Moving photos and contacts to a new iPhone or Android
A new phone should feel like a gift, not a week of worry about whether the photos of the grandchildren made it across. The good news: moving between phones is easier than it was five years ago. The bad news: the steps are different depending on which two phones are involved, and one wrong tap can leave you with two half-set-up phones.
Before you start
- Charge both phones and connect them to your home Wi‑Fi. Transfers over cellular data can cost money and stall.
- Know your passwords. For an iPhone that is your Apple ID (usually your email address) and its password. For Android it is your Google account. If you can't remember them, sort that out first; it is the number one thing that stops a transfer.
- Keep the old phone. Don't trade it in, wipe it, or let the store keep it until you have used the new one for a few days.
- Make a backup of the old phone first: iCloud backup on iPhone, Google One backup on Android. It takes an hour and it means nothing can be lost.
iPhone to iPhone
Turn on the new phone and hold the old one next to it. A "Set up new iPhone" bubble appears on the old phone. Follow it and choose Transfer directly from iPhone. Photos, messages, apps, settings and even your wallpaper come across, phone to phone, over Wi‑Fi. Expect 30 to 90 minutes. Don't put either phone down during the transfer.
Android to Android
During setup the new phone asks to copy from your old device, by cable or over Wi‑Fi. Samsung phones use Smart Switch, Google Pixels use the built-in tool. Either way, sign in with the same Google account and the photos, contacts and most apps follow.
Switching sides
Going from Android to iPhone, install Apple's free Move to iOS app on the Android phone before you set up the iPhone. Going from iPhone to Android, use the cable and the Switch to Android tool. Both move photos, contacts and messages. Neither moves WhatsApp or WeChat chat history automatically, and paid apps have to be bought again on the other side.
What usually goes wrong
- Two-step verification codes still go to the old phone. Keep it turned on until banking, email and government apps are signed in on the new one.
- Banking apps and CRA My Account must be set up fresh, on purpose, for security.
- WhatsApp and WeChat need their own transfer step, done with both phones in hand.
- Photos "in iCloud" or "in Google Photos" show up but are greyed out until they download; give it a night on Wi‑Fi.
How we help
New device setup and data transfer is a fixed $99 (opening price until December 31, 2026, plus HST) at your table anywhere in London, Ontario. We move photos, contacts, apps, email and messages, get WhatsApp or WeChat across, sign the banking and health apps back in with you, set the text size so you can actually read it, and only then wipe the old phone if you want it wiped. A second device in the same visit is $39.