Earlier this month, I was helping some family members pick out new smartphones, and one of their first questions was if I knew how to transfer information to a new Android phone. They were worried about losing valuable text messages, photos, and contacts, and asked if I could make sure that all of this information would be sent to their new phones. Within an hour of charging the new phones and activating service, I had transferred all of their files, messages, and other information so that their phones were ready to use without any interruption. Here are my tips for how to transfer information to a new Android phone, with limited technology skill required.
Have lists of important settings
While settings typically transfer from phone to phone, I like to write down my favorite settings in case I need to set them up later. For me, this includes information such as display size, color filters, settings for Select-to-speak, and similar settings and preferences that make my phone easier to see. My family members don’t use accessibility settings for the most part, but it still helped for me to know how their phones were configured so I could set up new settings if needed. For some of my accessibility-related apps, I also write down or back up their settings in case I need to reset them.
Related links
- Android Pie Accessibility For Vision Impairment
- Low Vision Accessibility Settings For Android Phones
- How To Use Select to Speak on Android
Download phone transfer app, if needed
The exact method for how to transfer information to a new Android phone varies depending on the manufacturer of the new phone, as well as the operating system for the previous phone. When my family members got their new phones, I was able to transfer their data using the Google app that was built into both of their phones and scanning a QR code. However, when a different friend got their new phone recently, they had to download an app from their phone’s manufacturer to transfer all of the data from their previous phone. This process was still fairly simple though, as all they had to do was scan a QR code on their old phone with their new one.
Even with these phone transfer apps, some information can still get left behind, so I will be sharing how to transfer information to a new Android phone for individual types of content below.
Related links
- How To Choose a New Phone With Photosensitivity
- Choosing A Phone Case With Low Vision
- Why I Use Accessibility Support Phone Numbers
Sync contacts to your Google account
For some reason, phone contacts didn’t transfer correctly when I was setting up the new phones for my family members. This is because their contacts were not previously synced with their Google account. I fixed this by selecting all of the contacts and copying them to the Google account so that they could automatically be added to the new phone, which worked out well.
Send photos with Bluetooth
While I’ve had no issues with photos being lost when I got a new phone, one of my family members was worried about losing their photos and asked me to transfer them myself. I transferred the photos with Bluetooth from one phone to the other by selecting the photos I wanted to send, clicking the “share” option, and then clicking on Bluetooth. Once I clicked on Bluetooth, I paired the old phone with the new phone and was able to send photos with ease. The photos transferred on the new phone to an album called “Bluetooth”, though this can be fixed by editing the file name or moving photos to a new album.
Related links
- How Do People With Visual Impairments Take Selfies?
- Using the Google Assistant Camera with Low Vision
- How I Back Up My iPad
Transfer texts with SMS Backup and Restore
My family member’s phone carrier didn’t let them transfer text messages to a new phone, so I decided to transfer texts using a free app called SMS Backup and Restore that I downloaded from the Google Play Store.
After installing the app and making sure both phones were on the same wifi network, I was able to create a backup of all SMS and MMS messages from the old phone by clicking the “backup” button, a process that took about five minutes to complete, though it’s worth noting there was only a small amount of messages.
Once that was finished, I selected the option to “send from this phone” to send my backup to the new phone, and on the new phone I selected the option to “receive on this phone.”
After tapping the “accept” button on a popup notification verifying the connection, the SMS and MMS messages immediately began transferring, and the entire process was complete within another five minutes.
Related links
- Texting Etiquette for Low Vision
- Tips For Using Social Media With Photosensitivity
- How I Use My Phone For Orientation and Mobility
Login to applications
One of the final steps in transferring information to a new Android phone is logging into applications such as email, social media, shopping, and other apps that require accounts for use, so that there are no missed notifications or messages. Some chat apps, such as WhatsApp, may require users to sync messages from their old phones as well, though most information should be already copied to the new phone.
Related links
- How To Write Emergency Medical Information For Android 10
- Google Lens Review For Low Vision
- Make Any Android Smartphone Accessible For $8
Final thoughts
Knowing how to transfer information to a new Android phone is an important skill to have, and I’m glad I was able to help my family members get their new phones up and running quickly so that they didn’t have to worry about missing a call or text. I hope this post on how to transfer information to a new Android phone is helpful for others setting up their new phones as well!
