How To Transfer Stuff To New Phone

The smart manner to switch to a new Android phone

Here's how to transfer data, apps, contacts, and more from your former Android phone to a new one, along with tips for a smoothen transition.

JR Raphael By

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

Ah, a new phone. Isn't in that location merely something strangely special about that moment of opening upwards a box, peeling off the protective plastic, and powering up a pristine pocket-estimator for the very first fourth dimension?

Unfortunately, after that fantastical startup animation finishes, reality usually sets in — and you realize you're in for a long, exhausting journey of copying stuff over, setting things upwardly, and trying to become your fancy new phone to look and act the fashion you lot want.

To be fair, moving from ane Android telephone to another has gotten a heck of a lot easier over the years. But despite all that progress, it can nevertheless be a daunting procedure that's filled with both quirks and uncertainty. And all the internet's advice about moving from an iPhone to Android won't help you i flake.

This guide, nevertheless, will. If you're already in the Android universe and preparing to motility from one Android phone to another, these are the steps and the variables you need to consider. Follow 'em closely, and you'll exist upwards and running and enjoying that new telephone smell in no fourth dimension.

Role I: Prepare your old Android phone for switching

Believe it or not, a successful Android phone move starts on your onetime device — the 1 yous're prepare to leave backside. Before you lot even offset thinking most your shiny new replacement, we've got two important areas to piece of work through and make certain are fully prepared for migration:

Android service syncing

First and foremost, the reason switching from ane Android phone to another is so much easier than information technology used to exist is largely thanks to all of the elementary syncing systems built into our devices. So have a minute to make sure you're taking total advantage of those possibilities. Information technology'll set your phone-moving voyage upward for much smoother sailing.

And here's the best part: If you apply all of Google'southward built-in Android migration mechanisms, you don't even need Samsung Smart Switch or any other proprietary systems (and y'all tin safely skip over those if the prompts come up during your new phone setup). Everything with the core Google Android telephone-switching tools should just work, once fired up properly — and in virtually cases, it'll crave very little thought or endeavour.

To start:

If you aren't already using Google Contacts on your phone, download the app now and migrate your telephone's contacts into the service. That'll get your contacts off your individual device (and/or out of your telephone-maker's express and proprietary storage organisation) and brand 'em immediately available on any device — phone or reckoner, no matter who made it — as soon equally y'all sign in.
Open up Google Photos, tap your profile flick in the upper-right corner, and confirm that your images and videos are existence backed upwardly to the service. If they aren't, consider activating that option. Information technology'll go on everything you capture on your camera perpetually synced and available on whatsoever device where yous sign in — including a computer! — and make your life immeasurably easier as a result.
Take a wait at your text messaging setup. With nigh phones and messaging apps, Google will at present automatically back up and sync up your letters and and then bring them over to your new device. Google's ain Messages app makes this process especially straightforward and manageable. (And make yourself a mental note: If for any reason your messages don't become migrated over as expected, an app called SMS Backup & Restore will help you handle that later on the fact quite easily.)
Download the Google One app, if it isn't already on your device, and expect for the box nigh your electric current device backup on its chief screen. Tap that box, then tap "Manage fill-in," and you should exist able to see exactly what types of data the organisation is set to sync for you lot and when it last backed all of that up. Make certain both "Device data" and "Multimedia messages" are selected, then tap "Dorsum up now" to get everything equally upwards to date as possible.

01 switch android phone google one — The Google 1 app has become the central point for managing all cloud-based Android backups.

Near other areas of Android tend to be synced automatically and without whatsoever manual work any these days — your calendar, your notes and documents, any files connected to Google Drive or other cloud storage services, and so on. More than frequently than not, even something like a music collection is now tied to a streaming service and designed to be bachelor anywhere.

If yous think of annihilation on your device that's an exception, though, now'southward the time to take stock of it and be prepared to deal with information technology later — by copying it to a cloud storage service, transferring it to a computer, or setting it up to automatically sync from your old phone to your new one.

RCS message migration

Here'south 1 of import role of the Android phone switching process that isn't exactly obvious or intuitive: If you're using the Google Letters app, y'all demand to sign out of its RCS Chat system on your old device prior to moving into your new telephone.

RCS stands for rich communication services. It'due south a newer messaging standard that allows you to have a more than modern-feeling chat experience with other people who are also using it — seeing agile typing indicators and read receipts, existence able to share larger-sized files, and knowing all of your communications are encrypted.

Simply RCS, by its nature, is connected to just ane device at a time. And if you lot effort to motility into a new Android phone without outset disabling it on your old one, yous're bound to run across problems.

Luckily, the gear up for this is simple — at to the lowest degree, once you know how to practice it. Simply exist sure to wait to practise this until y'all're 100% set to sign into your new device:

Open the Google Messages app on your old telephone.
Tap the three-dot menu icon in the app's upper-right corner and select "Settings."
Tap "Chat Features."
Flip the toggle side by side to "Enable conversation features" into the off position.

If you desire to exist extra-cautious, you lot can besides head over to this web folio, scroll downward to the bottom, and put your phone number into the form. Follow the steps to verify it, and that'll sign y'all out of RCS entirely at the server level. (That's also a good choice to keep in heed if your old phone is lost, broken, or otherwise unavailable.)

Once y'all've done that, there's more ane final step that'southward of import to do: Turn your sometime telephone off. That'll finish severing the connection between RCS and that device and get you ready to sign into the Chat characteristic on your new Android phone.

