Retain Activity Data - Set up phone as new

bigtruck1369

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My iPhone 6 is a mess and I need to do a factory restore and set it up as new. However, I've got a 63 day move streak (38 days of all three rings!) going that I really don't want to lose. I've read that the watch will back up to iCloud when you unpair it from your phone, so I know that I can restore that, but has anyone done this and had difficulty restoring daily activity data? I'm trying to decide if I need to wait until after Midnight sometime so I've still got time to meet my daily goals, but it'll all be for not if I'm just going to lose everything else.

Thanks for any and all help!
 

bigtruck1369

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I'm sure I read that it has something to do with encryption which is why it isn't already in iCloud.

That makes sense. I guess Apple's commitment to data security and privacy does come with some inconveniences.

What did you end up doing in your situation? How did it work out?
 

eb_therebel

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I'm sure I read that it has something to do with encryption which is why it isn't already in iCloud.

I read in a support article that the only way to keep your activity and health data and transfer it to a new device is through an encrypted backup which you can only do right now through an iTunes backup
 

anon(4697585)

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I bit the bullet and just did a restore at the end of a month at midnight then I cried myself to sleep at the thought of having to fill all the rings up again.

Looking at APFS which is coming in 10.3 I'm hoping that's a sign of things to come with encrypted iCloud backups.
Would make a lot of sense given how the AW recorded data is helping the medical world. Seems foolish to lose all that with a simple restore.

I also tend to do a full restore as new with new iOS versions as I'm sure many do so again this will need to be looked at.
 

doogald

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I bit the bullet and just did a restore at the end of a month at midnight then I cried myself to sleep at the thought of having to fill all the rings up again.

Just as a devil's advocate, you know that you did all that activity. Is it that critical that it's in the health app? The important thing was doing it, not keeping a record of it - right?

Apple should definitely have a discrete health app backup and restore, though, that doesn't require a full restore of the phone if you want health app data. IMHO.
 

anon(4697585)

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Just as a devil's advocate, you know that you did all that activity. Is it that critical that it's in the health app? The important thing was doing it, not keeping a record of it - right?

Apple should definitely have a discrete health app backup and restore, though, that doesn't require a full restore of the phone if you want health app data. IMHO.

Of course I know that I did the activity but it's not just that it's in the app that's important.
I've taken up running recently and have been cycling for years and I like to keep track of my improvements.
I used AW workouts to monitor my average pace over a set route so could look back and see that I've got 1min a mile quicker in a month for example.

I've also got 8 friends (believe it or not) who use AWs and we all share data with each other and have a competition between us to see who does more!
 

tcuprof

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I read in a support article that the only way to keep your activity and health data and transfer it to a new device is through an encrypted backup which you can only do right now through an iTunes backup

Not correct. To backup activity and health data, you can use either iTunes with encrypted selected OR you can use iCloud which is encrypted by default. The problem is that either of these methods will transfer activity and health data to a new phone IF you use Restore. If however you use set up as new device, what the OP wants to do, you need to use 3rd party software such as John suggested. At least that's my understanding.
 

bigtruck1369

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Not correct. To backup activity and health data, you can use either iTunes with encrypted selected OR you can use iCloud which is encrypted by default. The problem is that either of these methods will transfer activity and health data to a new phone IF you use Restore. If however you use set up as new device, what the OP wants to do, you need to use 3rd party software such as John suggested. At least that's my understanding.

That's what I've gathered from here and the Apple Support Community. Someone there also suggested the Decipher tool recommended above, so I'm going to give that a try. I'll report back with my experience.
 

bigtruck1369

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I've got no dog in this race, but keeping a record, especially if it's a good one, is a great motivator, especially when competing with friends. Competition is good.

Having the rings to fill and maintaining my streak has been the thing that has motivated to get moving again. After many attempts to get more active so that I can be more healthy, nothing has kept me on it like this, and the responsibility of walking the dog twice a day that came home with us at Christmas.

Not having a good way to keep this data (and momentum!) while fixing a software issue I'm having with my phone is frustrating. I've lost 10 pounds through the month of January, met my move goal 65 days since getting my watch, filled all three rings for 40 days now, and I'm on a 30 day streak of hitting 10k+ daily steps. I currently weigh around 380, so these are all huge accomplishments.

In short, I strongly believe that recording (and keeping) the fitness data is very important.
 

tcuprof

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I've lost 10 pounds through the month of January, met my move goal 65 days since getting my watch, filled all three rings for 40 days now, and I'm on a 30 day streak of hitting 10k+ daily steps. I currently weigh around 380, so these are all huge accomplishments.

That's outstanding! Good for you and keep it up!
 

eyecrispy

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I haven't done a factory restore in awhile, but i seem to remember that I purposely went into the Activity app on my phone prior to the restore to make sure my watch data was sync'd and then did the restore and all my data was there post-restore. But again, it has been awhile, so I can't remember every single thing I did.
 

Mac Guy

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I've lost 10 pounds through the month of January, met my move goal 65 days since getting my watch, filled all three rings for 40 days now, and I'm on a 30 day streak of hitting 10k+ daily steps. I currently weigh around 380, so these are all huge accomplishments.

Wow! That's GREAT! Good on ya!

Weight isn't my problem, but lousy aerobic capacity is. General muscle tone could also use some work. While the numbers data is important, the Watch's rings are simple and quick to understand, colorful and fun. And I like the badges. What can I say.

That, combined with accounts like yours, inspire me to get moving, even without competition. Keep up the good work and know that doing what you're doing has helped someone you've never even met. Thank you for that.
 

tcuprof

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That's what I've gathered from here and the Apple Support Community. Someone there also suggested the Decipher tool recommended above, so I'm going to give that a try. I'll report back with my experience.

So have you set up the phone as new yet and did you use Decipher?