How Do I Set Up a New Android Phone and Move My Contacts and Photos?

What this helps with: Moving your contacts, photos, texts, apps, and phone number from your old phone to a new Android phone, like a Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel, step by step.

The short answer: Back up your old phone to your Google Account first. Then turn on the new phone and choose to copy apps and data from your old phone. A cable between the two phones works best. Keep both phones charged and close together until the new phone says it’s done.

Before you start

Give yourself about an hour when you won’t need your phone. Have these ready:

• Both phones, charged, and a charger for each.
• Your Wi-Fi name and password.
• Your old phone’s PIN, pattern, or password (what you use to unlock it).
• Your Google Account email and password. This is usually your Gmail address. If you can’t remember the password, reset it at accounts.google.com before you start.
• The cable that came with the new phone, if it has one. A cable is the best way to copy.

Step 1: Back up your old Android phone

A backup is your safety net. If anything goes wrong, your things are still saved in your Google Account.

1. On your old phone, open Settings.
2. Tap Google, then All services (on some phones, look for Backup under System or Accounts and backup).
3. Under Backup and restore, tap Backup.
4. Make sure backup is turned on, then tap Back up now. Stay on Wi-Fi until it finishes.

Your photos are safest if Google Photos backup is on too. See How to Back Up Your Phone’s Photos.

Step 2: Turn on the new phone

1. Hold the power button until the screen lights up, then tap Start.
   • Tip: You can make the text bigger on this first screen if you need to.
2. Join your Wi-Fi. Keep your old phone on Wi-Fi too.
3. When the new phone asks to copy apps and data, tap Copy (or Next).
4. When it asks where you’re copying from, pick Android device (or Galaxy/Android). Coming from an iPhone? See the section below.

Step 3: Connect the two phones

Your new phone will tell you which way to connect. Follow what it shows.

With a cable (best):

1. Plug the cable into both phones. If it doesn’t fit your old phone, you may need a small adapter. Some new phones come with one in the box.
2. On your old phone, tap Copy when it asks.

Without a cable:

1. On the new phone, tap No cable (or Copy without cable).
2. If you see a QR code, point your old phone’s camera at it. If the old phone shows a message about setting up a new device, tap it.
3. Check that the shapes or numbers match on both phones, then tap Next.
4. Type your old phone’s PIN when asked.

Step 4: Pick what to copy and wait

1. Choose what to copy. Contacts, photos, text messages, and apps are the most important. If you’re not sure, leave everything checked.
2. Tap Copy.
3. Keep both phones next to each other and charged until the new phone says it’s done. This can take a few minutes or more than an hour if you have lots of photos.

Google says you can usually only copy from the old phone once, during setup, so try to finish it then. Leave the new phone plugged in and on Wi-Fi the first night. Apps and photos may keep downloading.

Have a Samsung Galaxy?

Samsung phones use their own free tool called Smart Switch. During setup it works the same way: pick your old phone type, then copy with a cable or wirelessly. If you skipped it, open Settings on the new Galaxy, search for Smart Switch, and tap Receive on this phone. On the old phone, open Smart Switch and tap Send from this phone.

Your phone number and SIM card

• Physical SIM card: Your phone number lives on a small card in a tray on the side of the phone. Use the little pin tool from the new phone’s box to move the card to the new phone.
• eSIM (a digital SIM): The new phone may offer to move your number during setup. Follow the steps on the screen.
• Not sure, or it didn’t work? Call your carrier, or visit their store. If you bought the phone from them, they may have set this up already.

Step 5: Check that everything came over

Before you do anything with the old phone, open these on the new phone and look:

• Photos (or Gallery): your recent pictures and albums.
• Phone and Contacts: your family’s numbers.
• Messages: your text conversations.
• Your important apps: bank, pharmacy, email. Most apps ask you to sign in again. Banking apps almost always do.
• Make a test call to check your phone number works.

Then make it comfortable to use. See How to Make Text Bigger on Your Phone.

Setting up a phone for a parent? See How Do I Set Up a Phone or Tablet for a Parent?

What about the old phone?

Don’t erase it until you’ve checked the new one. Once you’re sure everything is on the new phone, you can erase the old one before you give it away, sell it, or trade it in. This is called a factory reset. It erases everything on the phone.

• Before you reset, make sure you know the Google Account password for that phone. Google’s page explains why: Reset your Android device to factory settings.
• Most phones: Settings, then System, then Reset options, then Erase all data (factory reset). On a Samsung: Settings, General management, Reset, Factory data reset. The words can be a little different on your phone.
• Step by step, with the Google Account and SIM card steps: How Do I Erase My Old Phone Before I Give It Away or Sell It?

Coming from an iPhone?

Turn off iMessage on the iPhone first (Settings, Apps, Messages, turn off iMessage), so your texts reach the new phone. Then, when the new Android phone asks where you’re copying from, pick iPhone or iPad. Some newer phones show a QR code to scan with the iPhone camera. Others ask you to use a cable or the free Android Switch app from the App Store. Photos saved only in iCloud may not copy over. Google’s page explains what moves: Copy apps & data from an iPhone or iPad to a new Android device.

Going the other way, to a new iPhone? See How Do I Set Up a New iPhone and Move Everything From My Old One?

Stay safe while you set up

• Only get help from your carrier’s store, the phone maker, or someone you know and trust.
• Never give your PIN or Google password to someone who calls, texts, or emails out of the blue to “help” with your new phone. That’s a common scam. See How to Spot a Scam Call, Text, or Email.
• Get apps only from the Google Play Store (or the Galaxy Store on a Samsung).

Official sources

• Google: Copy apps & data from an Android to a new Android device
• Google: Switch to a new Android device
• Google: Back up or restore data on your Android device
• Google: Can’t transfer data to a new Android device
• Google: Copy apps & data from an iPhone or iPad to a new Android device
• Google: Reset your Android device to factory settings
• Samsung: Transfer content with Samsung Smart Switch

Last checked: Oct 29, 2026

This is general help, not personalized tech support. Screens can look a little different depending on your phone’s brand and Android version.