Got it? Skillful. Now we're ready for the fun function.

Part II: Transfer data to your new Android phone

Congratulations! You lot're officially set up to ability up your pretty new Android companion.

The exact steps and interfaces involved hither may vary somewhat from one device and Android version to some other, but the basic elements should always be pretty much the same.

When y'all first start upwards your new Android phone, information technology'll ask yous to insert a SIM bill of fare, if you haven't already. If you had a concrete SIM menu in your sometime telephone, yous should be able to bring it over to the new 1. But await for a tiny slot somewhere forth the device's sides. You'll typically need a small-scale pivot-tool to become it to open. In a pinch, fifty-fifty a paperclip can work. (And if the SIM carte doesn't seem to fit, it may be a different size. You lot'll either need to pick up an cheap SIM bill of fare cutter or adapter — or, better yet, only ask your carrier for an updated replacement. Most carriers will provide those at no extra charge.)

Depending on your carrier, you lot may likewise be able to activate your service without a concrete carte by using an eSIM. If you encounter that choice, you can certainly endeavour it to run into if it works.

02 switch android phone sim card — Android supports both physical SIM cards and virtual eSIMs to get your telephone connected.

Subsequently that, Android will need to connect to a Wi-Fi network to go along the setup. Select the name of your home or piece of work network, put in the password, and wait a few minutes while the organization gets things ready. (This is a fine fourth dimension to pause and go get yourself some pretzels, a hearty portion of pudding, and/or a pastrami sandwich. Don't worry: I'll await.)

03 switch android phone waiting — Switching to a new Android phone involves a off-white amount of waiting.

Once you lot run into a screen prompting you to re-create your apps and data, you're ready to become rolling. You should accept the choice to utilize a concrete cable connection between your old and new telephone or to rely on your latest Google-stored deject fill-in to handle this part of the process. The cablevision path is typically a teensy bit faster, merely y'all'll accomplish the same destination either mode.

If your old phone is inaccessible or you don't have a cable handy, the cloud backup path is manifestly the way you'll need to go. Expect for a line that says "Tin can't apply old phone" — or something forth those general lines — to get there.

04 switch android phone copy data — Android will prompt you to copy your apps and data and and then offer you the choice to use a cable to connect to your old phone.

Your old phone will prompt y'all to ostend that you want to copy all of your info over, and you'll and so have to type in your Google business relationship password on the new phone to ostend. And so, you'll have the opportunity to choose exactly which bits of info you lot want to bring over.

05 switch android phone choose what to copy — Your new telephone will permit you choose exactly what you want to migrate from your old device.

I'd strongly suggest taking a moment to think carefully about what y'all do and don't really need. Specially when information technology comes to your apps, this is a rare chance to give yourself a fresh starting time and leave some of the dust-collecting virtual cobwebs backside. So earlier charging forward, tap the line that says "Apps," tap the topmost checkmark to unselect everything, then manually select only the apps you lot genuinely nonetheless use with any regularity.

A adept dominion of pollex: If yous don't recall y'all'll use something inside the side by side week, don't select it. Odds are, you lot won't even know it's gone — and your phone will have more than space, fewer wasted resources, and fewer unnecessary tertiary-party permissions granted every bit a result. And if you lot do discover you miss something later on, information technology'll have all of xx seconds to head into the Play Store and reinstall it.

Apps aside, this role of the Android telephone switching process will too offer y'all the opportunity to transfer certain types of data direct from your onetime phone — including any photos and videos that are stored locally likewise as any music or other types of sound. If you've already backed those items up to a cloud service, yous can safely uncheck them hither and avoid filling up your phone'due south storage with redundant local copies.

And finally, you'll come across a checkbox to copy over your device settings. That one'due south important and something you lot'll absolutely want to leave checked, assuming you're happy with how yous've had things set upwards before.

Once all that'due south done, y'all'll simply accept to leave the phones continued for a few minutes while they end their piece of work. And you tin move ahead with the final parts of your new telephone configuration procedure.

Part III: Ready up your new Android telephone

Take a deep breath: You're most washed! All that'due south left is to get a few odds and ends configured on your new Android phone.

Your biggest remaining task at this point is to open upwardly your of import apps, one at a time, and make sure you're signed in and ready as needed within each i. In theory, most apps should exercise most of the heavy lifting for you, just this part of the process often isn't as polish and elementary as it oughta exist.

A few specific areas to make certain you don't overlook:

If you lot're using any phone other than a Google Pixel device, follow the same steps from before and make sure your phone is using Google Contacts for all of its contacts storage and syncing. That'll pull your existing info over and allow everything to stay up to appointment moving frontwards.
Open up Google Photos and follow the steps that show up to start syncing your photos and videos. Your existing library should announced and be available inside a matter of moments.
Head into Google Messages, if that'southward your preferred messaging app, and look in the app'southward settings to make sure the RCS Chat arrangement is on, registered, and agile.
And go into Google Pay (or whatsoever other mobile payment app y'all rely on) and accept a moment to register your preferred payment methods so they'll be linked up and ready for use.

And wouldya look at that? You've just switched Android phones and successfully migrated all of your important stuff over. You should now be ready to charge forward — in your lovely new virtual home simply with all the comforts and conveniences of your erstwhile one.

That wasn't so bad, correct?

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels about the homo side of engineering. Hungry for more? Join him on Twitter or sign up for his weekly newsletter to get fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Friday.