The scariest part of a new phone is not your photos.
It is standing at a payment screen needing a code, from an app that lived on a phone you already wiped.
Apps, passwords and two-factor codes all move differently.
Two of them are easy.
One trips up almost everyone.
What happens to my apps and passwords?
Apps do not magically move, but reinstalling them is painless.
Download them again from the App Store or Play Store and sign back in.
Your account remembers past purchases, so paid apps do not need buying twice.
Passwords are just as easy if you use a password manager.
A password manager is an app that stores your logins and fills them in for you.
Google Password Manager and iCloud Keychain both do this, and your logins autofill the moment you sign in on the new phone.
No manager yet?
Start one now, because it makes every future switch effortless.
Why are two-factor codes the dangerous one?
Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, is the second step after your password.
Usually that is a six-digit code from an authenticator app on your phone.
Those codes live on the phone itself, not in your account.
Factory-reset the old phone before moving the app, and you can lock yourself out of email, bank, work and crypto accounts at once.
That is not a quick phone call to fix.
So move your authenticator first, before anything else.
How do I move my authenticator app?
Google Authenticator: turn on cloud sync by signing in with the same Google account, or use Export accounts and scan the QR code on the new phone.
Authy or Microsoft Authenticator: install on the new phone, verify, then restore from cloud backup or enable multi-device.
No backup set up at all?
Use your printed backup codes to log in to each account, turn off the old 2FA, and add it again on the new phone.
Every one of these routes needs the old phone alive and working.
Which is the golden rule again: do all of this first, and wipe the old phone last.
Things to Remember
- Move your authenticator app before you touch anything else on the new phone.
- Turn on cloud sync or multi-device in your authenticator so the next switch is easy.
- Reinstall apps from the App Store or Play Store; past purchases are remembered.
- Start a password manager if you do not already use one.
- Keep printed backup codes somewhere safe, and never wipe the old phone until everything works.