How to Transfer Everything to a New Phone

Published 2026-10-14 · Marion Phone Repair

Getting a new phone is exciting until you realize everything important — contacts, photos, messages, apps, and settings — is still on the old one. The transfer process is straightforward once you know which method to use, but using the wrong approach or skipping a step can leave data behind. This guide covers every common scenario: iPhone to iPhone, Android to Android, and switching between the two.

Before you start: prepare the old phone

A few steps before the transfer prevent problems during and after:

• Update both phones. Install the latest iOS or Android version on both the old and new phone. Transfer tools work most reliably when both devices run current software. On iPhone, go to Settings, General, Software Update. On Android, go to Settings, System, Software Update
• Charge both phones. The transfer process can take 30 minutes to several hours depending on how much data you have. Both phones should be at 50 percent or higher, or plugged in during the transfer
• Know your accounts. Make sure you know your Apple ID and password (iPhone) or Google account and password (Android). You will need these to sign into the new phone and to access cloud backups
• Check your storage. If you are using a cloud backup method, verify that your iCloud or Google account has enough free storage to hold the backup. iCloud gives 5 GB free (often not enough for a full backup). Google gives 15 GB free across Gmail, Drive, and Photos
• Back up first. Even though the transfer process copies data, having a separate backup is insurance. On iPhone: Settings, your name, iCloud, iCloud Backup, Back Up Now. On Android: Settings, System, Backup, Back up now

iPhone to iPhone

Apple offers two methods, and the better one depends on whether you have the old phone physically available.

Quick Start (recommended)

Quick Start transfers everything directly from the old iPhone to the new one over a peer-to-peer connection. It is the fastest and most complete method:

1. Turn on the new iPhone and place it next to the old one. Both need to be on iOS 12.4 or later (iOS 16+ for the most reliable experience)
2. A Quick Start screen appears on the old iPhone showing an animation. Hold the new iPhone's camera over the animation to pair them
3. Enter your old iPhone's passcode on the new iPhone when prompted
4. Set up Face ID or Touch ID on the new phone (you can skip and do this later)
5. Choose Transfer from iPhone when asked how to transfer data. The phones negotiate a direct connection (Wi-Fi peer-to-peer or cable if you have a Lightning/USB-C to Lightning/USB-C cable)
6. Wait for the transfer to complete. The time depends on how much data you have — 64 GB of data typically takes 20 to 40 minutes over Wi-Fi, faster with a cable
7. The new iPhone restarts and continues downloading apps from the App Store. Apps appear grayed out with progress circles — this is normal and they fill in over the next hour or so on Wi-Fi

Quick Start transfers almost everything: apps, photos, messages, health data, passwords (from Keychain), home screen layout, settings, and even your wallpaper. The main exception is any app that requires its own login — you will need to sign back into banking apps, social media, and streaming services individually.

iCloud backup restore

If you no longer have the old iPhone (lost, broken, or already traded in), restore from an iCloud backup:

1. Turn on the new iPhone and go through setup until you reach the Apps and Data screen
2. Select Restore from iCloud Backup
3. Sign in with your Apple ID
4. Choose the most recent backup. Check the date and size to make sure it is the right one
5. Wait for the restore to finish. The phone restarts, then continues downloading apps in the background

iCloud restore is nearly as complete as Quick Start but requires that you had iCloud Backup enabled on the old phone and that the backup is recent.

Android to Android

Android transfers vary slightly by manufacturer (Samsung, Google, OnePlus each have their own tools), but the core process is similar.

Google's built-in transfer

During the new phone's initial setup:

1. Turn on the new Android phone and follow setup until it asks if you want to copy data from another device
2. Select Copy apps and data (the exact wording varies by manufacturer)
3. Connect the old phone when prompted — either by cable (USB-C to USB-C, which is fastest) or by following the on-screen Wi-Fi pairing instructions
4. Select what to transfer: apps, photos, contacts, messages, device settings. You can choose all or pick specific categories
5. Wait for the transfer. A cable connection is significantly faster than wireless for large amounts of data

Google's transfer copies apps (which re-download from the Play Store), photos, contacts, call history, SMS messages, device settings, and Wi-Fi passwords. Most apps transfer their data too, though some apps with their own accounts (banking, authenticator apps) require a separate login or manual transfer.

