Patent attributes
Personal information is transferred between an old appliance and a new appliance by use of communication capabilities of the appliances. A transfer facility on the old appliance is used to select the information to transfer. A receive facility on the new appliance is provided to verify the information prior to finalizing the transfer. The personal information is translated by either facility as desired, and the information is optionally encrypted, compressed and verified. The facilities are downloaded from a network and are modified based on characteristics of the appliances exchanging personal information. The personal information includes preferences for operation of the appliance. Telephony and wireless communication methods such as cellular are employed for the exchange in various embodiments.