Is it worth a fresh install of iOS?

Tech Support
1

I’ve just upgraded from iTunes or iCloud every time since my iPhone 4. Is there any reason to do a fresh install vs just upgrading?

2

On iOS I just do the upgrade in place. My iPhone is an install I’ve been upgrading and migrating between devices from an iPhone 3G. My iPad goes back to a 1st generation model.

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3

I haven’t done a clean install since my first iPhone. Never had any issues.

4

Yeah, same here. I’ve upgraded iOS since whatever came out with 3GS. No issues (that I’ve been able to trace back to lack of clean iOS install). Pretty amazing to an IT guy that has seen many, many upgrade related issues over the years…

5

I prefer a clean install and add missing apps as I go.

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6

What about if you’ve gone through the public betas of iOS 11&12 and just update ota instead of fresh install

Does it carry over any excess beta baggage?

7

I decided to setup my new iPhone XS Max from scratch. I’ve run quite a few betas over the years + it’s a good opportunity to re-evaluate which apps I actually need on the phone.

It’s gone very smoothly. Having most of my data in the cloud (including Health and Messages) and great 1Password integration have helped immensely.

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8

I don’t do new installations but you are 100% correct that cloud storage of the important data makes it much easier to do clean installs!

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9

Thanks all! Went with upgrading

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10

As the waiter said, “Good Choice.”

I also can see a clean install forcing owers to clean up their act. … do I really want to reinstall this or that.

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11

That’s exactly the main point for fresh install.

12

When I picked up my XS Max, I thought a fresh install was a good idea so I’d have to look at my apps and decide which to keep and which to trash. And in theory, it was.

In practice, though, I lost SO MUCH saved information (not just usernames and passwords, but all sorts of configuration data) that I quickly realized it would take me a couple of days to get back to being productive.

And then I also discovered that my Apple Watch would also have to be reconfigured from scratch, including all of my complications and faces.

I reloaded the new phone as a backup of my old phone, and I was up and running in just a few minutes, both on the phone and the watch.

I will still try to get rid of needless apps, but now that I have 256GB instead of 64GB, the pressure’s off!