How to Back Up Your Phone and Transfer to a New Device

Published 2026-10-16 · Marion Phone Repair

You have a new phone and you want everything from your old one — contacts, photos, text messages, apps, app data, settings, and accounts — moved over without losing anything. The process is straightforward when both phones use the same operating system, and possible but more limited when switching between iPhone and Android. Here is how to do it for every scenario.

Before you start

Back up your old phone first

Before transferring anything, make a current backup of your old phone. This protects you if something goes wrong during the transfer — you can always restore from the backup. Do not skip this step even if you plan to use a direct transfer method.

• iPhone: Go to Settings, tap your name at the top, iCloud, iCloud Backup, and tap Back Up Now. Make sure you have enough iCloud storage for the backup. Alternatively, connect to a computer and back up through Finder (Mac) or iTunes (Windows) for a local backup that does not require iCloud storage
• Android: Go to Settings, System (or Accounts), Backup, and make sure backup is turned on. Tap Back Up Now. Google backs up contacts, call history, app data, device settings, SMS, and photos (if Google Photos backup is enabled). For Samsung phones, also check Samsung Cloud backup in Settings, Accounts, Samsung Account, Samsung Cloud

Charge both phones

Make sure both the old and new phone have at least 50 percent battery. A full transfer can take 30 minutes to several hours depending on how much data you have. If either phone dies during the transfer, you may need to start over — or worse, end up with a partial transfer that is difficult to complete.

Know your accounts

You will need the username and password for your Apple ID (iPhone), Google account (Android), and any other accounts you want to set up on the new phone. If you use two-factor authentication, make sure you can still receive verification codes on the old phone or have backup codes available. Getting locked out of your accounts during a phone transfer is a common and frustrating problem.

iPhone to iPhone

Quick Start (direct transfer)

This is the easiest and most complete method. It transfers everything including app data, saved passwords (from Keychain), Health data, and settings that iCloud backup does not always capture:

1. Turn on the new iPhone and place it next to your old iPhone
2. A Quick Start screen appears on your old iPhone. Tap Continue
3. Hold your old iPhone over the animation that appears on the new iPhone to scan it
4. Enter your old iPhone's passcode on the new iPhone when prompted
5. Set up Face ID or Touch ID on the new iPhone
6. Choose Transfer from iPhone when the option appears. This transfers data directly between the phones over a peer-to-peer connection
7. Keep both phones near each other and connected to power until the transfer completes

Quick Start requires both phones to be running iOS 12.4 or later (any iPhone from the last several years qualifies). The transfer time depends on how much data you have — 64 GB might take 20 minutes, 256 GB could take over an hour.

Restore from iCloud backup

If Quick Start is not available or you prefer to use a backup:

1. Make sure your old iPhone has a recent iCloud backup (Settings, your name, iCloud, iCloud Backup)
2. On the new iPhone, go through the initial setup until you reach the Apps and Data screen
3. Select Restore from iCloud Backup
4. Sign in with your Apple ID and select the most recent backup
5. The phone will download and restore your data. This requires Wi-Fi and can take a while depending on your internet speed and backup size

Android to Android

Google's built-in transfer

During the initial setup of your new Android phone, you will be prompted to copy data from your old phone:

1. Turn on the new Android phone and follow the setup prompts
2. When asked to copy apps and data, tap Next
3. You can transfer using a cable (USB-C to USB-C, or USB-C to USB-A with an adapter) or wirelessly. Cable transfer is faster and more reliable
4. Follow the prompts on both phones to establish the connection
5. Select what you want to transfer — apps, contacts, photos, messages, and device settings are typically available
6. Wait for the transfer to complete

Samsung Smart Switch

If your new phone is a Samsung, Smart Switch offers the most complete transfer:

1. Install Samsung Smart Switch on both phones (it comes pre-installed on Samsung phones)
2. Open Smart Switch on both phones
3. On the old phone, select Send Data. On the new phone, select Receive Data
4. Choose wireless or cable connection (cable is faster)
5. Select the data you want to transfer and start the process

Smart Switch transfers more app data than the standard Google transfer, including home screen layout, settings, and some app-specific data that other methods miss.

Switching between iPhone and Android

iPhone to Android

Switching from iPhone to Android transfers most of your data but some things do not cross the platform boundary:

• What transfers: Contacts, photos, videos, calendar events, free apps that exist on both platforms, text message history (through Google's Switch to Android app or Samsung Smart Switch), and music
• What does not transfer: Paid apps (you will need to repurchase them on Google Play), app-specific data and settings, iMessage conversation threads with other iPhone users (they will still try to send you iMessages instead of SMS until you deregister), Apple Pay cards, and HomeKit smart home configurations

Before switching, deregister iMessage: on your old iPhone, go to Settings, Messages, and turn off iMessage. This ensures other iPhone users can reach you via regular text messages on your new Android phone. If you forget this step, some texts from iPhone users may not reach you.

Android to iPhone

Apple's Move to iOS app handles the transfer:

1. Set up the new iPhone until you reach the Apps and Data screen
2. Select Move Data from Android
3. On the old Android phone, install and open the Move to iOS app from Google Play
4. Follow the prompts on both phones. The iPhone will display a code to enter on the Android phone
5. Select what to transfer — contacts, message history, photos, videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, and calendars

Move to iOS also checks which of your Android apps have iOS equivalents and adds them to your App Store wish list for easy installation.

What people forget to transfer

• Authenticator apps: Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, and similar two-factor authentication apps need to be transferred separately. If you wipe your old phone before transferring these, you could lose access to accounts. Google Authenticator has a transfer feature (tap the three dots, Transfer Accounts, Export). Alternatively, log into each account and set up 2FA on the new phone before wiping the old one
• WhatsApp chat history: WhatsApp chats do not transfer through the standard phone transfer process. You need to use WhatsApp's own transfer feature: open WhatsApp on the old phone, Settings, Chats, Transfer Chats (for iPhone to Android) or Chat Backup (for same-platform transfers)
• Saved Wi-Fi passwords: These transfer in most same-platform transfers but not always when switching between iPhone and Android. You may need to re-enter Wi-Fi passwords
• Banking and payment apps: Most banking apps require you to log in fresh on the new device for security reasons. Have your banking credentials ready

Phone transfer help in Marion

If you are getting a new phone and want help making sure everything transfers completely — or if you are stuck mid-transfer with missing data — Marion Phone Repair can handle the full transfer process, verify that all your contacts, photos, messages, and apps made it to the new device, and help with any accounts that need to be re-authenticated.