Samsung Smart Switch

If the new phone is a Samsung, Smart Switch is Samsung's dedicated transfer tool and is more thorough than Google's generic transfer for Samsung-to-Samsung moves:

1. Install Smart Switch on both phones (pre-installed on Samsung devices, available on the Play Store for others)
2. Open Smart Switch on both phones. The old phone sends, the new phone receives
3. Connect via cable (fastest) or Wi-Fi
4. Select what to transfer and wait

Smart Switch also handles transfers from iPhone to Samsung — it can pull data from an iCloud backup if you enter your Apple ID credentials.

iPhone to Android

Switching ecosystems requires more manual steps because Apple and Google use different systems for storing data:

• Contacts. If your contacts are synced to your Google account (check iPhone Settings, Contacts, Accounts), they appear automatically on the Android phone when you sign in. If they are only in iCloud, go to icloud.com/contacts, select all, and export as vCard (.vcf). Import the file on the Android phone via the Contacts app
• Photos and videos. Install Google Photos on the old iPhone and back up your entire library (Settings, Backup, toggle on, wait for it to finish). The photos appear in Google Photos on the new Android phone. Alternatively, connect the iPhone to a computer and copy the DCIM folder, then transfer it to the Android phone
• Messages. iMessage texts do not transfer to Android. Regular SMS messages can be transferred using Google's Switch to Android app (available on the App Store), which copies SMS history during the initial setup of the new Android phone. Group chats and iMessage-only conversations will not carry over
• Apps. Apps must be re-downloaded individually from the Play Store. Most major apps (Instagram, WhatsApp, banking apps) exist on both platforms. App data transfers vary — WhatsApp has a built-in chat transfer feature, but many apps start fresh
• Turn off iMessage. This is the most commonly missed step. Before removing your SIM from the iPhone, go to Settings, Messages, and toggle off iMessage. If you skip this, people with iPhones will continue sending you iMessages (which go to Apple's servers) instead of SMS (which would reach your Android phone). This can cause you to miss texts for days or weeks until Apple's system catches up

Android to iPhone

Apple's Move to iOS app handles the core transfer:

1. Start setting up the new iPhone. When you reach the Apps and Data screen, select Move Data from Android
2. On the Android phone, install and open the Move to iOS app from the Play Store
3. Follow the prompts on both phones. The iPhone displays a code that you enter on the Android phone to establish a secure connection
4. Select what to transfer: contacts, message history, photos, videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, and free apps that exist on both platforms
5. Wait for the transfer to complete. Do not close the app or use either phone during the process

Move to iOS works well for contacts, photos, and messages, but app data does not carry over — you need to set up each app fresh on the iPhone. WhatsApp has its own cross-platform transfer built into the app.

What does not transfer automatically

Regardless of the method you use, some things require manual attention after the transfer:

• Two-factor authentication apps. Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and similar apps often need to be set up again on the new phone. Before wiping the old phone, open each authenticator app and either export accounts (if the app supports it) or log into each service and re-register the new phone's authenticator. Losing authenticator access can lock you out of accounts
• Banking and payment apps. Most banking apps require a fresh login on the new device for security. Apple Pay and Google Pay cards need to be re-added
• Downloaded media. Music, podcasts, or videos downloaded within apps (Spotify, Netflix, YouTube) need to be re-downloaded on the new phone. The downloads do not transfer
• App-specific data. Game progress, health data from third-party apps, and notes stored only locally may not transfer unless the app has its own backup or cloud sync feature

When to get help with a phone transfer

Marion Phone Repair helps with phone data transfers when you are switching phones, upgrading, or recovering data from a damaged device. We handle the transfer, verify that contacts, photos, messages, and apps moved correctly, and make sure nothing was left behind on the old device.