What Does The Smart Phone Icon Mean On My Android Phone

The smart manner to switch to a new Android phone

Here's how to transfer information, apps, contacts, and more from your erstwhile Android telephone to a new i, forth with tips for a smoothen transition.

JR Raphael By

Contributing Editor, Computerworld |

Ah, a new telephone. Isn't there just something strangely special almost that moment of opening up a box, peeling off the protective plastic, and powering upwards a pristine pocket-computer for the very first fourth dimension?

Unfortunately, after that fantastical startup animation finishes, reality normally sets in — and you realize you're in for a long, exhausting journeying of copying stuff over, setting things upwards, and trying to become your fancy new phone to look and act the way you lot desire.

To be fair, moving from one Android phone to another has gotten a heck of a lot easier over the years. Just despite all that progress, information technology can notwithstanding be a daunting process that's filled with both quirks and incertitude. And all the internet'south advice about moving from an iPhone to Android won't assistance you lot one bit.

This guide, however, will. If you're already in the Android universe and preparing to motion from one Android phone to another, these are the steps and the variables you demand to consider. Follow 'em closely, and you'll be up and running and enjoying that new phone smell in no fourth dimension.

Part I: Set your old Android telephone for switching

Believe information technology or not, a successful Android phone move starts on your erstwhile device — the one you're ready to leave behind. Before y'all even kickoff thinking about your shiny new replacement, nosotros've got 2 important areas to work through and make sure are fully prepared for migration:

Android service syncing

First and foremost, the reason switching from one Android phone to another is so much easier than it used to be is largely thanks to all of the simple syncing systems built into our devices. Then take a minute to brand certain you're taking full advantage of those possibilities. Information technology'll ready your phone-moving voyage up for much smoother sailing.

And here'south the best role: If you use all of Google's built-in Android migration mechanisms, you don't even need Samsung Smart Switch or any other proprietary systems (and you tin safely skip over those if the prompts come up during your new phone setup). Everything with the core Google Android phone-switching tools should only work, once fired up properly — and in almost cases, it'll require very little thought or effort.

To start:

If y'all aren't already using Google Contacts on your phone, download the app at present and drift your phone'due south contacts into the service. That'll get your contacts off your private device (and/or out of your telephone-maker's limited and proprietary storage organization) and make 'em immediately available on whatever device — phone or computer, no matter who fabricated it — as before long as you lot sign in.
Open Google Photos, tap your profile pic in the upper-right corner, and confirm that your images and videos are existence backed up to the service. If they aren't, consider activating that option. It'll continue everything you capture on your camera perpetually synced and available on any device where you sign in — including a figurer! — and make your life immeasurably easier as a result.
Take a look at your text messaging setup. With most phones and messaging apps, Google will at present automatically back upwards and sync up your messages and and so bring them over to your new device. Google's own Messages app makes this procedure especially straightforward and manageable. (And make yourself a mental note: If for any reason your messages don't get migrated over equally expected, an app called SMS Backup & Restore will assist you handle that afterward the fact quite hands.)
Download the Google One app, if it isn't already on your device, and look for the box about your current device backup on its chief screen. Tap that box, so tap "Manage backup," and you should be able to see exactly what types of information the system is set to sync for y'all and when it final backed all of that up. Brand certain both "Device data" and "Multimedia letters" are selected, then tap "Back up now" to get everything as upward to date equally possible.

01 switch android phone google one — The Google 1 app has go the central betoken for managing all cloud-based Android backups.

Most other areas of Android tend to be synced automatically and without whatsoever manual work whatsoever these days — your calendar, your notes and documents, any files continued to Google Drive or other cloud storage services, and and so on. More often than not, even something like a music drove is now tied to a streaming service and designed to exist available anywhere.

If you think of annihilation on your device that's an exception, though, at present's the time to have stock of it and be prepared to deal with it after — by copying it to a deject storage service, transferring it to a computer, or setting it up to automatically sync from your quondam phone to your new 1.

RCS message migration

Here's ane important office of the Android phone switching process that isn't exactly obvious or intuitive: If yous're using the Google Messages app, you lot demand to sign out of its RCS Chat arrangement on your old device prior to moving into your new phone.

RCS stands for rich advice services. It's a newer messaging standard that allows you to have a more modernistic-feeling chat experience with other people who are as well using it — seeing active typing indicators and read receipts, being able to share larger-sized files, and knowing all of your communications are encrypted.

Only RCS, by its nature, is continued to merely one device at a fourth dimension. And if you attempt to move into a new Android phone without commencement disabling it on your old one, y'all're bound to come across problems.

Luckily, the set for this is simple — at to the lowest degree, one time you know how to practice it. Just be sure to wait to do this until you're 100% set to sign into your new device:

Open up the Google Messages app on your old phone.
Tap the 3-dot carte du jour icon in the app's upper-right corner and select "Settings."
Tap "Chat Features."
Flip the toggle adjacent to "Enable chat features" into the off position.

If you desire to be actress-cautious, you can also head over to this web page, scroll down to the bottom, and put your telephone number into the course. Follow the steps to verify information technology, and that'll sign you out of RCS entirely at the server level. (That'southward also a good selection to keep in mind if your old telephone is lost, broken, or otherwise unavailable.)

In one case you lot've done that, there's more i last step that's important to do: Turn your old phone off. That'll end severing the connection between RCS and that device and become you ready to sign into the Chat characteristic on your new Android phone.

