How to Set Up a New Device the Right Way: A First-Day Checklist

You can set up a new device well in about an hour, and the order matters more than the speed. Do security and backups first, account and app sign-ins second, and the comfort settings last. Skip the first two and you leave the device exposed and your data at risk from day one.

This checklist works for almost anything with a screen: a phone, a tablet, a laptop, a streaming box. Device-specific walkthroughs live elsewhere on the site — if you're unboxing a phone, start with our iPhone transfer guide or the Android step-by-step instead, then come back here for the steps every device shares. For related coverage, see How to Set Up Two-Factor Authentication on Every Important Account.

One note on the word itself: to set something, as Merriam-Webster defines it, is to put it in order for use — which is exactly the spirit of a good first-day setup. You're not just tapping through a wizard. You're deciding how this device will behave for the next few years.

What should I do before I even turn it on?

Check the box against the packing list, then charge the device to a comfortable level before you start. A device that dies mid-update is the classic first-day disaster, and updates are almost always the first thing the setup wizard wants.

Find your Wi-Fi password now, too. Nearly every modern device refuses to continue without a network connection, and hunting for the router sticker halfway through is avoidable friction. If your network has a guest segment, this is a good moment to decide which one the device joins — our guide to guest networks for visitors and smart devices explains when a smart gadget belongs on the guest side.

Finally, locate the account you'll sign in with. Apassword manager or a written note beats a reset loop at step three of eleven.

Which security steps come first?

Security before comfort. The reasoning is simple: these steps protect the device even if you never finish the fun parts, and they get harder to do later.

1. Set a screen lock. A PIN, password, or biometric unlock is the baseline. On laptops, enable the built-in disk encryption option while you're in security settings — turning it on later often means extra steps.
2. Turn on automatic updates. Both the operating system and the app store should update on their own. Manual updating is a habit almost nobody keeps.
3. Sign in with two-factor authentication ready. If your main account offers a second factor, have your method ready before you sign in on the new device. Our walkthrough on two-factor authentication for important accounts covers the options.
4. Review app permissions as you install. A flashlight app asking for your location is a decision point, not a formality. Deny by default; grant when something clearly needs it.
5. Enable find-my-device features. Ten minutes of setup now saves a lost phone later. We have a dedicated guide to Find My iPhone and Find My Device if you want the settings that actually matter.

What this means: if you only do one section of this checklist, do this one. Everything else can wait a day.

How do I handle backups and data transfer?

Backups come before you load the device with anything important, because a backup taken after a crash protects nothing. Turn on the built-in cloud backup for the platform, and for computers, add a local backup to an external drive if you keep files you can't replace.

The catch most people miss: cloud backups often cover system settings and app data, but not every folder. Photos, downloads, and documents on a computer may need a separate backup target. Our guide to automatic backups for your computer and phone walks through the gaps.

If you're migrating from an old device, do the transfer before you start customizing. Transfer tools copy a snapshot; changes made after the snapshot don't travel. That's why the correct order is transfer first, tweak second.

Which settings do most people skip?

A handful. They're not hidden, but they sit a screen or two past the setup wizard's finish line, and most people never go looking.

• Privacy and telemetry options. During setup, many devices ask about diagnostic data, personalized ads, and location history. The defaults usually say yes to everything. Read each screen; the opt-outs are real.
• Notification permissions. Every app you install wants to notify you. Grant notifications only to apps you'd genuinely miss hearing from. You can always add more later — removing them after the fact is the annoying direction.
• Default apps. Browsers, email, and map links often open in the platform's own app until you change it. Set your preferences now and you'll never think about it again.
• Display and accessibility settings. Text size, dark mode, and reduced motion are personal, not optional extras. Five minutes here makes the device yours.
• Auto-lock and sleep timers. Shorter lock times are safer; longer screen timeouts are kinder to reading. Pick deliberately.

How do I keep the rest of the household sane?

If the device is shared, or belongs to a child, do the account structure before the apps. Separate user profiles keep each person's apps, settings, and history apart, and a child profile with its own restrictions is far easier to configure at the start than to retrofit.

For home networks with kids' devices, router-level parental controls are worth the detour — see our guide to parental controls on your Wi-Fi router. And if the new device is a smart-home gadget rather than a computer, check whether it needs a hub before you buy anything else; our explainer on whether Matter needs a hub covers the current standard. This connects to our earlier piece, Does Matter Need a Hub? Here's What the Smart Home Standard Actually Requires.

Yes, this all means another app account for a smart device. Sorry. It's usually unavoidable.

What's the sensible order, start to finish?

Here's the whole checklist compressed, in the order that causes the least rework:

1. Charge the device and find your Wi-Fi password.
2. Run the setup wizard with a network connection.
3. Set a screen lock and disk encryption; enable automatic updates.
4. Sign in with two-factor authentication ready.
5. Turn on backups before adding important data.
6. Transfer from your old device, if applicable.
7. Review privacy, notification, and default-app settings.
8. Enable find-my-device.
9. Set up user profiles for shared or child use.
10. Customize display and comfort settings last.

What this checklist establishes is the shared skeleton of a good first day. What it can't tell you is the exact menu path on your particular device or software version — those change with updates, and the honest answer is to search the settings app by name rather than follow a memorized path. The order, the priorities, and the settings people regret skipping don't change much. The menus do.