You just got a new Android phone, unboxed it, and now you’re ready to set it up. If you try to move your data from your old phone to the new one manually, it can take many hours depending on the sort of information you want to transfer to your new device.
But there are easier and faster ways to migrate your texts, call logs, photos, videos, music, and contacts to your new Android phone, which make the process much less painful.
We’ve put together this handy primer to walk you through these different methods and get your new device up and running in no time without having to ask for help.
How To Transfer Data From Android To Android
There are several methods you can use to transfer all your data from an old to a new Android phone. These include:
- Using Smart Switch
- Using Android’s Backup and Restore feature
- Transfer via Bluetooth
- Move files with NFC
- Use a file transfer app
How To Use Smart Switch to Transfer Data to a New Android Phone
Smart Switch is an app that comes preloaded in some Samsung devices. It’s the easiest and simplest way to transfer all your data to your new Android phone, and still keep your contacts, music, photos, and more.
It’s compatible with most major operating systems and offers many ways to switch via WiFi, using a PC or Mac, or using a USB cable. You can also transfer data from the old phone’s internal storage to an SD card or other external storage device, and into the new phone.
There are certain requirements you need before you can use Smart Switch. These include:
- Have at least 500MB free space in internal memory for both your old and new phone
- If you’re on a wired connection, the device should support an MTP (Transferring Media Files) USB option to allow the content to be transferred between the devices.
- For non-Samsung phones that keep disconnecting from WiFi, go to the device’s Advanced WiFi settings and disable the WiFi initialize and Disconnect low WiFi signal settings before trying the connection again.
Once you’ve confirmed all the above, you can choose whether to use Smart Switch to transfer your data via WiFi, USB cable, or using your PC or Mac.
How to Use Smart Switch to Transfer Data via WiFi
- Check that both phones have Smart Switch by going to Settings > Accounts and Backup.
- Tap Smart Switch. If your old device doesn’t have it, you can download the app from the Play Store or by scanning a QR code.
- With the devices close together, tap to open Smart Switch and select Receive data on your new phone.
- Next, select the old device by tapping the Galaxy/Android option.
- Select Wireless when asked how you want to connect your devices.
- Go to your old Android phone’s screen and tap Wireless.
- On your new phone, select the data you want to move from the old phone.
- Next, tap Transfer, and then wait for it to complete. The time it takes to finish will depend on the strength of your connection and the amount of data being transferred to the new device.
How to Use Smart Switch to Transfer Data via USB
- Connect the two phones using a USB cable and the USB-C connector for your new phone. Adjust the USB setting on the old phone to MTP (media device).
- Click Accept on the old phone when you see the Accept the invitation to connect prompt from the new phone.
- Next, go to the Smart Switch interface on the old phone and select Cable.
- On your new phone, tap Receive data.
- With the two phones connected via USB, you can now go to the new phone and select the items you want to transfer, and then click Transfer to start the data transfer process.
How to Use Smart Switch to Transfer Data Via PC or Mac
- Your PC or Mac doesn’t have Smart Switch preloaded on them, so you’ll need to download Smart Switch, accept the terms of usage, install and open it.
- Next, connect your old Android phone to the computer, and then select Backup on Smart Switch.
- The data transfer process will start. Tap OK once it’s complete, and disconnect the phone from the computer. Connect your new Android phone to the computer, and select Restore.
- Click Select your backup data.
- Click Samsung Device data.
- If there’s any information you don’t want to copy, deselect it, click OK, and then go back and click Restore now, and Allow or OK to start the transfer process.
How to Use Smart Switch to Transfer Data Via External Storage
You can also use Smart Switch to transfer data to your new phone via an SD card or other external storage. Simply insert the SD card or connect the phone to the external storage containing the data you want restored, and follow the onscreen instructions to start the transfer process.
How To Use Android’s Backup & Restore Feature To Transfer Data To a New Android Phone
The Backup and Restore feature in your Android phone allows you to backup your old phone and use the restore function on the new phone to move apps or other data between the devices.
- Check that your old Android phone is backing up data and then go to Settings > Accounts and Backup, tap Backup and restore.
- You can use Samsung Cloud to back up the data, but if your phone offers Google Drive, toggle the Backup to Google Drive on if it’s not, and then tap Back up now. Once the backup completes, you’re ready to restore your data to the new Android phone.
- Power on your new Android device and follow the onscreen instructions until it asks if you’d like to restore data from another device. Select your old device and tap Copy Your Data.
- Make sure both phones are connected to the same WiFi, and then select either A backup from an Android phone or A backup from cloud (if you don’t have the old phone) on the restore options screen.
- Sign into your Google account using the same account you’re signed into on your old phone, and you’ll see a list of backup options including the old phone. Tap the correct option, and then select Restore to move all your data and settings from the old phone.
- Tap Apps to choose the apps you’d like to move to the new device, and let the restoration process continue. Meanwhile, you can continue setting up your new phone.
How to Use Bluetooth to Transfer Data to a New Android Phone
Bluetooth is another easy, wireless way of moving files like music, photos, videos, contacts and more, between Android phones, except it’s painstakingly slow especially when you want to transfer large files.
- Turn on Bluetooth on both phones by going to Settings > Connections > Bluetooth, pair the devices, and then tap to select all the files you want to transfer to start the process.
- You’ll see a list of devices available to pair with. Look for your old and new phone and pair them with each other. If you don’t see either of them, tap Scan to search for the available devices. If a Passkey is required, you’ll see one appear on both devices’ screens, so make sure they’re a match before tapping Pair.
- Open the Files app on the old phone, select all the files you want to move to the new phone, tap Share and select Bluetooth as the sharing method.
- Confirm the file share on your new Android phone and the transfer process will begin. The time taken to complete will depend on how much data you’re transferring between the devices.
When the transfer is complete, unpair the devices by tapping Settings next to the paired devices, and selecting Unpair.
How to Transfer Data to a New Android Phone Using NFC
Near-Field Communication, commonly referred to as NFC, is another simple method you can use to transfer data quickly between Android phones wirelessly.
To use NFC, both devices’ screens need to be unlocked and powered on, must work with NFC, and have it enabled along with Android Beam.
- Turn on NFC by going to Settings > Connections > NFC and payment.
- Next, tap the switch next to Android Beam to toggle it on.
- With NFC and Android Beam turned on, open your old Android phone and open the content you want to transfer. Move the back of each device toward the other, and once they connect, you’ll feel the phone vibrate or make a sound, and the image on the screen will appear to be shrinking. Tap the screen when you see Tap to beam or Touch to beam.
Once the content has been sent, the image on your screen will go back to its normal size.
How to Transfer Data to a New Android Phone Using Third-Party Apps
If you’re not one to follow too many steps to get something done, you can use a third-party app to transfer data to your new Android phone. Some of the good ones available include SHAREit, Xender, or Send Anywhere. Any of these can help you transfer files between your devices but you have to install the app on both phones for it to be effective.
Have you used any of these methods to transfer data between two Android phones before? Share with us your experience in the comment section below.