When a new operating system, like iOS 16, is introduced, it’s a good time to do a clean install. Something which, although usually not necessary, yes we can consider when we have been inside beta cycle. An installation that we can perform very quickly and above all without danger to our data.
A clean installation that only retrieves data from the cloud
First of all make sure to back up all information of our iPhone. We’ll do it in the app Settingsknocking on our behalf, entering iCloudThen in Copy to iCloud and tapping on Back up now. We may not be using that copy, yes, but either way it’s better to have it and not need it than the other way around.
Good. With all of our information secure, and before proceeding, we must consider the following: a fresh install means we will not restore the backup. This means that the only information that will be transmitted to the new iPhone is that which is synced directly via iCloud. Information such as our contacts, calendars, reminders, iCloud Drive files, photos, etc. The content of third-party apps, as well as the apps themselves, will be something that we will have to manage manually.
In this sense, it is a good idea that we do some screenshots of our home screen layout, so you can replicate it to the iPhone once the clean install is complete. Also, let’s make sure that we have recorded all the information of the applications that we use correctly.
How to install iOS 16 from scratch
Once all this is done, we can start the process, which is really simple. The steps for a fresh install of iOS 16 are as follows:
- We updated our iPhone to iOS 16 from Settings > General > Software update.
- Once updated, we enter Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Click on Erase content and settingswe touch Continue and, if requested, we enter the password of our Apple ID.
- Once the process is complete, we configure our iPhone again, we enter our Apple ID and password, but when asked if we want to transfer the data, we choose Set up as a new iPhone.
Once the configuration is complete, we will have our iPhone running iOS 16 after performing an installation from scratch. Now we just have to wait for the information to be synchronized from iCloud and we can install and configure third-party applications that we deem appropriate.
It’s true that in general it’s not recommended or necessary to do clean installs of operating systems. It’s just something you don’t have to do. Now, having been in the beta program, if we have the time and the desire, it is true that it can help to correct the errors that the development of the system itself may have caused. Fortunately, the process of installing iOS 16 from scratch is the simplest and safest for our data.
