As the smartphone market gets saturated, phone makers are ramping up their efforts to lure away each other’s customers. But when you come home from the store (or sign for that package), you’ll have to move your life from your old device to the new one. It’s not hard, if you pay attention. Here’s how. Show
We’ll be presenting four possible flows: Android to Android, Android to iPhone, iPhone to Android, and iPhone to iPhone. But because there’s really no such thing as pure Android, it’s possible that your Android smartphone maker — especially if it’s one of the bigger ones like Samsung, OnePlus, or Google — will have some proprietary means of moving your data. Before we begin, the usual warnings apply. In all cases, be connected to (or know the SSID and password for) your local Wi-Fi. Make a fresh backup of your old phone’s data. Depending on which kind of migration you’re doing, know your Google or iCloud ID and password. Make sure that you’ve updated your old phone’s operating system as much as you can before you start (although if you’re moving from Android to an iPhone, stay away from Android Pie — see “iPhone 8.x to Android,” below). Finally, realize that the screens you see here may differ a little from what’s on your phone. Photo by James Bareham / The Verge Android to AndroidIt shouldn’t be a surprise that anything having to do with Android is going to lean heavily on Google.
1/12 When you turn on your new phone, you’ll eventually be asked if you want to bring your data over to the new phone, and where from. iPhone to AndroidBasically, moving from an iPhone to an Android phone entails backing everything up to Google Drive and downloading it to the new phone.
1/6 You’ll see a screen that lets you pick where your old data will come from. Tap “An iPhone device.” Android 8.x to iPhoneIf you’re going to move from a newish Android phone to an iPhone, there is a serious wrinkle. Apple’s Android migration tool, Move to iOS, does not (at this writing) appear to work with phones running Android 9 Pie (the latest version of Android). We couldn’t get it to connect with iOS phones in our tests, and our experience seems to be echoed in support forums online. Previous versions — Android Oreo (8.x) — do work. Given that Android Pie is quite new and migration tools are generally for older phones, this may not be a limiting factor for you. But you should certainly know before you start. There do appear to be third-party workarounds that use your PC as an intermediary (AnyTrans appears to be a favorite), but we did not test them. Another possibility, if you have an older Android phone handy, is to move your data to that phone according to the instructions above, then migrate to the new iPhone, as follows:
1/3 On your Android phone, go to the Play Store and download the app Move to iOS. Open it to the Find Your Code screen. iPhone to iPhoneThis is pretty simple, which you’d expect. Related
1/2 Once you’ve paired the phones, the old phone will direct you to finish setup on the new device. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, though Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links. For more information, see our ethics policy. Join the conversation Most Popular
Verge Deals/ Sign up for Verge Deals to get deals on products we've tested sent to your inbox daily. Email (required)Sign up By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. How do I transfer apps from one Android to another?How to transfer from Android to Android. sign in to your Google account on your existing phone – or create one if you don't already have one.. back up your data if you haven't already.. turn on your new phone and tap start.. when you get the option, select “copy apps and data from your old phone”. How do I get all my old apps on my new phone?How to Restore Apps from Prior Phone Using Google Play. Open the Play Store app.. Tap the three horizontal lines in the top left. ... . Tap My Apps & Games.. Tap Library.. Tap INSTALL for the applications that you'd like to recover.. |