Top 5 Fixes to iPhone Quick Start not Detecting Old Phone

Anyone who has got a brand-new iPhone, whether it’s an iPhone 16, iPhone 15, etc. is in a dilemma. While you want to get started with your new iPhone, you must first transfer data from old iPhone to new iPhone. Apple’s Quick Start always helps with that.

It’s certainly a handy way to get everything onto your new iPhone. However, things do not always work perfectly as we expected. When you intend to start data transfer process using Quick Start, you may encounter the iPhone Quick Start not detecting old phone. Keep reading, you can get useful solutions mentioned in this guide to help you out.

Why iPhone Quick Start not Detecting Old Phone

Is it possible that you didn’t setup Quick Start properly so that iPhone Quick Start not appearing? A wrong setting of Quick Start can be the most common reason that why your new iPhone not finding old iPhone when using Quick Start.  If you are not sure, follow the how to Quick Start iPhone guide below to have a check.

How to Set up Quick Start on iPhone 
• Your old iPhone should run iOS 12.4, or the old iPhone will not show Quick Start.
• It's a good idea to connect both iPhones to a power source throughout this process.
• The Bluetooth on both iPhone should be enabled.
• Please keep a short range between two iPhones.

If everything is OK, the Quick Start option will appear after selecting your language and your country during the setup process on your iPhone, and once you bring your old phone close to your new device, you can proceed. 

If, still, your iPhone Quick Start not finding old iPhone, you can skip to the next part to troubleshoot it.

4 Fixes to iPhone Quick Start not Finding Old Phone

What to do if you find old iPhone not showing Quick Start? The quick fixes below can help you out.

Fix 1. Turn off & on Bluetooth and Wi-Fi on both iPhones
The most possible reason why your old iPhone not detecting Quick Start is an unstable connection between the two iPhone. If the connection is off, you may not see the option to continue on your old iPhone when you enable Quick Start, meaning that Apple Quick Start isn't working for you.

Since the two iPhones are connected via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you can turn off Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on both iPhone and turn them on again to connect two iPhone again.

Fix 2. Restart both iPhones
If you've enabled Bluetooth on both iPhones and Quick Start still doesn't work, try restarting both iPhones. Your iPhone may become stuck for unknown causes, and restarting it may resolve some of them. Simply hold the side and volume buttons for a few seconds and drag the slider on the screen.

Fix 3. Update iOS on old iPhone
An outdated version of iOS can cause unknown errors on iPhone. Therefore, it is suggested to update iOS to the latest version on your old iPhone. On your iPhone, head to Settings > General > Software Update to make it.

Fix 4. Try a wired way when using Quick Start
Many factors can impact the Quick Start wireless data transfer. Quick Start offers both wireless and wired data migration solutions.

If Quick Start does not appear on the iPhone during the wireless data transfer procedure, get a Lightning to USB 3 Camera Adaptor and a Lightning to USB cable to complete the transfer under a physical connection between two iPhones.

Bonus: iPhone to iPhone Transfer via the Best Quick Start Alternative

Quick Start is not the only tool for data migration between two iPhones. If Quick Start doesn’t work properly, you can try the professional iOS transfer software - AOMEI FoneBackup to complete the iPhone to iPhone transfer fully or selectively.

Just like Quick Start, the iPhone to iPhone Transfer function in AOMEI FoneBackup helps transfer data from iPhone to iPhone without backup in one-click. Compared with Quick Start, AOMEI FoneBackup has got more merits:

Step 1. Launch in AOMEI FoneBackup > Connect your two iPhones with a computer > Tap Trust on both iPhones.

Step 2. Click Phone Transfer > Locate iPhone to iPhone and click Get Started.

Step 3. If necessary, enable Backup encryption to protect your privacy. The password is required when accessing the data in the future.

Step 4. Click Start Transfer to begin the transfer > Wait for the transfer to finish, and the target iPhone will be restarted automatically.

When it is over, you can check whether you have everything you want on your new iPhone. AOMEI FoneBackup is not only a powerful data transfer tool, its backup functions help backup iPhone to PC on a daily basis.

Summary

Hope the solutions in this guide can help you out the issue - iPhone Quick Start not detecting old phone. If not, the Quick Start alternative introduced in the Bonus part may be a viable option for you. If this guide helps you, please share it with others.