How to transfer data from an old Android phone to your new one (2024)

Switching to a new smartphone is always exciting. Unboxing and booting up a phone for the first time to get a feel for the new hardware and software never gets old. A lot of users find satisfaction in setting up their new smartphone from scratch and customizing it differently from the ones they had before. But even then you'd want to make sure your important data and things like photos and contacts are transitioning over to your new phone. Letting all these important data and files go with your old phone can really rain on your parade, so don't let that happen. In this article, we'll walk you through a step-by-step guide detailing all the steps to help you transfer files and data from an old Android phone to a new one. Let's dive in!

Google makes it pretty simple to switch from one Android phone to other without losing any of your data or files in the process. That being said, there are a few things you need to do to ensure a smooth transition.

Back up your old phone

The first thing you need to do before setting up your new phone is to create a backup of your old phone. You can transfer your data without creating a backup too, but this will come in handy when you don't have your old device to restore your data from. Also, it's just a good habit to create frequent backups of your data, just in case.

1. Open the settings page on your Android phone, and look for an option called System.
2. Inside the System menu, you'll see the Backup option, which is where you can create a backup of the data on your current phone.
3. If this is your first time creating a backup, then select the Turn on button to see what you can back up, and also how much storage you have left in your Google One for the backup.
4. You can just hit the Back up now button to create a fresh backup if you've never created one in the past.
5. Once you select that option and enter your PIN (provided you have a screen lock set), the phone will start creating a backup of your data that can be transferred to your new phone.

Your phone may take a few minutes to create a backup, and you'll see that the Backup screen will be grayed out during the process.

Back up your photos & videos

You also need to create a backup of the photos and videos that you captured using your current phone. Here's how to do it:

1. Select Photos & Videos from the Google Backup page.
2. Now, toggle the Backup & sync switch to see a list of Google accounts from which you can select one to create a backup. You'll also see the storage left in that account, so it's convenient to identify which one to choose.
3. Once you're in, select the Upload size option and choose the desired quality for uploads.

And that's it, the images and videos on your old phone will now be synced with your Google Photos account.

Set up your new phone and move the data

There are a couple of ways you can move data to a new phone from your existing one. You can either move your data directly if you still have your old phone, or you can restore from a backup like the one you just created. Let's see how you to move the data if you still have your old phone:

Moving data with a USB cable

Yes, you'll need a USB cable that fits both your old and new phone to follow the steps given below. If you don't have a cable, then skip to the next section in which we explain how to move the data without a cable.

1. Select the Next or Get started button on the welcome screen to begin the process.
2. You'll first be asked to select a language, insert a SIM card and connect to a Wi-Fi network. Inserting a SIM is optional, but you'll have to connect to a Wi-Fi network to restore your phone wirelessly. So select that to land on the screen in which you'll see an option to copy your apps & data.
3. Keep your old device along with a USB cable handy for the next step, and select Next.
4. Now, simply connect both devices using the cable and choose Next.
5. You'll now see a prompt on your old asking whether you want to copy, so confirm that by selecting Copy.
6. Now, on your new phone, you'll need to verify your email account to see the list of items that you can bring over, along with the backup size. You can pick the ones you want or simply select everything and tap Copy.

Your new phone will now start copying your data. It may take a few minutes to complete depending on the amount of stuff you want to copy, but you can continue setting other things in the meantime such as screen lock, Google Assistant, and more. Once everything is done, you'll see a prompt on your phone confirming the same, after which you can disconnect the phones and hit Done.

Moving data without a USB cable

If you don't have a USB cable that fits both your old and new phone, then follow the steps given below to transfer your data wirelessly between the two devices:

1. If you don't have a USB cable, then select No cable? when you're asked whether you can use a cable or not. You'll find this option in the bottom left corner of the first page of the process.
2. You'll now get a prompt telling you to use a cable to move things quicker, but you can simply tap Continue to ignore that.
3. Select Next when you're told you can move wirelessly to begin the process.
4. Now, go to your old phone and open the Google app. You may not have to do this if you got a notification for the setup process.
5. If you didn't get one, then go to the Google app and type 'set up my device' in the search box.
6. You'll now be asked to verify that the four shapes that you see on both phones match. If they do, select Next on your old device to proceed.
7. Select Copy and verify your identity on your old phone to begin.
8. At this point, you'll get a chance to select what you want to copy from your old phone. Select the stuff you want to bring over and hit Copy to start the process.

And that's it! Your new phone will now copy the items you selected. It may take a few minutes, but you can continue setting up things like the lock screen, Google settings, and more.

Restore from a backup

What if you don't have access to your old phone to transfer your data? Well, Google also gives you the option to restore your backed up data, so you can still get everything back from the cloud. This will essentially pull from the backup that we created earlier in this guide. So if you skipped that part and if you never created a backup of your phone, then you'll have to set up your new phone as a fresh device from scratch. But if you were smart enough to create a backup of your old phone before getting rid of it, then follow the steps given below to get started:

1. Once you boot your new phone and get to the screen in which you see an option to copy apps & data, select Next.
2. Now, you'll see an option that says Can't use old device? in the left bottom corner of your screen. Select that to proceed.
3. You'll now be warned that you may not be able to get as much data back without your old phone, but you have no option but to shrug it off and tap OK.
4. You'll then be asked to Sign in to your Google account, so it can locate the backup that we created earlier.
5. Once it locates and shows you the backup file, you can select it and verify your identity to proceed.
6. On the next screen, you'll see the data that you can bring over to your new device from the cloud. Select whatever you need and hit Restore.

Your new phone will now begin copying your selected data from the cloud, but you can continue setting up your phone in the meantime.

And that brings us to the end of this particular tutorial. Congratulations on buying and setting up your new Android phone. It may take up some time for your new device to reinstall all your apps, but that shouldn't stop you from exploring everything your new device has in store for you. While you're here, be sure to stop by our list of the first things to do on a new Android phone too. It'll help you get started if you're new to the world of Android.