There’s never been more choice of different smartphones
(Picture: Unsplash)It’s getting easier to switch between Apple or Android handsets, and while it’s not entirely friction-free, here is how it’s done.
How to move from an Android handset to iPhone
Apple provides the Move to iOS app to help Android users switch over to iPhone, so install this on your Android device first.
Once this app is installed, connect both your new iPhone and the old Android to power and onto the same wi-fi network.
Upgrade your Android phone to the latest version of Chrome. Open the Move to iOS app and put the two phones close to each other.
Turn on your new iPhone and follow the setup instructions. When you get to a screen that says Quick Start at the top, tap Set Up Manually, which is written in small blue letters at the bottom of the display.
Follow the instructions until you get to the Apps & Data screen where you should then tap Move Data from Android.
Grab your Android phone and open the Move to iOS app.
Tap Continue, agree to the terms and conditions, and then return to your iPhone.
Making the switch happen
Your iPhone should now offer a Move from Android dialog option. It should also show you a long code that you then use on your Android device to authorise the transfer.
Once that happens, your iPhone will create a temporary wi-fi network and ask your Android phone to connect to it. After this, wait for the Transfer Data screen to appear on your old Android.
What files can you transfer from Android to iPhone?
You’ll be asked to choose what you want to transfer – contacts, photos, videos, photo albums, files, folders, settings, bookmarks, mail accounts, WhatsApp messages and some apps that are available on both iOS and Android will make the cut. Be patient.
Transfer can take a long time, depending on how much data you shift. When it’s over, tap Done on the Android and choose Continue on your new iPhone. Then finish the set-up on your iPhone.
How to swap over music, books, and PDFs
You need to move some content across manually. On a Mac you use an app called Android File Transfer.
Connect your old smartphone to the Mac or PC and use that app, or in Finder (Mac) iTunes (PC) find your photos and videos, music and documents folders and drag the ones you want across. Then drop the contents onto iTunes (on a PC) to sync them to your new iPhone.
You can also save your media onto iCloud, Dropbox or another online file storage service and then download exactly what you need to your iPhone.
How to move from an iPhone to Android
Some Android devices, such as Pixel and Galaxy phones, come with their own built-in iPhone-to-Android switching systems, but you can also do this manually.
One of the simplest ways is to use the Google One app, where you can use the Backup option in Google Drive Settings. This will pop our contacts, calendar events, photos, and videos into Google Drive, which you can then access and download to your new Android.
Backing up your media will take time, so use wi-fi for this task. The Android File Transfer application helps move your media (music, for example) across.
Most iPhone users will use iCloud Drive to store important items. On Android, you probably have Google Drive.
The simple solution is to install both apps on the iPhone, Mac or use iCloud.com (an online version of iCloud), select everything – you will need to download it first when using iCloud online –and then drag it over to Google Drive. If you forget something, you can access iCloud.com on your Android browser to locate it.
Can you transfer iMessage content onto Android?
You can’t easily take your messages with you, though an app called iSMS2droid can help. You must also disable iMessage before you switch.
First, open Settings>Messages and toggle iMessage off. You then visit Apple’s Deregister iMessage page to explain you “No longer have your iPhone” and follow the process there. This prevents incoming messages going astray.
Email is easier to bring across. Just add the accounts to the Gmail app on your new phone.
How could this be improved?
Both Apple and Google could make this slicker. The process of migrating between Androids and iPhones is still more complex than it needs to be, but it is doable.
If you plan to switch in either direction, it’s wise to begin using either iCloud or Google Drive for data storage for a while before you migrate, so you can get your most valuable data into both services before you begin your Big Switch. Good luck.
