Transferring your data from an Android device to an iPhone after you have already set up your new iPhone can seem daunting. However, with some preparation and the right tools, it is possible to move your contacts, photos, videos, and other important information to your new iPhone.
Back Up Your Android Device
The first step is to make sure all of your data on your Android device is backed up. This gives you a safety net in case anything goes wrong during the transfer process. Here are a few ways to back up an Android phone or tablet:
- Use your Google account – If you used a Google account on your Android device, contacts, calendars, photos and more are automatically backed up to your Google Drive storage. You can verify this by going to Settings > Accounts on your Android device.
- Use a third-party backup app – Apps like Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive or Apple’s iCloud for Android allow you to back up your device to the cloud.
- Back up locally to a computer – Use a USB cable to connect your Android device to a computer and copy files or create a full system backup using Android Studio or ADB tools.
Once you’ve backed everything up, you’re ready to move to the next steps.
Transfer Contacts
Your iPhone will likely import your contacts automatically when you first set it up and sign in with your Google account. However, it’s a good idea to double check that all contacts successfully transferred over.
To review your contacts on your iPhone:
- Open the Contacts app.
- Tap Groups at the top of the screen.
- Select Accounts.
- Review the contacts under each account.
If any contacts are missing from your Google account, you can try transferring your contacts again using one of these methods:
- Sync with Google Contacts: On your Android device, open the Contacts app and tap the Menu icon ⋮ > Settings > Accounts. Choose your Google account and then tap Sync Now.
- Export to VCF file: On your Android device, export your contacts to a VCF file. Email this file to yourself. Then, on your iPhone, open the email and tap the VCF file to import those contacts.
Transfer Photos and Videos
The easiest way to transfer photos and videos is to back them up to Google Photos using your Android device. As long as you are signed into the same Google account on your iPhone, all of those backed up photos will be accessible in the Google Photos app on your new iPhone.
If you have media that is only stored locally on your Android device, here are a couple options to transfer them to your iPhone:
- Use a USB cable: Connect your Android device to your iPhone using the appropriate USB cable. Open the Files app on your iPhone. Your Android device should appear under Locations. You can then copy files directly from your Android device and paste them into the Files app to save them on your iPhone.
- Upload to a cloud service: Manually upload photos/videos from your Android device to a cloud storage service like Google Drive, Dropbox or iCloud Drive. You can then access them on your iPhone by installing the corresponding app and signing in to your account.
- Use AirDrop: If you have access to a Mac computer, you can AirDrop photos/videos between your Android device and the computer, then AirDrop them again from the computer to your iPhone.
Transfer Calendar and Mail
If you used Google Calendar on your Android device, your events should automatically transfer over when you add your Google account to your iPhone.
For Gmail, make sure to set up the Gmail app with your Google account on your iPhone to access all of your messages. Connect to your account in the iOS Mail app as well.
For other email providers, manually add your accounts in the iOS Mail app to sync your emails from those accounts.
Transfer Browser Data
Unfortunately, there is no direct way to transfer your bookmarks, browsing history, or saved passwords from the browser on your Android device to the Safari browser on your iPhone.
However, here are some workarounds:
- Use a password manager like LastPass or 1Password to store your saved passwords on Android, which can then sync to iOS.
- Export your bookmarks from Chrome on Android as an HTML file, email it to yourself, then import that file into Safari on iPhone.
- Manually save important bookmarks to your Google account for easy access later from iOS Chrome.
Transfer Messages
The options for transferring text messages from an Android device to an iPhone are limited. Here are a couple potential solutions:
- Use the Copy My Data app (Android only) to transfer SMS messages to your iPhone via cable.
- Back up SMS messages stored on your SIM card, then insert the SIM into your iPhone.
- Manually forward important SMS conversations to yourself or others via email or a cloud storage service.
Unfortunately, you cannot directly transfer app data like WhatsApp or Facebook messages from Android to iPhone. You will need to use the apps’ cloud backup features if you want to preserve message history.
Transfer Documents and Files
There are a few ways to transfer important files like PDFs, Word documents, spreadsheets, and more from your Android device to your iPhone:
- Store files on cloud storage like Google Drive, Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive that you can access from all devices.
- Use a USB cable to copy files directly from your Android device to Files app on your iPhone.
- Email documents to yourself and save attachments on your iPhone.
If you use Google’s office suite apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides) your files should be accessible on iOS as long as you are signed into your Google account.
Transfer Music and Podcasts
For music and podcast files stored locally on your Android device, you can transfer them to your iPhone using a USB cable and the Finder app on Mac/PC or the Files app on iPhone.
If you use a streaming service like Spotify, re-download the app on your iPhone and sign in to your account to access your music library.
For iTunes or Apple Music, you will need to manually re-download or upload your music library to access it on iPhone.
Transfer Apps
Unfortunately, apps cannot be directly transferred from an Android device to an iPhone. You will have to re-download apps from the App Store and sign in again to your accounts.
However, many apps do store your data in the cloud so signing in should restore much of your information, like settings and progress in games. Just be sure to install the iOS version of each app you used on your Android device.
Transfer WhatsApp Data
WhatsApp has a built-in option to securely transfer your chat history from Android to iPhone. Here’s how:
- Install the Move to iOS app on your Android device and open it.
- On your iPhone, open the Settings app and go to General > Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Follow the on-screen instructions to connect your Android device to your iPhone and transfer data.
- On the Transfer Data screen, select WhatsApp under “Data types to transfer.”
- Wait for the process to complete. Your WhatsApp chats will be transferred to your iPhone.
Unfortunately, you cannot use this method to transfer WhatsApp call history or media files – only chats.
Use iCloud or iTunes as a ‘Middleman’
For some data types like text messages, contacts, and calendars, you can use iCloud or iTunes as an intermediary between your Android device and iPhone. Here’s how:
- On your Android device, sync the data you want to transfer to your iCloud account or directly to iTunes on a computer.
- On your iPhone, sync with the same iCloud account or iTunes library.
- The data from your Android device will be transferred to your iPhone via iCloud or iTunes.
This doesn’t work for all data types but can be helpful for things like contacts, calendars, notes, bookmarks and some media files.
Use Third-Party Apps
Some third-party apps promise to make data transfer from Android to iPhone quick and painless. Popular options include:
- Move to iOS (Android/iOS): Free Android app made by Apple that transfers contacts, messages, photos, videos, bookmarks, mail accounts to iPhone.
- AnyTrans (Mac/PC): Transfers photos, music, videos, messages, contacts, and more between Android and iPhone.
- Copy My Data (Android): Transfers contacts, SMS messages, call logs, apps, music, photos, videos, and documents to iPhone.
Be sure to research different apps’ feature sets and user reviews before choosing one to make sure they will transfer the specific data you need.
Manually Transfer Data
For small amounts of data, it may be quicker and easier to just transfer them manually:
- Re-enter contacts, calendar events, bookmarks, etc. manually into iPhone apps.
- Re-download apps and sign into accounts on iPhone.
- Email yourself photos and videos to save on iPhone.
While time consuming, manual transfer gives you a chance to filter out old junk data and organize the data you’re bringing over to your new iPhone.
Conclusion
While you cannot simply plug in your Android phone to your new iPhone and replicate all your data, there are many options to move your most important information to iOS.
Be strategic and selective about what data you transfer. Carefully consider which transfer method makes most sense for each data type in your particular situation.
With some patience and the right tools, you can achieve a smooth transition from Android to your new iPhone and quickly get back up and running with your important data.
