Fail to transfer from old iPhone 8 (iOS 16.7) to new iPhone 15 (17.0.2)

M00nBase commented 9 months ago

[x] I have searched open and closed issues for duplicates
[x] I am submitting a bug report for existing functionality that does not work as intended
[x] This isn't a feature request or a discussion topic

Bug description

I tried to transfer my data from an old iPhone (iPhone 8) to a new iPhone (iPhone 15), however, it does not work as excepted. I followed the offical guide and I tried all the suggestions on the internet such as removing the case, touching the phones from different position for more than 50 times. It ends up getting "The transfer couldn't complete, please ensure your devices are near each other and try again.".

Wifi, Bluetooth and local network are all on. Multiple Wifi AP changed (I don't think is it relevant as it uses Wi-Fi direct?).

I know there are some issues already posted, but the issue didn't have a solution before it was closed: https://github.com/signalapp/Signal-iOS/issues/5450

From the logs, there is a exception: iPhone 15: [DeviceTransferService+Manifest.swift:162 handleReceivedManifest(at:fromPeer:)]: Unexpectedly received a very large manifest iPhone 8: [DeviceTransferService.swift:244 failTransfer(::)]: Failed transfer Lost connection to new device

I already submitted a request but not getting any respone. The data from my old phone is about 6.55 GB. Please let me know if there is any more infromation I could provide to fix it. Thanks you.

Steps to reproduce

Open Signal on new iPhone
Open Signal on the old iPhone
Enter the PIN on the new iPhone, Click "Transfer from iOS Device"
Check "Next" on the old iPhone from the "Transfer Account"
Scan the QR code on the old iPhone

Actual result: The old iPhone displays "Connecting..." for a while and eventually shown "The transfer couldn't complete, please ensure your devices are near each other and try again.".

Expected result: The transfer process should be started.

Screenshots

Device info

Device: iPhone 8 and iPhone 15

iOS version: iOS 16.7 and iOS 17.0.2

Signal version: 6.42.0.18

Link to debug log

iPhone 8.zip iPhone 15.zip

youjackal commented 9 months ago

Same Here, with iPhone 12 Pro Max > iPhone 15 Pro Max

youjackal commented 9 months ago

I'm encountering the same problem. My Signal data on my phone is around 20GB, and I'm wondering if this could be the reason why the new phone isn't accepting it. My family member had a similar experience, but they only had 11GB of data, and the transfer went smoothly. Interestingly, many of my friends who have over 20GB of data have also faced this "Failed transfer" issue.

I really hope the developers can address this problem. Since the app doesn't offer any backup or export function, it's concerning to think that all our data could be lost when we switch to a new phone.

iPhone15ProMax.zip iPhone12ProMax.zip

M00nBase commented 9 months ago

I tried to delete media files from my old phone, it still got the "Unexpectedly received a very large manifest" exception. Therefore, I don't think the data size is the case. But why is my old phone created such larger manifest file while others don't, and it hit the safe graud for only accepting manifest files less than size of 1024 1024 10.

chrisskiiii commented 9 months ago

SAME. The old iPhone displays "Connecting..." for a while and eventually shown "The transfer couldn't complete, please ensure your devices are near each other and try again.".

rsik commented 9 months ago

Classic, every year, same issue.

Power off both phones, turn on, do not open anything but Signal on each phone - then start transfer on new phone and babysit the transfer. This silly voodoo dance works for me the same way each year 😭

Do I agree with it? Hell no. We need better transfer options! (like via cable, or export)

chrisskiiii commented 9 months ago

HELP!!!

harry-signal commented 9 months ago

Hi folks! Thanks for reporting these issues. So, the good news:

I've made some general improvements to device transfer in recent releases; if you're having issues try updating and that may help!
The specific "very large manifest" issue experienced by OP will be fixed in the next release (beta this week, and AppStore ~next week.) Sorry about this one, but please hold tight and you should be able to transfer soon!

The bad news: device transfer stands somewhat on shaky ground in general, and despite recent surface improvements, it can still often fail. Your best bet is to restart signal on both devices, make sure wifi/bluetooth are on and you have a stable network, and keep them close together as they do the transfer. And, well, be patient with it. :)

Long term, hopefully we can make some more fundamental improvements!

youjackal commented 9 months ago

Hi Harry,

Thanks for bringing in the good news. Since I'm still using Signal on my cell, I'm hopeful that the upcoming update will finally fix the issue for good. On the flip side, this issue has been around for a very long time. I really hope Signal can find a more stable way to transfer data without failures.

Nevertheless, it's truly a relief to see your reply. Thank you so much!

M00nBase commented 9 months ago

After updating to 6.45, the transfer works without error although it took me a second try. I suggest restarting both phones before doing the transfer.

Thanks for the support from Signal's team and Harry.

signalapp / Signal-iOS