Maybe it’s your first new iPhone in years, ever, or part of an Apple upgrade plan where you swap out a brand new phone every year. Regardless of which one it is, getting a brand new iPhone in your hands is always exciting and worth the wait. Now that it’s arrived and unboxed, there are a few things you should do to make sure you safely enjoy your new handset. Apple offers several options for setup, ranging from start from scratch to restoring your data from a previous phone via backup. We walk you through all the options.

If you’re just picked up a new iPhone 12, then don’t forget to check out our our articles for the best iPhone 12 cases, best iPhone 12 Mini cases, best iPhone 12 Pro cases, and best iPhone 12 Pro Max cases.

Inaugurate your new phone with a complete backup either via iCloud or in the Finder using the latest Mac operating systems — Catalina and Big Sur. For MacOS Catalina, connect your old iPhone to your Mac, open a new Finder window, and select Your iPhone in the left column window.

See our complete guide on how to back up your iPhone.

If you don’t want to start from scratch setting up your new phone, use Apple’s Quick Start feature to transfer all your data. This operation requires iOS 11 or later and will occupy both your old and new devices at the same time, so plan accordingly.

You iPhone may already be charged at least halfway when you receive it, but you should top it off to 100% right away just to get started. You can use a charging cable, a fast charger, a MagSafe charger, or a Qi wireless charging pad.

See our complete guide to fast charging your iPhone and our list of the best fast chargers and accessories out there.

These are two great features you are prompted to set up, but you don’t have to do it immediately. If you had Apple Pay set up on your old phone, you’ll still have to set it up again on the new phone, as that information was wiped during transfer for security reasons. If you just use a passcode, you can get away with not setting up Face ID, but you’ll need it if you want to use Apple Pay.

If you own an Apple Watch, you’ll want to pair it with your new phone. First, make sure your watch is running WatchOS 7. The rather lengthy process involves unpairing your watch with your older iPhone.

See our complete guide on pairing your iPhone with your Apple Watch using iOS 14 and WatchOS 7.

Make sure you record your emergency contacts by setting up your Medical ID in the Apple Health app.

See our complete guide on how to set up Fall Detection and Medical ID on your iPhone and Apple Watch.

With iPhone 12, you get a maximum display because there’s no home button. Those upgrading from older iPhones will need to learn a number of quick gestures that will become second nature in a matter of minutes. Here are some of the main ones.

If you want to know more, you can also check the guide we created on how to reset an iPhone.