Doing this ensures that your contacts, calendar, text messages, wallpapers, apps, and some other system settings will transfer to your new device. It will take some time for your old phone to load up everything, especially if you haven’t backed up recently.
If you are switching from iPhone, install Google Drive App. In the Google Drive app on your iPhone, go to Setting, Backupand select everything you want to save and transfer to your new phone. You should also move to your iPhone Setting And off iMessage and FaceTime, otherwise you may miss calls and texts on your new phone.
Set up your new Android phone
Put your SIM card in your new phone and hold the power button to turn it on. Once you’ve powered up your device, you’ll be greeted with a bunch of setup work. This is where you’ll set your language preferences, connect to your home Wi-Fi network, and enter your Google account details. This address is the same as your Gmail address and password. Set up security features like device unlock passcode and fingerprint unlock, if your phone offers it. Finally, you can decide if you want to use the Google Assistant and set up voice commands if you want.
Signing in to your Google account makes it easy to set up your new phone from there. Things like the contacts, calendar, and email associated with your Google account—whether you store them from the web or your old phone—can be transferred to your new device once you sign in. You will be prompted to choose what you want to restore from your most recent backup. This is a great opportunity to scan your apps list and get rid of any old apps or games you don’t use anymore.
Depending on the new Android phone you have selected, you may get the option to copy data from your old device directly. This is usually done over Wi-Fi, but you can sometimes connect two phones with a cable. This is by far the fastest and easiest way to copy your old data (especially photos and videos), so we recommend it if you have the option.
If you don’t have the option to copy data directly or don’t want to, you’ll want another method of copying your precious photos and videos. Whether your old phone is an Android or an iPhone, it’s best to use Google’s cloud-based service, Google Photos, which comes pre-installed on Android devices. This is also where your photos are automatically saved every time you back them up on your Android phone. (If you find yourself running out of space in your Google account too often, check out our guide to how to free up space.)
If you haven’t used Google Photos yet, that’s okay. Get your old phone and back up all your photos to the Google Photos cloud by opening the app and tapping the small circular user icon in the upper right. Option Back up now and wait for the photos to sync. Your photos will then be available to browse and download on your new Android phone — as well as the web and any iOS devices you downloaded the Google Photos app to.
