storage

Here are some of the frequently asked questions about using temporary iCloud storage to transfer data.

Will you get temporary iCloud storage when you have an iCloud subscription?

→ If you don’t have free space even while on a paid iCloud plan, then you are eligible to use temporary iCloud storage.

How to request additional time if backups are not restored in 21 days

→ Usually, the temporary iCloud backup will disappear after 21 days but you can go to Settings and tap Keep My Backup Longer to get an additional 21 days to restore the backup before it’s deleted.

What happens to your temporary iCloud backup after you restore your backup?

→ After you restore the temporary backup to new iPhone, your temporary backup is available for 7 days before it is permanently deleted. If you want to keep the backup, you can choose to pay and upgrade to iCloud+.

Does temporary iCloud backup include photos?

→ If you have enabled iCloud Photos, then your photos are already in iCloud and will not be included in the temporary backup. If you have not enabled iCloud Photos, then your photos will be a part of the temporary backup.

How to cancel temporary iCloud backup?

→ Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > iCloud Backup and choose Cancel Backup.

Is it safe to back up my data to iCloud?

Usually, data stored in iCloud is very secure, but sometimes things can go wrong. Recently, some users have reported seeing strange photos and videos that don't belong to them when browsing photo library.  Apple may be trying to fix this issue.

How to easily transfer data from iPhone to iPhone with cable

If you want to transfer data from iPhone to iPhone without Quick Start, then you can use temporary iCloud storage to transfer your data. Since temporary iCloud storage is unlimited, you can backup almost all content and settings. However, if you don't have a stable internet connection, it will take a long time to complete the transfer. In such cases, you may choose to transfer data via cable.

One professional iOS data management tool called FoneTool can help you easily transfer data. It offers multiple transfer modes to meet your needs. With this tool, you can:

Example: transfer data from iPhone to iPhone in one click

1. Launch FoneTool and plug in two iPhones.

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Secure Download

2. Go to iPhone to iPhone Transfer.

3. Click Start Transfer and that’s it.

Start Transfer

If you only have one USB cable and want to transfer data via backup and restore, transfer selected files or transfer data from iPhone to iPhone after setup. Please go to Phone Backup to back up your iPhone and then restore the backup to a new iPhone. You can choose to restore the backup at any time. The backup files will be stored on the computer unless you delete it.

In addition, FoneTool also can help you manage iCloud accounts and allow you to sync iCloud. We take optimizing your iCloud space as an example. You can follow the steps below to delete some unnecessary photos or other files.

1. Open FoneTool > Go to My iCloud on the screen > Sign in with your Apple ID > Tap Manage iCloud.

temporary icloud storage to transfer your data

2. Click the Photos icon, you can tap other icon like contacts, notes, videos, or iCloud Drive if you need > Select the pictures you don't need > Tap Delete.

temporary icloud storage to transfer your data

Final words

That’s all about how to use temporary iCloud storage to transfer your data. As long as your current iPhone has updated to iOS 15, then you can make a temporary iCloud backup now and then restore the backup to new iPhone within 21 days. It’s a good solution to transfer data if Quick Start not working.

With iCloud temporary iCloud storage, you can transfer almost everything to new iPhone. However, it may take a long time to complete the transfer if the network is poor. In addition, please note that the temporary iCloud backup will disappear. If you care about your data, you can use FoneTool to backup iPhone to computer.