How to transfer data from iPhone to Android

Introduction

We have already discussed how to migrate Android data to iPhone in our previous article and now it is time to do so vice-versa. If you recently bought a new Android device and want to switch to it from your iPhone, then this guide will be helpful for you. Transferring data between two devices that work on different operating systems is always a question that conjures the head of many users whenever it comes to such a necessity. In fact, there is nothing to worry about as there are a number of ways you can migrate the majority of iPhone data straight to your Android device. Read our guide below and choose the one that fits you the most to easily switch from iPhone to Android.

2. Transfer data from iPhone to Samsung

If you are going to migrate from iPhone to an Android device from Samsung, then this might be the best free option for you. Thanks to the built-in Smart Switch feature across Samsung Galaxy devices, users are able to easily transfer all kinds of important data, such as videos, photos, messages, apps, settings, and so forth. You can transfer directly from your iPhone (using a Lightning to USB-C cable) or from iCloud Backup without a cable. Please note that this feature is specifically developed for iPhone to Samsung purposes – you are unable to use it for transferring data to other Android devices. Follow the steps below to take use of this method.

Transfer from iPhone to Samsung (via cable)

1. On your Samsung phone, open Settings and go to Accounts and backup section.
2. Choose Bring data from old device. If Samsung offers you to download and install the Smart Switch app, then do so.

Simply agree to all pop-up windows and wait until the app gets downloaded and installed (you can monitor the status of the installation by pulling down the notification panel on top of your screen).

3. Once the download is finished, tap Continue on the Samsung Smart Switch screen.
4. Allow the suggested permissions and tap Receive data.
5. Then choose iPhone/iPad option and finally plug your Lightning to USB-C cable into your iPhone and Samsung.
6. If your iPhone asks you to trust the connected device, tap on Trust.
7. Now you can choose the data you want to copy from your iPhone to Samsung. Once done, tap Transfer.
8. If you haven’t yet logged into your Google account on Samsung, you can tap sign in for your apps to be transferred as well. Otherwise, you can also tap Cancel and install the necessary apps manually afterwards.
9. Once the transferring process begins, wait until it ends and enjoy the result!

Transfer from iPhone to Samsung (via iCloud)

1. First, it is important that you have the latest backup of your data. For this, make sure you are logged into your iCloud on your iPhone. To check it, open Settings and see if your account is already displayed on top of the screen. If not, tap on Sign into your iPhone and enter your details to log into the account.
2. Now open your Apple ID section (on top of Settings), go to iCloud, and select the data you want to backup and eventually copy to Samsung.
3. Then go to iCloud Backup and tap Back Up Now to create a fresh backup.
4. Once done, open Settings on your Samsung, go to Accounts and backup section and choose Bring data from old device as we already did in the previous method. Download and install the Smart Switch app if Samsung asks to.
5. Then Allow the suggested permissions if prompted and tap Receive data.
6. Choose iPhone/iPad option and tap on Get data from iCloud instead at the bottom of the screen.
7. Log in with the same Apple ID you have on your iPhone, tap Allow if iPhone displays a pop-up, and enter the verification code if necessary.
8. After this, you can select the data you need to transfer. Make sure you tap on each data type (like Images) and select All to transfer the data from the whole smartphone usage. You can also choose a different time frame if you need to.
9. Once everything is ready, finally tap on Transfer and wait until the process gets to a close. You can also go to your home screen and continue using your device. However, while transferring, it is better to not do any heavy tasks on your phone.
10. After finished, the app may also ask you to disable iMessage feature, otherwise, not all text messages will be available for use. For this, scroll down in Settings on your iPhone, go to Messages, and then toggle off iMessage.

3. Use Copy My Data app

Copy My Data is a free application with more than 10 million downloads that enables easy and fast data transfers from iPhone to Android (not only Samsung as it was above). The downside of this app, compared to paid third-party apps, is that it has a more limited choice of what data can be transferred, however, even that might be enough for some users. Despite its popularity, some users still report it is sometimes prone to showing bugs and incomplete data deliveries. In part, this can be related to poor WiFi connection that users may use while transferring data. In order to use Copy My Data, all you need is to download this app on both iPhone and Android and do the following steps to perform a transfer:

1. Install Copy My Data from App Store on iPhone and Google Play on Android.
2. Make sure both phones are connected to the same stable WiFi network.
3. Open the application on both iPhone and Android smartphone and allow all the prompts.
4. Then tap Next on both Android and iPhone.
5. On your iPhone, you should be able to see the name of you Android device. Select it.
6. Then choose to Copy data to selected device and enter the generated PIN code on your Android device.
7. After this, select the data you want to transfer and tap Next on your iPhone.
8. The transferring process should now begin and start delivering the selected data to your Android device.
9. Once done, tap on Finish and check if everything you wanted has been transferred eventually.

