Maybe you don't want to wait for the heavily rumored iPhone 13 or for iOS 15 to come out. You bought an iPhone ($500 at Best Buy) 12, and are excited to use it, but all of your stuff is still on your old Android phone. In the same way Samsung and Google made it easy to switch from an iPhone to a Google Pixel 5 or Galaxy S21 Ultra, Apple designed a straightforward way to move all your data to your new iPhone.
Move To iOS is an Android app made by Apple that transfers contacts, message history, website bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, photos and videos. Move To iOS also identifies any Android apps you had on your old phone and, if they're free in the iOS App store, downloads them on your new iPhone 12.
Read: iPhone to Android: The fastest way to move from iOS to Android
If you want to follow step-by-step through this process, watch our Switch from Android to iPhone with Move to iOS video below.
Transfer data from Android 9 or older to a new iPhone
The first thing you want to do is charge up both phones. Once the batteries are topped off, connect your Android phone to Wi-Fi. If you use Chrome on your phone and want to transfer your bookmarks, make sure the app is up to date before starting the transfer process.
Next, turn on your new iPhone and follow the prompts until you get to the Apps & Data screen. Choose Move Data from Android. On your Android phone, install Move To iOS from the Google Play Store, then open it. Back on your iPhone, tap Continue on the Move from Android screen. A 6- or 10-digit code will appear on the iPhone's display.
When prompted, type the code on your old Android phone to begin the transfer process.
AppleGo back to your Android phone, tap Continue on the Move to iOS screen and read the Terms and Conditions. Tap Agree. On the Find Your Code screen, tap the Next button in the top-right corner. Then, type in the 6- or 10-digit code from your iPhone when prompted.
Next, from the Transfer Data screen on your Android device, select the content that you want to move to your iPhone and tap Next. This process can take awhile, so I recommend starting it before you go to bed or another time when you aren't using your phones for awhile. Keep in mind that, even if your Android phone indicates that the process is complete, leave both phones alone until the loading bar finishes on your iPhone.
Follow the onscreen steps to finish the set-up of your iPhone and download the free apps that were matched in the App Store. Finally, make sure that all of your content transferred by browsing through your photo gallery and message history.
Any music, books, or PDFs that you had on your Android phone will need to be moved over manually. You can use the Android File Transfer app on Mac or PC to download these things from your Android phone. You can add them to iTunes and sync to your iPhone or upload to iCloud Drive.
//www.cnet.com/videos/how-to-transfer-data-from-an-android-phone-to-an-iphone/
Transferring from Android 10 or newer to iPhone
If you're on a phone running Android 10 or newer and transferring to an iPhone, I recommend trying Move To iOS. If it doesn't work, there are third-party apps for Macs and PCs that should. A popular one is an app called AnyTrans.
Last, if you are heavily invested in the Google ecosystem, there's no need to leave it when you're on an iPhone. There are dozens of Google apps for iOS including: Google Chrome, Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Google Maps, Google Photos, YouTube, Google Play Music, Google Play Books and Google Play Movies.
Hopefully, this helped make your move from Android to iPhone easier. If you have any tips or software you've used to transfer your Android data to a new iPhone please share in the comments. Otherwise read the best hidden features of iOS 15.
Updated on April 22, 2022 Make the switch and bring your data with you
What to Know
If you're switching from Android to iPhone, make sure you transfer all of your important data—contacts, photos, music—when you make the switch. This article explains what data can be transferred and what can't, and provides step-by-step instructions on the best way to transfer data from Android to iPhone.
How Do You Transfer Data From Android to iPhone?
There are lots of apps out there that can help you make this move. Some are paid, some are free, some are reputable, some shady. For most people, the best option is a free app by the most trustworthy source when it comes to iPhones: Apple.
Apple's Move to iOS app finds all of the important data on your Android and easily moves it to your new iPhone. Here's how to use it:
These steps only work if your iPhone is brand new and is being set up for the first time. If you've already set up your iPhone and want to use Move to iOS, you have to erase the iPhone and start from scratch. If you do that, make sure you back up the iPhone first!
Make sure both the iPhone and Android are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Go to the Google Play Store and download and install the Move to iOS app on your Android.
On the iPhone set up screen, tap Set Up Manually.
On the Android, enter the 6-digit code displayed on the iPhone to sync the devices.
On the iPhone's Apps & Data screen, tap Move Data from Android.
The Move to iOS app scans your Android to find all kinds of data, including contacts, calendar, and photos. It displays what it's found and how large the files are for each type.
Ensure that each type of data you want to transfer has a check next to it and tap Continue.
Move to iOS transfers each kind of data into the corresponding app on your iPhone. When the success message displays, tap Done.
On the iPhone, continue with the new-iPhone setup process.
Transferring Contacts from Android to iPhone
Depending on how you used your Android, you might not have a lot of data that you need to transfer. If you're only looking to move over your contacts from one address book to the other, you don't need Move to iOS. Here's an article on just moving contacts from Android to iPhone.
Transferring Music from Android to iPhone
Worried that it will take forever to transfer thousands of songs from one phone to another? Don't be! As long as you use a streaming app that works on both platforms, like Spotify or Apple Music, transferring is easy. Just install the app on your iPhone and log in using the same account you used on Android. Your music library will load right up. You'll need to download any offline songs again.
If you have a big collection of MP3s and don't stream, just make sure all MP3s are saved to your computer's hard drive. Along with the MP3s, you can sync data to your new iPhone using iTunes on Windows or Finder on Mac.
Transferring Photos from Android to iPhone
There are a few ways to transfer your photos from Android to iPhone (including Move to iOS, using the instructions earlier). The simplest is if you already use a cloud-based photo service like Google Photos or iCloud Photos.
Transferring Apps from Android to iPhone
You won't be able to transfer paid apps, so you'll have to buy those again (assuming there's an iPhone version of the app). Paid content should transfer when you sign into the iPhone version of the app with the same account. Many Android apps either have iPhone versions or there are equivalents from other developers, so you'll be able to keep doing the same activities with the same, or at least similar, apps.
FAQ
How do I transfer photos from Android to a computer?
The easiest way to move photos from your Android phone to your computer is to connect the two with a USB cable. Choose the File Transfer option if a window appears; your phone will appear as an external drive on your computer. From there, you can drag over items from your photos file. Alternatively, transfer your images to a cloud platform like Google Photos or OneDrive, and then use your computer to download them from there.
How do I transfer texts from Android to iPhone?
Unfortunately, the standard transfer process won't move over your text messages. You can back up and save your conversations, but you'll need a third-party app to move them to your new phone.
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