How to transfer data from an old Android phone to a new one

Switching to a new smartphone is always exciting. Unboxing the phone and turning it on for the first time to get to know the new hardware and software never get old. Many users are satisfied with setting up their new smartphone from scratch and customizing it differently than the ones they had before. But until then, you might want to make sure that you transfer your important data and things like photos and contacts over to your new phone. Leaving all that important data and files with your old phone can really rain on your procession, so don’t let that happen. In this article, we will walk you through a step-by-step guide with all the steps to help you transfer files and data from an old Android phone to a new one. Let’s dive in!

Google makes it very easy to switch from one Android phone to another without losing any of your data or files in the process. However, there are a few things you need to do to ensure a smooth transition.

Back up your old phone

The first thing you need to do before setting up your new phone is to create a backup of your old phone. You can transfer your data without creating a backup as well, but this will come in handy when you don’t have your old device to restore your data from. Also, it’s a habit to create frequent backups of your data, just in case.

1. Open the Settings page on your Android phone, and find an option called System.
2. Inside the System menu, you will see File to support option, where you can create a backup of the data on your current phone.
3. If this is the first time you are creating a backup, select File His job To see what you can back up, as well as how much storage you have in Google One for backup.
4. You can just click on a file Make a backup now To create a new backup if you haven’t created a backup in the past.
5. Once you select this option and enter your PIN (provided you have a set screen lock), the phone will start creating a backup of your data that can be transferred to your new phone.

   

   

It may take a few minutes for your phone to create a backup, and you will see that the backup screen will turn gray during the process.

Back up your photos and videos

You also need to create a backup of the photos and videos that you have taken with your current phone. Heres how to do it:

1. Choose Pictures and videos From the Google Backup page.
2. Now, switch the file Backup and sync Toggle to see a list of Google accounts from which you can select one to create a backup. You’ll also see the storage space left in that account, so it’s convenient to decide which one to choose.
3. Once in, select the upload size option and choose the desired quality for your uploads.

And that’s it, the photos and videos on your old phone will now sync to your Google Photos account.

Set up your new phone and transfer the data

There are two ways you can transfer data to a new phone from your existing phone. You can either transfer your data directly if you still have your old phone, or you can restore from a backup like the one you just created. Let’s see how to transfer data if you still have your old phone:

Data transfer with a USB cable

Yes, you will need a USB cable that fits both your old and new phone to follow the steps below. If you don’t have a cable, skip to the next section where we explain how to transfer data without a cable.

1. Select a file Next or getting started on the welcome screen to start the process.
2. You will first be asked to select a language, insert a SIM card, and connect to a Wi-Fi network. Inserting a SIM card is optional, but you’ll have to connect to Wi-Fi to restore your phone wirelessly. So select that to land on the screen where you will see an option to copy your apps and data.
3. Keep your old device with a USB cable handy for the next step, and choose Next.
4. Now, just connect both devices using the cable and choose Next.
5. You will now see a prompt on your old device asking if you want to copy, so make sure of that by selecting copy.
6. Now, on your new phone, you’ll need to check your email account to see the list of items you can bring over, along with your backup size. You can choose whatever you want or simply select everything and click copy.

Your new phone will now start copying your data. It may take a few minutes to complete depending on the amount of items you want to copy, but you can continue to set other things in the meantime like screen lock, Google Assistant, and more. Once everything is done, you will see a prompt on your phone confirming this, after which you can disconnect the phones and press OK Finished.

Transfer data without a USB cable

If you do not have a USB cable that fits your old and new phone, follow the steps below to transfer your data wirelessly between the two devices:

1. If you do not have a USB cable, select no cable? When asked if you can use a cable or not. You’ll find this option in the lower left corner of the first page of the process.
2. Now you’ll get a prompt telling you to use a cable to move things around faster, but you can simply tap Complete to ignore it.
3. Choose Next When told you can move wireless to start the process.
4. Now, go to your old phone and open the google app. You may not have to do this if you receive a notification of the setup process.
5. If you don’t get one, go to the Google app and type “set up my device” in the search box.
6. You will now be asked to verify that the four shapes you see on both phones match. If they do, select Next on your old device to continue.
7. Choose copy And verify your identity on your old phone to get started.
8. At this point, you will have the chance to decide what you want to copy from your old phone. Select the things you want to fetch and tap on them copy to start the process.

And that’s it! Your new phone will now copy the items you selected. It may take a few minutes, but you can continue to set up things like your screen lock, Google settings, and more.

Restore from a backup

What if you don’t have access to your old phone to transfer your data? Well, Google also gives you the option to restore the backed up data, so you can still restore everything from the cloud. This will mainly be pulled from the backup we created earlier in this guide. So if you skip this part and if you never created a backup of your phone, you will have to set up your new phone as a new device from scratch. But if you’re smart enough to create a backup of your old phone before you get rid of it, follow the steps below to get started:

1. Once you turn on your new phone and get to the screen where you see an option to copy apps and data, select Next.
2. Now, you will see an option that says Can’t you use your old device? in the lower left corner of your screen. Select that to continue.
3. Now you will be warned that you may not be able to recover as much data as you could without your old phone, but you have no choice but to ignore it and click yes.
4. You will then be asked to sign in to your Google account, so that it can locate the backup we created earlier.
5. Once the backup file is located and shown to you, you can select it and verify your identity to continue.
6. On the next screen, you will see the data that you can bring to your new device from the cloud. Select whatever you want and press Repeat.

Your new phone will now start copying the selected data from the cloud, but you can continue to set up your phone in the meantime.

This brings us to the end of this special tutorial. Congratulations on purchasing and setting up your new Android phone. It may take a while for your new device to reinstall all of your apps, but that shouldn’t stop you from exploring everything your new device has in store for you. While you’re here, be sure to stop by our list of first things to do on a new Android phone, too. It will help you get started if you are new to the Android world.