4. Transfer data from iPhone to Android with Google One

Google One is one of the best cloud services available and it is usually already pre-installed on each Android system. You can say it is the same as iCloud, but with a total of free 15 gigabytes for backing up your data. You can also download it onto your iPhone, make a backup of various media files (photos, videos, documents, contacts, calendars, etc.) and then get access to them on your Android smartphone right away. Experienced users might be already familiar with this service and use it for data-transferring purposes without additional help. However, if you are a noobie to it, here is our short instruction to use it. The downside of his method is that a standard plan that gives free 15 GB may not be enough to back up all data unless you copy and delete it in a couple of goes.

1. Download Google One from App Store on your iPhone.
2. Open Google One on your iPhone and sign into your Google Account. Create one, if you do not have it yet.
3. Then, select Storage at the bottom and then tap on Backup your data.
4. Next, go to Backup settings and choose what types of data you want to be backed up.
5. After this, tap on Back up now to create a fresh backup.
6. Once done, log into the same account on your Android device and enjoy having access to all the data you backed up from iPhone.

5. Transfer data from iPhone to Android from device factory set-up

If you just bought your new Android device or did a factory reset and have not set it up yet, then you will be able to transfer your data quite easily. This feature was added by Google relatively recently and it usually works on Android version 10 and above. Luckily, mostly all new phones are at least like that so there is more likely nothing to worry about. You can use this method independent of whether you have a cable or not. For users without a cable, Google made it easy to transfer data with their new Switch To Android app that is available on App Store. Before you get to performing the beneath-listed instructions, make sure to charge both devices, sign in with your Google Account on your iPhone, and be connected to a WiFi network. Also, note that this method will transfer locally stored data. This means data stored will not be included in the transfer. Then, move next to these steps:

If you have a cable

1. On the set-up screen of your new Android device, start the set-up process until you reach a screen that says to copy apps and data from your old device (or similar). Tap Next to continue.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions and connect your cable to both devices.
3. Allow different prompts if necessary and select the data you want to copy.
4. Once done, tap on Copy and wait until your data gets transferred from iPhone to Android.

If you do not have a cable

1. First, you need to download the Switch To Android app to your iPhone from App Store. If you are unable to find it, click this direct link to get to its download page.
2. Once downloaded, launch the app, accept Terms of Service and Privacy policy and tap Start. Enable access to the camera (if the pop-up window appears) by tapping OK.
3. Leave your iPhone for now and move over to your Android device.
4. On the set-up screen of your new Android device, start the set-up process until you reach a screen that says to copy apps and data from your old device (or similar).
5. Tap Next until you reach the screen saying Find your old device’s cable.
6. From there, tap on No cable? at the bottom left corner and tap Continue.
7. On the next screen choose Switching from iPhone or iPad? option and Allow your location.
8. Then you will be asked to sign into your Google account. This is only necessary if you want your iOS Calendar to be transferred as well. If not, you can simply skip the sign-in process.
9. Your Android device should now be on the screen with your QR code.
10. Now take your iPhone and scan the generated QR code by pointing the camera at it.
11. Then, tap Join on the pop-up to allow the Switch To Android app to access the device’s WiFi network.
12. If the connection process fails a couple of times, simply try to click on the prompts again until it succeeds. If this does not work, you can also go back and tap on Can’t scan QR code? on both devices and enter the network details manually instead.
13. Once connected, allow the remaining prompts if they appear.
14. You can now finally choose what data you want to transfer from iPhone to Android. Once selected, tap on Continue and allow the prompts that appear. This is necessary to allow the app to take the selected data and perform a transfer of it.
15. The transfer will now happen completely on its own in the background of your Android device, so you can continue setting it up as usual.
16. After the process is fully complete, tap Done on your Android device and enjoy your data already here. In addition, your iPhone will display a message advising you to disable the iMessage feature. This is recommended to make sure all messages get transferred to Android and become fully usable there. Follow the instructions that the iPhone displays or skip it if you want.
17. On the next screen the Switch To Android app will also offer you to request a copy of photos and videos to be transferred from iCloud to your Google account. You can do so as well.

Summary

Although data transferring can sometimes be a complicated and monotonous process, it is something you only need to do once when switching to a new device. We hope our guide was helpful and you managed to migrate all the necessary and important data from iPhone to Android. As you have seen, the number of available methods is wide and alleviates the mind work and transfer concerns for most of the users.