Capelle - Upgrading to an iPhone 6 or 6

Chris Capelle, 12QuickTips.com

12 Quick Tips for Upgrading to an iPhone 6 [or 6+]

2015 12QuickSteps.com

Table of Contents:

Introduction

So youve decided to take the plunge and splurge for Apples latest and greatest iPhone model! I applaud your decision, and Im certain that Tim Cook and all the Apple shareholders do as well. (Full disclosure: I do not hold any Apple stock nor do I have any affiliation with Apple Inc. other than offering my e-books for sale in its eBooks Store. Check them out theyre all pretty darn good!)

If you still need more info about me Ive been working with Apple products since the late 1980s, have a masters in journalism, so Im extremely qualified to write e-books like this one. Ive worked in corporate America for years in the IT industry both hands-on and tech writing, but now Im a freelance tech expert. Check out my Website here .

Oh, and a few more things:

First of all, to maintain consistency in this e-book, the iPhone youve used in the past (and are no longer planning to use), no matter which model, will be referred to as your old iPhone. Also, any time I use the term iPhone 6, that will also include the iPhone 6+ model. I just dont want to have to keep adding (or 6+) to every iPhone reference for the rest of the e-book.

In addition, understand this e-book is part of the 12 Quick Tips series meaning its not a definitive, all-encompassing guide to buying and setting up an iPhone 6. Yes, there are entire tomes on how to best deal with iCloud, tips for getting the most from your iPhone camera and all about the sixty billion apps that are available today, but this one will get you up and running quicker (and less expensively) than any of the others.

Besides, a lot tech books (not mine, of course) are boring, and there are better things to do with your time than read some socially awkward blowhard geek pontificate about the finer tech aspects of the iPhone 6, something nobody but them cares about. People just want to be able to set up their iPhone and have it work. Thats my one goal here.

The secret is to think of this e-book as a cheat sheet something that will get you up and running with the most important things accomplished; to get you walking around with a fully functioning iPhone 6. Theres always more to learn; you can gain more knowledge by experimenting, looking online, visiting The Apple Store or asking one of those darn know-it-all kids how to do something.

Also in some instances, you may be trading in your old iPhone when you buy your iPhone 6, which means you will have to perform some of these tips out of sequence. The best thing to do is to read all the way through so you know what youre getting into. Ive heard too many horror stories about clients losing all their data because the contents of their old iPhones werent properly transferred to their iPhone 6 at the store. So please dont be one of those people read this all the way through before doing anything else!

In this business, technical and/or market changes occur regularly (not to mention fast and furiously) and they may render some of the information contained here incorrect and/or obsolete (or something new and important may be omitted). I stay on top of new technology, so I update my e-books whenever the need to add new information arises, delete outdated information or just make a change to the existing copy.

But please note, this does take time! Each vendor that sells my e-books has its own different requirements for formatting, file type, etc., so every time theres a change, I have to correct it in several different files and submit each one separately. Its time consuming, but Im not complaining; just alerting you, the reader, that updating my e-books after an industry change cant be accomplished as quickly as I would like.

Finally if I mention that you should Google something its not that Im lazy! For example, if theres a task such as removing a SIM card (something that is different on every version of the iPhone), rather than give three different sets of instructions for three different models of the iPhone, Ill save your time and space in this document and let you see exactly how to remove it from your particular model.

OK, were ALMOST ready here!

Things to have on hand before you start the process:

Your new iPhone and sync cable

Your old iPhone and sync cable (if applicable)

The passcode that unlocks your old iPhone (if applicable)

The computer you plan on using to sync your iPhone to

Your Wi-Fi (wireless network) name and password (a.k.a. key)

Your Apple ID and password

The credit card (if any) you plan on using in Apple Pay

OK, enough already! Dont bore us, get to the chorus, and on with the tips!!!

Decide which model of iPhone 6 to go for

The good news is that your options are limited two models choices, three capacity choices and three color choices. Also note that the price is the same wherever you decide to get your iPhone 6. (Unless you find a refurbished model, an online-only subsection of the Apple Store, which is hard to find unless youre specifically looking for it.)

Note that shortly after the iPhone 6 was released, there were well-publicized shortages of certain models. Whether this was a legitimate availability crisis or simply a way to create the illusion of demand (and garner free publicity) is anybody guess. But my experience (based on my own purchases and those of clients) is that The Apple Store (brick and mortar or online) was the best source.

The guys at Radio Shack laughed at me when I walked in (most likely because I didnt get the memo that it only got a few phones per store) and the AT&T Store simply wasnt organized enough (or filled with enough well-trained staff) to be of any help. (Remember, those guys are also dealing with Android and other types of phones, and are more interested in selling cellular plans then the hardware itself).

So, there are three choices you have to make when buying an iPhone 6. These choices are (in order of importance):

Model (iPhone 6 or iPhone 6+)*

Storage Capacity (16GB, 64GB or 128GB)

Color (Silver, Gold or Space Gray)

* There is no functionality difference between the 6 and 6+; just the physical size of the phone itself.

Big and bigger: The iPhone 6 and 6+

Model: Its all about the size with the iPhone 6. The iPhone 6 features a 4.7 display; on the 6+, its 5.5. Which means you have to think how you plan on toting this thing around for the next couple of years. (Hint: The 6+ doesnt easily fit into a pocket in your pants, but it will slip easily into a purse.) Maybe thats why the clerk at Best Buy told me that its mostly women who buy the 6+. So every time I see a man using an iPhone 6+, I wonder how hes carrying it around and whether hes overcompensating for something else lacking in his life. (My undergrad degree is in psychology, so Im finally putting it to some use!)

So decide how you plan on using (and carrying) your iPhone 6 in your daily life and that will sway you to one side or the other. Note that I didnt consider which model would be more useful to you in your everyday life. Whats the point of a useful item if its a pain in the neck to tote around? That sort of common sense (along with the ability to see things in multiple ways) and my ability to reverse engineer a scenario is what makes me successful as a tech expert.