Got information technology? Good. At present we're set for the fun role.

Part II: Transfer data to your new Android phone

Congratulations! Yous're officially ready to power upward your pretty new Android companion.

The verbal steps and interfaces involved hither may vary somewhat from i device and Android version to another, but the basic elements should always exist pretty much the aforementioned.

When you kickoff commencement upwards your new Android telephone, information technology'll ask you to insert a SIM carte du jour, if y'all oasis't already. If you had a physical SIM card in your old phone, you should be able to bring it over to the new one. Only await for a tiny slot somewhere along the device'due south sides. Y'all'll typically need a small pin-tool to go it to open. In a pinch, even a paperclip can work. (And if the SIM bill of fare doesn't seem to fit, it may be a different size. You'll either need to option upwards an inexpensive SIM card cutter or adapter — or, improve yet, just ask your carrier for an updated replacement. Most carriers will provide those at no extra accuse.)

Depending on your carrier, you lot may too be able to activate your service without a physical card by using an eSIM. If yous see that option, you lot tin can certainly try it to come across if information technology works.

02 switch android phone sim card — Android supports both physical SIM cards and virtual eSIMs to get your telephone connected.

Later that, Android will need to connect to a Wi-Fi network to go along the setup. Select the proper name of your home or work network, put in the password, and wait a few minutes while the system gets things ready. (This is a fine fourth dimension to suspension and go go yourself some pretzels, a hearty portion of pudding, and/or a pastrami sandwich. Don't worry: I'll wait.)

03 switch android phone waiting — Switching to a new Android telephone involves a fair amount of waiting.

In one case you see a screen prompting y'all to copy your apps and data, y'all're ready to get rolling. You lot should have the pick to employ a physical cable connection betwixt your onetime and new phone or to rely on your latest Google-stored deject backup to handle this function of the process. The cable path is typically a teensy bit faster, but you lot'll reach the same destination either way.

If your old phone is inaccessible or you don't have a cablevision handy, the cloud backup path is manifestly the mode you lot'll need to go. Look for a line that says "Can't apply old phone" — or something along those general lines — to get there.

04 switch android phone copy data — Android will prompt you to copy your apps and data and and so offer you the option to employ a cablevision to connect to your former telephone.

Your one-time phone will prompt you to confirm that you desire to copy all of your info over, and you'll and so take to type in your Google account countersign on the new phone to confirm. Then, you'll have the opportunity to choose exactly which bits of info you desire to bring over.

05 switch android phone choose what to copy — Your new phone volition permit y'all choose exactly what y'all desire to migrate from your old device.

I'd strongly suggest taking a moment to think carefully about what you practice and don't really need. Especially when information technology comes to your apps, this is a rare chance to requite yourself a fresh start and exit some of the dust-collecting virtual cobwebs backside. And then before charging forward, tap the line that says "Apps," tap the topmost checkmark to unselect everything, and so manually select only the apps yous genuinely still utilise with any regularity.

A skillful rule of thumb: If you don't retrieve you'll apply something within the next calendar week, don't select information technology. Odds are, you won't even know it's gone — and your phone will take more infinite, fewer wasted resources, and fewer unnecessary third-party permissions granted equally a result. And if you do find you miss something after, it'll take all of 20 seconds to caput into the Play Store and reinstall it.

Apps aside, this part of the Android phone switching process will besides offer y'all the opportunity to transfer certain types of data directly from your old telephone — including any photos and videos that are stored locally as well equally any music or other types of audio. If you lot've already backed those items upwardly to a deject service, you can safely uncheck them here and avert filling up your telephone's storage with redundant local copies.

And finally, you lot'll see a checkbox to re-create over your device settings. That 1's important and something yous'll absolutely desire to leave checked, assuming you're happy with how you've had things set up before.

Once all that's done, you'll just have to leave the phones connected for a few minutes while they cease their work. And you tin can move ahead with the last parts of your new phone configuration process.

Part 3: Set your new Android phone

Take a deep breath: You're most washed! All that'due south left is to get a few odds and ends configured on your new Android telephone.

Your biggest remaining task at this point is to open upwards your important apps, one at a time, and make certain you're signed in and set equally needed inside each one. In theory, nearly apps should do most of the heavy lifting for you lot, but this office of the process often isn't equally smooth and elementary as it oughta be.

A few specific areas to make sure you don't overlook:

If you're using whatever phone other than a Google Pixel device, follow the same steps from before and make certain your phone is using Google Contacts for all of its contacts storage and syncing. That'll pull your existing info over and allow everything to stay up to date moving forward.
Open up up Google Photos and follow the steps that show up to start syncing your photos and videos. Your existing library should appear and be available inside a matter of moments.
Head into Google Messages, if that's your preferred messaging app, and look in the app's settings to brand sure the RCS Conversation arrangement is on, registered, and active.
And go into Google Pay (or any other mobile payment app y'all rely on) and take a moment to register your preferred payment methods then they'll be linked up and ready for utilize.

And wouldya look at that? You've just switched Android phones and successfully migrated all of your of import stuff over. You should now be ready to charge forward — in your lovely new virtual home but with all the comforts and conveniences of your erstwhile one.

That wasn't and then bad, right?

Contributing Editor JR Raphael serves up tasty morsels about the human being side of technology. Hungry for more than? Join him on Twitter or sign up for his weekly newsletter to get fresh tips and insight in your inbox every Friday.