If you’ve just got your shiny new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus and can’t wait to use it, follow our step-by-step guide on how to set up and start using it.

• Turn on your iPhone by pressing the Sleep/Wake or Power button at the top right-hand side.

• You will be greeted by the Hello screen as seen below. Swipe from left to right on the screen to begin the set up process.

• You will be prompted to select the Language. Tap on your preferred language. It will set up the language.

• Next select your country or region from the list.

• You will be prompted to select the Keyboard. By default the language based on your country will be selected along with the Emoji keyboard. Then tap Next.

• You will be prompted to choose a Wi-Fi network. Tap on the preferred Wi-Fi network.

• Next enter the password for your Wi-Fi network (if it is a secure network), and tap Join to proceed.

• If you haven’t put the SIM card, then it will prompt you to put the SIM card to activate your iPhone. Put the SIM card to proceed further.

• Then choose if you want Location services to be enabled or disabled. If you want to use services like Find my iPhone, enable it, which is highly recommended.

• The next step is to set up Touch ID finger fingerprint sensor, one of the major new features of Apple’s new iPhone. Touch ID allows you to use your fingerprint to unlock your iPhone without needing a passcode. If you don’t want to set it up immediately, select Set Up Later Option, otherwise tap on the Set Up Now option.

• Next you will be prompted to Set Up FingerPrints. Scan the finger or thumb you normally use on the Home button.

• Now place the finger or thumb on the Home button. Lift and rest your finger on the Home button repeatedly. You will see that the fingerprint animation on the display fills up with red color as you progress. It should take less than a minute to set it up.

• After the entire fingerprint animation turns red, it will prompt you to adjust your grip to capture the edges of your fingerprint.

• Again place your finger on your Home button, this time however, lift and rest the edge of your finger on Home Button repeatedly.

• After the entire fingerprint animation turns red, it will inform that Touch ID was successfully set up, and your fingerprint can now be used for unlocking your iPhone. Tap on Continue.

• You will be prompted to create a Passcode. Enter a six-digit passcode, and then re-enter it. If you want to set a 4-digit passcode or a custom numeric passcode then tap on Password Options and select the appropriate option.

• Here you can set up your iPhone as a New iPhone, or restore from iCloud Backup or from iTunes Backup or Move Data from Android. Personally, I prefer setting up my new iOS device as a new device rather than restoring it from the backup. It is a lot more time consuming as you need to reinstall apps from scratch, but it also ensures that I only install apps that I plan to use. This approach gets rid of all the apps that you had installed on your iPhone for the past one or two years but not using them and taking up unnecessary space. Cloud-based features such as iCloud Photo Library have made that decision even more easier. For the purpose of this guide, I’m setting up the iPhone as a New iPhone. Refer to this guide, if you want to transfer data from your old iPhone to your new iPhone 6s Plus or iPhone 6s. If you’re switching from an Android phone, you can check our guide on how to transfer data from an Android phone to the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus.

• You will then be prompted to sign in with your Apple ID or create a Free Apple ID. If you already have an Apple ID, select sign in with Your Apple ID.

• You will be prompted to Verify your identity, if you’ve two-step verification enabled. You can tap on the device to receive a verification code to select it, and then tap Send.

• This will send the 4-digit verification code to your other device. Enter the verification code on your new iPhone to proceed.

• You will be prompted to agree to the Terms and Conditions. Tap on Agree in the bottom right corner of the screen. You will again prompted with a popup asking you to agree to the Terms and Conditions. Tap on the Agree button to proceed.

• It may take a few minutes to set up your Apple ID, and update iCloud settings.

• You will now be prompted to set up iCloud Keychain on your new iPhone. You can do this by approve from other device or use iCloud security code or choose not to restore passwords. If you tap on Approve from Other Device, it will inform you that the Approval Request has been sent to the other device. You can continue setup and approve this iPhone at any time from the other devices using iCloud Keychain.

• Next, you can set up Hey Siri. iPhone 6s comes with the always-on “Hey Siri” features, so you will be able to use Hey Siri without it being connected to a power source. Tap on Set Up Siri.
  • You will be prompted to say “Hey Siri” into the iPhone.
  • Say “Hey Siri” again.
  • Say “Hey Siri” one more time.
  • Say “Hey Siri, how’s the weather today”.
  • Say “Hey Siri” it’s me. If Siri can successfully recongize your voice, it will be ready. Tap Continue.

• Tap Share with App Developers if you want to share your app activity and crash data with developers through Apple, or tap on Don’t Share.
• Next tap on Send to Apple if you want to send diagnostics and usage data automatically to Apple. If not, tap on the Don’t Send option.
• You will get the option to choose Display Zoom. You can choose how you would like to view your iPhone. Zoom shows larger text and controls. Standard fits more on screen. Please note you can always change it in the Settings app later. Tap on Choose a View.
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• You can choose between Standard and Zoomed in this screen. Check our post on Display Zoom if you want to figure out which option to select.
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• Tap on Get Started to go to the Home screen, and start using your new iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus.

• If you use multiple iOS devices, then it is also a good idea to change the name of your iPhone as by default it will use your first name and append iPhone, for example: Gautam’s iPhone. I prefer to change it to the model name so I can easily identify it.

Let us know how it goes. Please feel free to drop us a line if you’ve any questions.

Also check:

➤ Got an iPhone 6s or iPhone 6s Plus? Do these 10 things first to get started