Are you switching from an Android phone to an iPhone? If so, it's never been easier to copy your data from Android to iOS. Depending on how much data you're looking to transfer, it might take a little work to get it all, but there are plenty of ways to go about it. In this guide, we’ll explain all the methods for transferring your data from Android to iPhone.

Getting ready to move from Android to iOS

Many apps nowadays will automatically sync your data to the account you have associated with them, so everything should sync once you install them on your iPhone. To play it safe, you'll want to ensure you've enabled sync in everything that supports it on your Android phone.

Some of the most obvious examples include Google Contacts, Chrome, and Firefox. This will make it easier to get your contacts and bookmarks synced to the iPhone, among other things.

How to enable Google contacts sync on Android

  1. Go to Settings on your Android phone.
  2. Tap on Google.
  3. Tap on Settings for Google apps.
  4. Open Google Contacts sync. It will show your Sync status, including the number of contacts synced.
  5. To double-check the current status, tap on Manage Settings below the Sync status. You’ll now see if Automatically sync is enabled or not. Make sure you enable it.

After you're done, you'll need to flick a toggle on your iPhone that will make your contacts appear in your list. Once you're done setting up your iPhone (after following the various steps given later in this guide), go to Settings > Contacts > Accounts > Gmail and toggle Contacts on. This will sync your Google contacts with your iPhone's Contacts app, which shouldn't take very long.

How to enable sync in Chrome or confirm it is being synced

  1. Open Chrome on your Android phone.
  2. Tap on the three dots icon to open the menu.
  3. Tap on Settings.
  4. If sync is already active, you’ll see Sync is on under the You and Google settings. You can tap on it to check and enable or disable everything you want to be synced.
  5. If you’re not signed into Chrome, make sure you sign in and activate sync.

After you install Chrome on iOS, just sign in to your Google account and enable sync, and you'll be good to go.

Using Move to iOS app to copy data

Screenshots of the Move to iOS app on an iPhone and an Android phone.

Apple offers its own app to make the move to iOS from Android a bit easier. It's important to note that you'll need to use the app while you're still setting up your iPhone. Otherwise, you'll need to reset your iPhone and start over. So install it first and then continue onto the steps.

  1. Begin setting up your iPhone until you reach the Apps and Data section.
  2. Tap on Move Data from Android.
  3. Open the Move to iOS app on your Android phone, and tap Continue.
  4. Accept the terms and conditions on Android. Then, tap Continue on your iPhone.
  5. Your iPhone will display a code that the Move to iOS app will use to connect to your Android phone. Enter this code on your Android device.
  6. The Move to iOS app will connect to the iPhone and display all the data that can be transferred.
  7. You can select or deselect anything you want to be moved over. Typically, your contacts, message history, photos and videos, web bookmarks, mail accounts, and calendars will be transferred. Apple will also note the free apps installed on your Android phone that are also available on iOS and add them to a wishlist. Apps you've purchased on Android can't be transferred to iOS.
  8. Once you've made your selections, leave both phones alone for the transfer process to proceed. Depending on how much data is involved, it may take some time.
  9. Once the transfer is completed, you’ll be prompted to sign into the transferred Google account.

Manually copy music and photos

Even though Move to iOS makes it a lot easier to get your data onto iOS, there are still a few things you need to manually move to the iPhone. You can use the following methods to transfer anything that wasn't migrated by Apple's app.

Music

If you use offline music files, like MP3s, and want them on your iPhone, you'll need to first transfer them to your computer.

  1. Connect your Android phone to a computer and locate your music.
    • On Windows, you can use File Explorer to locate the files. On Mac, you’ll have to use the Android File Transfer app to locate them.

  2. Once located, copy them to a folder on your PC or Mac.
  3. Disconnect your Android phone and connect your iPhone.
  4. If you are using Windows, open the iTunes app. If you are on a Mac, depending on your OS version, open iTunes or Music.
  5. Open the folder with your music, and drag the files to the Songs section in the iTunes library or the Music app.
  6. Select your iPhone in iTunes or the Music app, and click on Music. Now you can choose to sync your entire music collection or select songs.
    iTunes Music Sync
  7. Click Sync, and wait for it to complete.
  8. Once synced, disconnect your iPhone, and you’ll find the songs in the Music app for your iPhone.

