So, you made the decision to move from iOS to Android—and now have a new Android smartphone in your hands.
How do you get started and how do you ensure you ease into the new ecosystem within the shortest time possible?
The process may seem daunting but it’s going to be quite easy once you read what we have to share below.
It mainly involves transferring all your old data from your iPhone.
Transferring Contacts From iPhone to Android
The first thing you are likely to do when you get a new phone is transferring contacts from your old phone.
If you had your contacts backed up on Google, you should be able to easily sync your contacts to your new phone.
All you have to do is login into your Google account, and all your contacts will show up in your contacts list.
On the other hand, if you didn’t have your contacts on Google—you will have to generate a .vcf file from iCloud.
Once you get the .vcf file, you can import it to your Google Contacts or your new Android phone.
Here’s how to go about it:
- Go to Settings on your iPhone
- Go to your profile and click on iCloud and then toggle Contacts on to upload your contacts to the cloud.
- Log onto iCloud.com on your browser using your Apple ID.
- Go to Contacts and then tap the gear icon on the lower left corner and click on Select All.
- Go back to the gear icon and tap on Export vCard to download the .vcf file.
- The .vcf file is now ready for import to your new phone or Google Contacts.
To import to Google Contacts, visit contacts.google.com, click on Import and Go to old contacts:
- Tap on the More button and then select Import.
- Select the .vcf file you downloaded and you should be good to go.
To import your contacts directly into your Android phone:
- Move the downloaded .vcf file to your Android phone via USB or microSD card.
- Open the Phone app on your Android device.
- Click on the three dots on the top left corner.
- Look for Import/Export option – it varies from device to device.
- Choose the .vcf file and your contacts will be available on your new phone.
Transferring Contacts From iPhone to Android
Photos are among some of the most valuable possessions we have on our phones.
So, if you are switching to a new phone – you may want to transfer photos from your old phone.
You can also transfer them manually using one of these ways.
Alternatively, you can take advantage of the convenience of cloud storage.
Many cloud services are available, but we recommend downloading Google Photos on your iPhone.
Google Photos is the most seamless of them all and it will most likely come pre-installed on your new Android phone.
The app allows users to backup an unlimited number of high-quality images and lets them be available on numerous devices as long as they log into their Google accounts.
Here’s how to transfer photos using Google Photos:
- Download Google Photos from the App Store on your iPhone and Google Photos for Android on Play Store on your Android phone.
- After you set it up on your iPhone, you’ll be prompted to backup up your photos—turn this feature on.
- The app will upload your photos to the cloud—ensure you are connected to the internet for this to work. The process may take longer depending on the number of photos that you have on your iPhone.
- Once all the photos have been uploaded, login into the Google Photos app on your new phone. Once everything is set up, you should see all your uploaded photos on your Android device.
Alternatively, you can transfer the photos manually by connecting the two phones to your computer.
Here’s how to transfer photos manually via a computer:
- Connect both your iPhone and Android phone to your computer using their respective USB cables.
- Go to My Computer on your PC—here you should be able to see the two devices under Portable Devices. If one or both of the phones don’t show up, be sure to install the relevant drivers.
- Open each of the phones’ storage on two different windows.
- Locate the DCIM folder on your iPhone storage and then select all the pictures you want to transfer.
- Select the photos and drag them over to the Android phone’s storage window and then drop them in the DCIM folder.
- You are now set and ready to start reminiscing your memories on your new Android phone.
Transferring Music From iPhone to Android
You could transfer the files manually, but it would be easier if you downloaded your songs on iTunes to your computer.
Once you do this, log onto Google Play Music after downloading the program to your computer.
Click Upload songs to Google Play, and choose iTunes before completing the rest of the setup.
The program will upload all your songs to your Google Play Music account.
To access the songs, log onto the app on your new Android device and you should have all your music on there.
Wrapping Up
The above are all the basics you will have to do once you move over to Android.
Things like documents can easily be accessed on the new phone if you utilize any cross-platform cloud storage services, such as Drive and Dropbox.
The only thing you cannot transfer is your apps. Android and iOS are totally different operating systems – you’ll have to download all the apps you need on your Android phone from scratch.
Working with Android may take a little bit of getting used to especially if you were a long-time iOS user.
The two are completely different ecosystems, though they have the same working principle.
However, you should be able to get the hang of it after a short while – you might even end up liking the experience better than with your older device.
Happy transferring!