Usually yes — as long as your Ultimate Backup fits the port on the new phone. Here is how to check, and the two things that most often look like a fault when they are not.
Will your drive work with the new phone?
Most new phones have a USB-C port: every iPhone from the iPhone 15 onwards, and current Android phones. Older iPhones have a Lightning port. Find your drive below.
- Ultimate Backup MAX — plugs straight into a USB-C phone. For an older Lightning iPhone, or an Android phone with a Micro-USB port, use the adapter that came in the box. See What is the Ultimate Backup MAX adapter?
- Ultimate Backup 4-in-1 — plugs straight into a USB-C phone, and has tips for Lightning and Micro-USB phones as well.
- Ultimate Backup SSD — connects directly to a USB-C phone. On a Lightning iPhone it is backed up through Manual Backup Mode instead, which uses a Windows or Mac computer to finish the job. If you are not sure which cable yours came with, see Which Ultimate Backup SSD cable do I have, and do I need the Keeper Connector?
The full table is on the Product Compatibility Chart, and the Connectivity Guide shows each drive connected to each kind of device.
On a USB-C iPhone, the drive will not appear on its own
This is the one that catches people out most often, and it is not a fault. On a USB-C iPhone or iPad, the app has to be given access to the drive before it can see it: open the app, tap Grant Access to Drive, and choose the drive in the Drive Picker. You do this once per drive. Lightning iPhones and iPads do not need it.
If your old phone was a Lightning iPhone, the drive simply appeared when you plugged it in — so on a new USB-C iPhone it can look as though nothing is happening at all. There are step-by-step screenshots in App Setup for iPhone or iPad.
On some Android phones, turn on OTG first
Xiaomi, Poco, Oppo, Realme and OnePlus phones leave USB drive support switched off until you turn it on, and the drive is not detected until you do. See Why isn't my drive detected on my Xiaomi, Poco, Oppo, Realme, or OnePlus phone?
Once it is connected
Sign in with the same account you used on the old phone rather than creating a new one. Which email address is my account under? can help if you are not sure which one that was.
The app's record of what it has already copied lives on the phone, not on the drive, so a new phone generally starts over and copies your photos again. An iPhone set up from your old one is the exception, because it brings that record with it. There is more in Does a second drive start where the first one stopped?
If you need any additional assistance, please contact Ultimate Backup support.