You've got your shiny new phone with all its advanced features and power. Great! But things don't get smooth and pleasing until you transfer all your files and necessary data. So, if you’re stuck on migrating your data from your old phone to the new one, this guide on "how to transfer all data from old to new Android" will see you through.
Let’s get things done.
How to transfer all data from an old phone to a new Android phone
The sweetest thing about Android is that migrating to a new device is straightforward, thanks to Google itself. We all know how vital our contacts, texts, call logs, apps, photos, and other files are, and thankfully, Google automatically backs them up, allowing you to transfer your data to your new phone seamlessly.
The first step how to transfer all data from old to new Android is to back up your data; you can then restore them to the new phone. Simple?
How to back up your data on Android
You might have enabled Android Backup earlier, but you should double-check if your things are all in the cloud before proceeding. And if you’re hearing this for the first time, Google automatically backups all your essential data like call logs, apps & app data, photos, text messages, device settings, and contacts to the cloud so you’ll never miss them. The best thing is that this data doesn't count towards your 15GB free Google Drive storage, so you don’t have to worry about storage issues.
So, before you continue, follow the steps below to confirm that you've safely backed up your data to the cloud.
- Launch the Settings app on your old phone.
- Scroll to System and select it.
- Tap Backup
- Ensure “Backup by Google One” is active or turn it on.
- Click “Back up now” to synchronize your latest data to the cloud storage.
Data synchronization may take several minutes, depending on the file size and network speed. While that's running, check if your photos and videos are backed up.
How to back up your photos and videos
Setting up your new phone will be incomplete without switching your media files. And to get that done, Google Photos is extremely useful. It’s arguably the most used Gallery app on Android. It offers some perks like backing up your photos and videos, grouping faces for easy access, editing your pictures and videos with an easy-to-use editor, and many more.
While Google Photos backup now counts toward your 15GB Google Drive storage, you can opt for the Storage Saver (formally known as High Quality) option to conserve your storage space. It basically chunk down your photo/video size to save storage, while still preserving the photo/video quality. If you’re subscribed to Google One or have enough storage and want to store high-res photos and videos, you can opt for Original quality.
With that, Google Photos is the best way to back up and restore your photos on your Android device. Plus, you'll be able to view your photos and videos from the web or any device since they're in cloud storage.
Here's how to back up your media file to Google Photos.
- Launch the Google Photos app on your old device (or get it from the Play Store)
- Tap your profile on the top right
- Select Photos settings.
- Tap Back up & sync
- Ensure the service is turned on, or flip the toggle to start.
- Choose your Upload size (preferably Storage Saver if you’re not a Google One member.
- Setup your Cell data usage if you’re backing up with your mobile data.
- You can also use the "Back up device folder" if you want to backup other folders besides your camera folder.
That’s it. Wait for a couple of minutes to finish backing up your data, then you can start that migration process to your new device.
How to restore your data and settings to your new Android device
As it's easy to copy data from your old phone, it is easy to restore data to your new phone. Once you're clear to have safely backed up your data with Google, restoring them shouldn’t be a problem.
You’ll see an option to restore your data while setting up the new phone. If you’re just unboxing and turning on the phone, your setup process should be similar to this:
- Turn on the phone.
- Tap Start when prompted.
- Connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- Tap A backup from the cloud and follow the on-screen instructions
- Sign in to your Google account.
- Choose what to restore, then tap the Restore
- The rest of the setup will vary depending on who made your phone. Meanwhile, you should only need to set up your screen lock, accessibility, and other stuff if you wish.
That’s how to transfer all data from old to new Android devices. Your data will start migrating in the background, and your apps should install soon. We recommend you do this on a Wi-Fi network to avoid burning your mobile data.
App to transfer data from old Android to new Android
Besides backing up and restoring your data with Google’s stuff. You may also decide to do things manually. And that could be useful in most cases, especially if you don't have access to Wi-Fi internet to backup and restore the data from the cloud.
Thankfully, many brands now offer ‘Smart Switch’ features to help you migrate data to your new phone without stress. You may find such an app as ‘Phone Cloner’ on your device, and they’ll help you wirelessly transfer files and data like contacts, texts, call logs, videos, pictures, large files, local music files, even your WhatsApp data to the new phone. It works over a local Wi-Fi hotspot, so you don't have to worry about internet or data consumption.
If you own one of the latest TECNO or Infinix phones running HiOS v7.6 or XOS v7.6 and above, you should be able to migrate your files with Phone Cloner. And if your device doesn't offer such a feature, you can download a Phone Cloner app from the Play Store.
How do I transfer my apps from my old phone to my new phone?
If you backed up your data with Google, your apps should restore automatically while setting up your new phone. Better still, you can install them from your Google Play Store library.
And, if you're transferring your data with a phone cloner app, you’ll find an option to transfer over your apps, too.
Is transferring data from Android to Android free?
Free! You don't have to pay a dime to copy your data from your old phone to a new one. Even if you use Google Backup, it doesn’t count towards your 15GB free Drive storage. So, everything is free.
Final thoughts
Switching to a new phone always gives a fresh experience. However, that shouldn’t be a problem since you have everything you need after migrating your data.
And while there are many ways to transfer data on Android, your best bet is using the Android Backup Service provided by Google. Migrating your data with a Cloner app is also a great option if you don't have access to Wi-Fi or you when you want to transfer extensive files. That's how to transfer all data from old to new Android phones. Do we hope you got some help?
