Did you get a shiny brand new Android phone? Welcome to the team! You’ll love it here. But how do you get started? Switching from iPhone to Android can be a convoluted process, or it can be easy, depending on the steps you take.
In this tutorial, we will show you the best ways to transfer all your data from an iPhone to an Android device. First we’ll cover the easy ways, which may or may not work depending on your phone. Then we’ll cover more specific tasks that will work for anyone that’s switching from iOS to Android.
If you’re not too tech savvy and have a Samsung phone, you’re in luck. Samsung Galaxy phones have an all-in-one tool called Smart Switch to make switching from iPhone to Android quick and easy.
This will quickly transfer your contacts, bookmarks, photos, videos, and more. It works both wirelessly via Wi-Fi or with an OTG cable. Here’s how it works:
How to switch using Google Drive backups
Those without a Samsung Galaxy phone are not out of options. You can transfer your data using a backup on Google Drive. It’s slightly more complicated than the steps above and you won’t get as much data, but it’s still better than doing everything manually. Once you finish the process, make sure you disable iMessage and Facetime to avoid losing any future messages and calls on your new phone.
How to switch from iPhone to Android with Google Drive
- Charge and turn on both phones.
- Install Google Drive on your iPhone.
- Open the app and log into your Google Account.
- Tap Settings, then Backup. Pick what you want to back up, then Start Backup.
- It’s recommended to turn off both iMessage and Facetime so you don’t miss any messages during the transfer.
- Once finished, sign in to your Google Account on the new phone and restore from the backup.
One of the first things you’ll want to do when switching from iPhone to Android is transfer your contacts. How simple this process is will highly depend on your previous practices for syncing contacts. Are you synchronizing your contacts to your Google account? If so, getting your contacts on your brand new Android smartphone is a breeze! All you have to do is enter your Google account details. All your saved numbers will be automatically downloaded.
If you don’t sync your contacts with Google, however, you will have to work a little harder. The easiest way would probably be to use iCloud to get a .vcf file and then import that to your Android phone (or Google Contacts). Here’s how to do it:
How to download a .vcf file of your contacts
- On your iPhone, go to your Settings app and then your profile at the top.
- Tap iCloud and toggle on Contacts. Your contacts will upload to Apple’s cloud services shortly.
- Use a browser to go to iCloud.com and log in with your Apple ID.
- Select Contacts and then click on the gear icon in the lower-left corner.
- Click Select all.
- Click the gear again and select Export vCard. When the .vcf file downloads, you can either import that file to your Google Contacts or straight to your phone.
How to import contacts into Google Contacts
- Go to contacts.google.com and click Import, then Go to old contacts.
- Click the More button and select Import.
- Select the file and you are done.
How to import contacts into an Android phone
- Transfer the .vcf file into your phone using any methods such as transferring via a microSD card or by hooking up your phone to your PC.
- Open your Phone app and tap the menu button.
- Find option to Import/export. Its location will depend on your phone’s software.
- Select the file and be on your way.
How to transfer contacts from iPhone to Android using Google Contacts
- On your iPhone, open the Settings app.
- Go to Accounts & Passwords.
- Hit Add Account.
- Select Google and sign in to the Google account you’ll use with your new Android phone.
- Switch the Contacts toggle on.
- Hit Save.
- Now contacts will automatically sync from your iPhone to the cloud. They will also sync to your Android device.
How to transfer photos from iPhone to AndroidSwitching from iPhone to Android doesn’t mean you have to leave behind all those precious photos. It would be horrible to lose them in the process of switching to Android, right? You could probably do things the old way and manually transfer files like a caveman. Or you can be a bit more savvy and take advantage of the awesome cloud storage services we now have access to.
It’s possible to backup your photos to Drive, Dropbox, or your service of choice, but Google’s Photos app is the easiest. Photos lets you upload unlimited high-quality images and sync them across smartphones. And yes, it’s available for both Android and iOS.
How to transfer photos via the Photos app
- Download the iOS Google Photos app.
- During set-up, the app will ask if you want to backup your photos. Go ahead and turn the feature on.
- Your photos will begin uploading. This will use a substantial amount of data, so be sure to connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- When all images are uploaded to Google Photos, pull out your Android phone and download the Photos app from the Google Play Store.
- Go through the set-up process. Your images will be there.
How to transfer photos manually via a PC
- Connect your iPhone to your PC via USB cable. Do the same for your Android phone.
- On your Windows PC, open My Computer.
- You should be able to see two new drives or entries under Portable Devices. One is for your iPhone storage (usually labeled “Apple iPhone” or “[Your Name]’s iPhone” or something similar) and the other is for your Android. If you don’t see them, try installing the phone drivers.
- Open the iPhone’s storage in a new window.
- Open your Android’s storage in a new window.
- On the window for your iPhone’s storage, locate the folder named DCIM. You will find your photo folders inside that folder.
- Simply select the photos that you want to transfer. Then, drag them from the iPhone images folder and drop them onto your Android images folder.
You may have random files you want to transfer from iPhone to Android. This can easily be done using a computer. Let’s show you how.
- Connect your iPhone to your PC using a USB cable.
- Open iTunes.
- Click on the iPhone button near the top-left.
- Select File Sharing.
- Pick the app you want to transfer files from.
- Choose the file you want to transfer and pick Save to.
- Select where you want the file saved.
- Unplug your iPhone and plug in your Android device.
- Go to This PC and go into your Android device’s files.
- Copy and paste the files from the PC to one of your Android phone’s folders.
Unfortunately, iOS and Android are very different ecosystems, and so are the apps that run on these operating systems. You can’t just push a button and automatically get your apps back. Many popular apps for social networks, games, and more will exist in the realm of Android as well. Before buying your new Android, you’ll want to search Google Play online to ensure that there aren’t any missing apps that are absolutely crucial to your phone experience.
If these are premium apps you will have to buy them all over again. Annoying, but ultimately not a big deal for most folks unless you have spent a significant amount of money on iOS apps.
Even if you find one or two apps you used on your iPhone that aren’t offered on Android, there are a ton of great replacements for some of iOS’s best exclusive apps.
You will have to struggle with some things
Moving to a new platform can be complicated. We gave you some tools that will make your experience switching from iPhone to Android much smoother, but know there are some things you simply can’t avoid. Obviously, you’ll have to redownload your apps and even leave some behind for good. In addition, you’ll need to manually bring back your important documents and files. Thankfully, this is as easy as uploading them to your cloud storage service of choice. From there, you can easily download these to your Android phone using the official app.
Feel free to ask any questions, Happy Learning!?