How do I move York Vault to a new iPhone?

Before you switch phones

Do these on your old iPhone first. The move depends on a complete backup.

1. Open York Vault and go to Settings.
2. Read the backup row. It should show the same number twice, for example Backed up · 1,204 of 1,204 items · Today, 9:41 AM.
3. If the numbers differ, connect to Wi-Fi and tap Back up now. Keep York Vault and the iPhone on the charger until the numbers match.
4. Find the paper with your 12-word recovery key. If you lost it, make a new key in Settings while you still have the old iPhone.

If you use a cover library, open it with the cover code and check its backup row too. Each library has its own backup.

Two ways to move

• From your iCloud backup. Works anywhere, and the old iPhone can be gone. See the next section.
• Phone to phone. Both iPhones sit side by side. The items move over your local network, with no internet needed. See Move phone to phone.

Both are free.

Restore on the new iPhone

1. Set up the new iPhone and sign in with the same Apple Account.
2. Install York Vault from the App Store and open it.
3. York Vault finds your backup in iCloud. The screen says Restore your library and “Enter your 12-word recovery key. York Vault downloads each item and checks it.”
4. Enter your recovery key, or your code if York Vault asks for it. If iCloud Keychain is on for your Apple Account, your code works. If it is off, use the recovery key.
5. Tap Continue.

York Vault restores the list of items and the thumbnails first, so you can open your library in about a minute. The full-size originals download in the background. You can lock your iPhone while the restore continues. The screen shows the progress, for example “Restoring 3,118 of 12,400 items.”

Each library restores with its own code. York Vault never shows how many libraries a backup holds, so restore your cover library separately with the cover code.

Check that everything arrived

When the restore ends, York Vault checks every item against the backup and shows the result:

• All items: “Restore complete. 12,400 of 12,400 items are on this iPhone.”
• Some items missing: “12,398 of 12,400 items restored. 2 items did not download. Your backup still has them.” Tap Try 2 again.

Erase or sell the old iPhone only after the new one shows every item.

If you used Quick Start or a device backup

Apple’s Quick Start and iCloud device backups move apps and settings. York Vault keeps its items out of the iCloud backup of your iPhone, because its own backup covers them. The keys that open your items on the old iPhone stay tied to that iPhone’s hardware.

So after Quick Start or a device restore, York Vault may find files it cannot open yet. It then offers a restore by code or recovery key, and it deletes nothing while it waits. Follow the steps above.

If something goes wrong

• York Vault does not find a backup. Check that the new iPhone uses the same Apple Account and that iCloud is on for it.
• The code does not work on the new iPhone. Use the recovery key. Your code needs iCloud Keychain to work on a new device.
• You lost the code and the key. Nobody can open the backup, unless you turned on the 72-hour Apple Account reset before. See Forgot your code.

For anything else, write to support. A person replies within 1 business day.

Move phone to phone

Use this when both iPhones are with you. It needs no internet connection.

1. Keep both iPhones on the same Wi-Fi network, or close together.
2. On the old iPhone, open York Vault and start the transfer in Settings. It shows a QR code.
3. On the new iPhone, open York Vault and scan the QR code.
4. The items move over your local network, encrypted with a one-time key.
5. When the move ends, York Vault runs the restore check and shows the count, as in Check that everything arrived. Keep the old iPhone until the count matches.

Move between iPhone and Android

York Vault is also on Google Play, and a library moves between iPhone and Android in both directions:

• Phone to phone. Use the steps above with one iPhone and one Android phone. The items move over local Wi-Fi, with no internet needed.
• The encrypted backup file. Export your library as one encrypted .york file, move the file to the new phone, and import it in York Vault. It opens with your code or your recovery key.

An iCloud backup does not restore to Android, and a Google Drive backup does not restore to iPhone. On Android, the free backup goes to your own Google Drive.