How to Switch to Android and Keep Your Data

How to Switch from iPhone to Android Without Losing Any of Your Data

One of the biggest things holding me back from switching to Android was the fear of losing my data. What would happen to my precious photos, videos, documents, and messages? Would I lose everything? Was there anything I could save?

It turns out you can easily switch from iPhone to Android and save almost EVERYTHING. Google knows one of its target audiences is current iPhone users. People often choose iPhone for its great camera, its simplicity to use, and iMessage and FaceTime. Now, Google has made a compelling line of phones with its Pixel series.

Pixel phones offer one of the best cameras on a mobile phone, Google’s version of Android (which in my opinion is the simplest to use), and incredible features to help make your life easier. Ever wonder what song is playing at a party, on a radio, or at a restaurant? Google’s Pixel phones will display the current song right on your lock screen. You can see weather updates right on your lock screen as well and get traffic notifications from Google Maps to know when to leave.

Android has gotten better, faster, and easier to use, and I know many people are thinking of switching over (including myself!). Google’s incredible camera on the Pixel is honestly one of the most compelling reasons to switch. The camera is sharp, color accurate, and offers amazing low-light performance with Night Sight. Many people agree Pixel 3 has the best camera on any smartphone right now.

Google knows people are willing to switch from iPhone for these helpful new features and best-in-class camera, so they designed the process of switching to Android to be as simple as possible and to keep all of your valuable data.

You can watch me go through the full process of switching to Android in the video above, or you can follow these 7 steps:

5 Steps to Switch to Android and Keep Your Data

Step 1: Turn off iMessage

Apple’s iMessage service makes chatting with other iPhone users a fun, fast, and secure. However, if you are looking to switch to Android, iMessage can cause a lot of problems. Messages can get lost and never delivered. You can miss out on important conversations.

To prevent this, navigate to Settings > Messages > iMessage and turn the toggle OFF.

I recommend continuing to use your iPhone for a few days with the iMessage toggle turned off to let the changes take effect. It may take a few messages for all your friends’ iPhones to realize you are now using SMS as your messaging service.

Step 2: Swap your SIM card

Your SIM card contains your phone number. It’s what your phone uses to connect to cellular data, make calls, and send texts. You’ll want this in your new Android. Use the included SIM eject tool to pop out the SIM card tray on your iPhone and insert it into your Android device.

Step 3: Begin setting up your Android device

Power on your new Android phone and begin the setup process. At some point during the beginning of the process, you will be prompted to transfer your data from a previous Android backup, an iPhone, or setup as new. Select to transfer your data from an iPhone.

Step 4: Connect your two phones

This part of the process may be different depending on which Android phone you are switching to. For Google’s Pixel 3a, you use the included USB-C to USB adapter along with a lightning cable to connect your iPhone to your new Pixel 3a. When you do this, make sure to tap “trust” on your iPhone. The Pixel 3a will charge your iPhone and access all of your important data to transfer over.

Step 5: Select what data to transfer

Your Android phone will scan the files and contents on your iPhone to determine what can be transferred over. Depending on the storage size of your previous phone, this may take a while. For me it took a good 30 minutes. After the files have been scanned, you can select exactly what data you want transferred over to your new phone. This includes data such as:

• Apps
• Call history
• Message attachments
• Messages
• Music & other audio
• Photos & videos
  

Select what data you want copied over to your new Android device, and you’re done! Your apps, documents, messages, photos and videos will begin copying in the background as you continue setting up your device. When you are done with the setup process, your phone will let you know how much time is remaining to copy your data over.

Once the transfer is complete, you are good to go! Enjoy using your new Android device with all of your messages, photos, videos, music, and many of your favorite applications exactly as you remember them.