Photos

The Move to iOS app will transfer all the photos present in the main camera folder of your Android, but if you have photos or videos in other folders, you have to transfer them manually.

  1. Connect your Android phone to a computer and locate the photos that haven’t already been transferred.
    • On Windows, you can use File Explorer to locate the files. On Mac, you’ll have to use the Android File Transfer app to find them.

  2. Once located, copy them to a folder on your PC or Mac.
  3. Disconnect your Android phone and connect your iPhone.
  4. If you're using Windows or an older version of macOS (up to Mojave), open iTunes and click on the iPhone icon to access it. If you’re using a Mac with macOS Catalina or later, open Finder, and click on iPhone under Locations.
  5. Click on Photos, enable Sync Photos, and then select the folder where your phone photos are in the Copy photos from dropdown menu.
    iTunes Photos Sync
  6. Click on Sync, and once the transfer is complete, disconnect your iPhone.

All your synced photos and videos will be present in Photos > Albums on the iPhone.

Migrating data using the Documents app

If the previous methods are too tedious for you or don’t cover other types of files, you can use the Documents app by Readdle. It's an amazing app for many tasks, including transferring files over Wi-Fi. The best part is you won't need a premium subscription to transfer all of your files.

On your phone:

  1. Like your photos and music in the previous sections, copy all the relevant documents to a folder on your PC or Mac.
  2. Install the Documents app on your iPhone.
  3. Make sure both your iPhone and PC or Mac are on the same Wi-Fi network.
  4. Open the Documents app, and tap on Connections.
  5. Select Computer. You’ll now get a four-digit code that you'll use to connect to your computer.

On your computer:

  1. Open docstransfer.com in any browser on your PC or Mac.
  2. Enter the code that appears on your phone.
  3. Your iPhone and computer are now connected, so you can start uploading your files. Navigate to the folder where you saved them and follow the upload process.
  4. Once you’re done, tap Disconnect on your iPhone.

Moving two-factor authentication accounts

If you were using an app to generate two-factor authentication codes on your Android phone, you’ll need to get them transferred to your iPhone. If you use the excellent Authy app, you can simply log into your account on your iPhone and have all of your 2FA accounts synced automatically. For those of you using Google Authenticator, you'll need to follow these instructions to transfer your accounts.

  1. Install the Google Authenticator app on your iPhone.
  2. Tap on Get Started.
  3. At the bottom, tap on Import existing accounts?
  4. On your Android phone, open the Google Authenticator app.
  5. Tap on the three dots icon.
  6. Tap on Transfer accounts and then Export Accounts.
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  7. Select the accounts you want to transfer and then tap on Export.
  8. On the iPhone, tap on Scan QR code.
  9. If you have more than one QR code, scan each one individually.
  10. You’ll get a confirmation that your Google Authenticator accounts have been transferred.

If you're looking to transfer apps and app data, you're out of luck. Apart from the list of free apps offered by the Move to iOS app while migrating data, you'll have to manually go through the App Store and download the apps you want.

In terms of app data, you can sign into the apps and get any data they've saved on their servers, but getting local app data from Android won't be feasible. For some apps like WhatsApp, there are apps like Wutsapper that claim to be able to transfer your chats to the iPhone, but they don't always work as expected.

Android to iOS: Post data migration check

Before wiping your Android phone or selling it, make sure all the data has been successfully transferred to your new iPhone. Double-check for things like contacts, photos, and message history. Just to be safe, you can also make a full backup of your Android phone before resetting it. We have a guide on how you can back up your Android phone.

Do you think we missed something? If so, let us know in the comments section. If you or your friends and family are looking for a new phone, make sure to check our guides on the overall best phones, best iPhones, and best Android phones on the market right now. Alternatively, if you are moving the other way around, check out our guide on how to copy data from iOS to Android.