Continuing a "stopped" iCloud restore on iOS

Solution 1:

iCloud could be slow in restoring especially if you have lots of app data and your WiFi is not Speedy Gonzalez. I have some bad experience restoring with iCloud as my Photos app and Spotify app are both more than 5 GB each.

There is absolutely no way to let iCloud take over from where it left. You need to do the restore anew.

I'd suggest, the next time backing up via iTunes or an alternative such as Copytrans Shelbee. The restore will go rather quicker as it is done over USB. The backup in iTunes is exactly the same as with iCloud (including app data).

Solution 2:

I agree the easiest path is to reset with "Erase Content and Settings". In my experience, restore what you can with iTunes first, i.e. update all your iOS apps in iTunes so the phone doesn't also have to update apps later after restore.

After the iOS reset, try skipping the initial iCloud account and password prompts. After you restore your local settings from iTunes, then perform an iCloud restore, this should have an overlay effect applying the latest differences from the cloud and should minimize what is needed to be downloaded by the phone.

iOS/iTunes restores are not smart about prioritizing what is important first, probably since that differs for everyone, e.g. Mail and photos are important for me, next is app data, esp. passwords.

Finally, if you do keep local backups with iTunes, make sure it's an encrypted backup, not for security, but a lot of app data will simply not backup without encryption.