How to clone an iPhone

Did you get a second iPhone and wish to use it as a clone of your first iPhone? When you have two or more iPhones, you can set them to have the same data, contacts, reminders, email accounts, apps, passwords, identical Home Screen layout, and more. This quick tutorial shows you how to do that.

How to clone iPhone

Use Quick Start while setting up the second iPhone

You can use Quick Start to clone your iPhone. This method will engage both your iPhones, so make sure you do it when you have at least an hour of free time.

1) Enable Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on the iPhone you want to clone. Now, switch on your second new or erased/restored iPhone and keep it near the first iPhone.

2) Within a few seconds, you should see an option on your first iPhone offering you to use your Apple ID to set up the second nearby iPhone. Tap Continue.

3) You will see an animation on your second iPhone. Now, scan this animation using your first iPhone. You can also tap Authenticate Manually, in case the camera doesn’t work on your first iPhone.

4) After choosing Finish on New [Device], enter your first iPhone’s passcode on the second iPhone.

5) Follow the on-screen instructions to set up Face ID or Touch ID on your second iPhone.

6) Finally, tap Continue on the Transfer Data from [Device] screen.

All your data will now transfer or get cloned from your first iPhone to your second iPhone. The time it takes to complete the process will depend on how much data you have on your first iPhone.

If the iPhones have insufficient battery, plug them in to charge and let the transfer complete without disturbance. Refrain from unnecessarily touching or using any iPhone until the cloning completes.

Quick Start on iPhone to clone it

Use a backup file to clone your iPhone

If the Quick Start method fails for some reason, you can use this method to get the job done.

1) Start by backing up your first iPhone to a computer (Mac or PC) or iCloud. If you’re on the free 5 GB iCloud plan, these two tutorials will help.

2) Once the first iPhone is backed up, follow these guides to restore that backup on your second iPhone:

Additional checks

After following one of the above methods, your second iPhone should have the same Apple ID, mail accounts, contacts, apps, and Home Screen layout. However, if things aren’t in order, follow the steps below to ensure the second iPhone is identical to the first.

Sign in using the same Apple ID

Go to iPhone Settings, tap your name to see the Apple ID, and confirm it’s the same on both iPhones.

Once you’re signed in to your second iPhone with the same Apple ID on the first iPhone, keep both iPhones side by side, and follow these steps:

  1. Go to Settings > your name > iCloud on both iPhones.
  2. See which iCloud settings, like Photos, Keychain, Contacts, Calendars, etc., are enabled on your first iPhone and enable the same on your second iPhone if not already.
Same iCloud settings on both iPhones

As both devices have the same Apple ID, the changes you make on one will reflect on another.

Download the same apps

If you find an app is missing on your second iPhone, open the App Store and download it. To find all your free or purchased apps, press the App Store icon and tap Purchased > My Purchases > Not on this iPhone.

Download apps that are not on this cloned iPhone

Related: How to update apps on iPhone

Consistent app experience

Once you have all the apps on both devices, sign in using the same login details on your second iPhone. For example, use the same Facebook, Instagram, Twitter login details on both devices.

Set up Mail accounts

Go to iPhone Settings > Mail > Accounts > Add Account to set up Google, Outlook, Yahoo, or other internet accounts. After signing in, you can enable the desired toggles like Mail.

Enable iMessage and FaceTime

Go to iPhone Settings and tap Messages. From here, turn on the iMessage toggle to enable it. Do the same for FaceTime. You can also choose the desired email or phone as your Caller ID or the new conversation starter.

Same contacts, calendar, reminders, notes, etc.

By now, you should have two identical iPhones. Quickly open the Contacts, Calendars, Reminders, Notes, and other such apps to ensure all corresponding data from the first iPhone is here. If not, keep your second iPhone connected to the internet, and in a while, it will sync all your contacts, calendar events, and reminders from iCloud to this device.

Related: iCloud contacts missing on iPhone? Here are 8 solutions to get them back

AirPods and Apple Watch

If you use AirPods, they should already pair with your second iPhone as it has the same Apple ID as the first one. In case it doesn’t, follow these steps to pair your AirPods.

If you have an Apple Watch, see these helpful tutorials if you would like to use it with the second iPhone.

Same phone number on both iPhones

You can’t have the same phone number on two or more iPhones. Even if you’re using an eSIM, it can only be activated on one iPhone (and the paired cellular model Apple Watch), but not a different iPhone.

So the closest you can get is to use the same phone number or email to log in to your other calling apps like Telegram, Skype, Zoom, Hangouts, Google Duo, etc.

Note: Some apps like WhatsApp may not allow you to have the same account on two iPhones. If you sign in using the same phone number on your second iPhone, it will log you out of the first iPhone.

Tidbits

You now have two identical iPhones. Further, you can set the same wallpaper, same Personal Hotspot password, the exact device passcode, same ringtone, matching location and privacy settings, and more on the second iPhone.

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