Summary
If you have an iPhone with a broken screen and need a fast replacement, this document describes an expensive but workable solution to get back up and running as soon as possible. There are a few prerequisites that you may have already attended to. These are good to keep in mind going forward for future phone transfers.
The inexpensive option would be to pay $29 for the repair assuming you have an Apple Care+ warranty. However, this would require being without your phone for a period of time, and necessitate handing your phone over to someone for the repair process. It’s not clear how secure your personal data would be during the process. An appointment may be necessary. There could be a delay of a few days waiting for the correct screen replacement parts to arrive.
So, the instructions on this page would be helpful for someone wanting to avoid delays of repairs
Preliminary Preparation – Tools and Resources
Here are some tools and resources as well as tips for preliminary preparation. Some of these are intended as preventative measures for any new phone purchase.
#1 — Have a Working Backup Phone
Whenever upgrading to a new iPhone, assuming your existing phone has no damage or defects, keep your old phone for operation using a Wi-Fi connection. This allows you to have a backup operational phone that does everything except make a call over a cellular network. If your primary phone is broken or lost, you can use the backup older phone for most operations. The best practice is to upgrade to a new phone every 2-3 years, keeping the relatively new working phone as a secondary phone. That secondary phone can be used whenever your primary phone is not working, low on battery, running an update, or busy on a persistent task that doesn’t allow switching to another app. In other words, it’s like having a secondary phone screen available, doubling your phone screen size.
#2 — Phone Mirroring
The latest Apple Mac computers allow for iPhone mirroring, so you can view and use a phone with a broken display by mirroring it to your computer. There are some steps required for the initial setup of Phone Mirroring. Be sure to have this feature working just in case it is needed.
#3 — iCloud Backup and Sync
You should be backing up your phone to the iCloud system. This will help when setting up a new phone if a direct phone to phone transfer is not possible. It may be necessary to pay about $1 to $3 per month for additional storage to backup your phone. In addition to a complete phone backup, the synchronization system to and from the cloud to your devices may require having some extra storage.
#4 — Computer Messages iCloud Sync
Have the Messages app on your Apple computer configured to receive all text messages, including older SMS system messages. This will allow you to continue communicating with people via text message when your phone isn’t working. Turn on the system setting that enables a backup sync of text messages to iCloud.
#5 — Computer Phone Calls Enabled
Setup your Apple computer to make and receive phone calls. This way you can continue making phone calls even if your phone is not longer usable.
#6 — Hot Spot
Your cellular service provider may offer a dedicated hot spot for Wi-Fi internet access over cellular data. These units tend to work better than using your phone as a hotspot. Some have an Ethernet port for providing a large mesh network at events.
#7 — iPad With Cellular Data
If you have an iPad with cellular data, you can use it to continue having access to phone calls and the internet. It can also serve as your authentication device during the new phone setup process.
#8 — Sandwich Bag
When you have a broken screen, it is important to protect your fingers from the small glass shards on the surface. A standard sandwich bag may have thin plastic. If you use a thick sandwich bag (freezer style), the touch interface on the phone should still work through the bag and better prevent glass shards from poking through.
#9 — Magnetic or MagSafe Charger
With your phone in a sandwich bag, you can still charge it using a magnetic charger. These are available in a wired design, as well as wireless rechargeable magnetic portable power pack. This is also a helpful device to have if the charging port of the phone becomes unusable due to obstructions or other reasons.
#10 — New Replacement Phone Equal or Greater Model and Storage
It’s important to make sure the new replacement phone has enough storage capacity for the data you are migrating to it. A current model phone should be able to run the latest operating system. In theory, it should be possible to replace an expensive new phone with an older phone, however it’s possible that copying your entire phone over to an older one may not be possible. You would lose data, and need to setup the old phone as a “new phone” … meaning that you’d be setting it up without any of your old third-party apps or data. The apps would need to be installed again. If you were using iCloud synchronization previously, then your calendar, contacts, photos, emails, and other iCloud synchronized data would be accessible on the phone.
New Phone Setup Process
STEP #1 — Case
Be sure to purchase a protective case and perhaps a screen protector prior to unboxing your new iPhone. New phones without any cover are generally slick and fall easily.
STEP #2 — Unbox
Take a photo of the box on the back where the serial number and other information is displayed. Unbox the phone on a clear surface with carpet on the floor in case the phone slips off the table.
STEP #3 — Plug in and Power On
When you plug in the new iPhone it should power on.
STEP #4 — Follow Setup Instructions
The guided setup will ask you to select language, country, appearance preference, and there will be an option to setup using your other device for settings and to transfer content.
There are a few ways to copy your old phone contents to your new phone. One method would be to download from the most recent iCloud backup. This method can seem faster and make the new phone usable sooner by allowing downloading from the cloud to continue in the background. However, if you did not have a recent cloud backup, this method may result in not having some recent data.
Another option is to use WiFi or Bluetooth to copy from the old phone to the new phone. This method is considered the most comprehensive and reliable because it copies the file system from your old phone to the new phone.
STEP #5 — Bluetooth Devices and Health Equipment
Most bluetooth devices are intended to be paired with a single system. So, your headphones, keyboard, and other devices such as medical devices, may stay paired with your old phone. It could be necessary to use the Forget option on the old device, and then pair with the new device. In the case of a CGM such as the Dexcom 7, the software may identify the CGM unit and offer to pair again with that CGM from the app on the new phone. With a CPAP type of device, you may need to initiate the pairing process for the app on the new phone to recognize the sleep device. For Glucose meters, it may be necessary to select unpair in the app on the new phone and then pair again.
STEP #6 — Apple Wallet Credit Cards
Different cards may require different methods of activating or reactivating the card on your new phone. That may be a text message to the phone, or an email with a code, and/or you may be asked to tap your credit card to the phone to verify you have physical possession of the card.
STEP #7 — Test Critical Apps and Specialty Apps
It’s a good idea to test critical apps initially and then over time use your other apps as needed. For banking, healthcare, shopping, and subscription-based apps, logins are usually necessary. That may require a text message to your phone or email. If you’ve forgotten passwords to some of your accounts, and if they’ve not been saved using the Apple Passwords app, then you’ll need to use the “I forgot my password” option for any accounts you don’t have a password for.
Some apps use internal phone storage for their data, others use iCloud storage, and others use cloud storage provided by the app developer. Apps using the app developer’s own cloud storage may require a special transfer process.
- WhatsApp will not automatically work on your new phone. You will need to initiate the transfer process from the old phone to the new phone to transfer the chat history. If you have a full backup of WhatsApp that was uploaded to the cloud, you could use that when setting up the new phone. Or, you can use the direct transfer method which requires scanning a QR code from one phone to another. The on-screen instructions are poorly written. As you begin using WhatsApp on the new phone, the old phone will automatically log you out and you’ll be logged out of WhatsApp on both phones. You’ll be given an option to transfer and then will be told that if you exit you’ll never get a chance to transfer again, presumably that would cause permanent loss of the chat history.
STEP #8 — Test Apps Over Time
Apps with lower security requirements are generally easier to access again. If you don’t want to wait for a rainy afternoon to test all your apps at one time, you can test and use them on an as needed basis.
Document History
This document was originally posted on 7 Jun 2026. It will be updated as needed over time.
