How to transfer data from iPhone to Android

Switching from iPhone to Android is much easier than it used to be. Android’s setup can copy your contacts, photos, messages, calendar and many apps straight from the iPhone. A few things need extra steps, and one, turning off iMessage, causes real problems if you forget it. Do it all in this order and nothing gets lost. The steps work for Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, Motorola and other Android phones.

Before you start

• Update the iPhone to the latest iOS it supports, and charge both phones fully.
• Back up the iPhone to iCloud or a computer, so you have a copy if anything goes wrong. Keep that backup for a few months in case you switch back.
• Back up WhatsApp, Signal and any other chat apps you use.
• Unpair your Apple Watch in the Watch app on the iPhone; it will not work with Android at all.
• Have a cable ready: USB-C to USB-C for iPhone 15 and later, or USB-C to Lightning for older iPhones.

How to transfer iPhone to Android

What moves, and what does not

• Moves during setup: contacts, photos and videos on the iPhone, text message history, calendar events, many free apps, and your wallpaper on some phones.
• Needs its own step: a large iCloud Photos library, WhatsApp chats, passwords, and your eSIM.
• Does not move: paid apps, Apple-only apps like FaceTime and iMessage, Apple Pay cards, Health data from the Health app, and Apple Watch.

Moving a large iCloud photo library

If your photos are in iCloud with Optimize iPhone Storage on, the iPhone only holds small copies, so a cable transfer misses the originals. Instead, sign in at privacy.apple.com, choose Transfer a copy of your data, and pick Google Photos. Apple copies the full library straight to your Google account over a few days. See our guide to downloading all photos from iCloud for other options.

WhatsApp, passwords and other apps

• WhatsApp: Pixel and Samsung phones offer to move WhatsApp chats during setup with a cable. Follow the prompts on both phones; your iCloud WhatsApp backup cannot be restored on Android.
• Passwords: on a Mac, the Passwords app can export them to a file, which you import into Google Password Manager at passwords.google.com. Delete the exported file afterward. A cross-platform password manager avoids this step entirely.
• Authenticator apps: move them with the app’s own export or cloud backup before you erase the iPhone.
• Apple Music and Apple TV: both have Android apps, so you can keep your subscriptions and playlists.

Your phone number and eSIM

With a physical SIM, move it to the new phone after turning off iMessage; you may need a SIM tool or a paper clip to open the tray. With an eSIM, the Android phone may offer to transfer it during setup, or you activate it through your carrier’s app or support line. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile can all move an eSIM to a new phone, usually in minutes. Do this before you erase the iPhone.

Subscriptions billed by Apple

Anything you pay for through the App Store keeps charging after you switch. Check Settings › your name › Subscriptions on the iPhone before you erase it, and cancel what you will not use on Android. Our guide to canceling subscriptions on iPhone shows every route, including from a web browser later.

Texting iPhone users after the switch

From now on, your texts to iPhone users go as RCS or SMS instead of iMessage. Since iOS 18, iPhones support RCS, so with Google Messages you get typing indicators, read receipts and high-quality photos with most iPhone users. Group chats that were iMessage groups do not carry over; start a new group in Google Messages with the same people. FaceTime is also iPhone only, but iPhone users can send you a FaceTime link that opens in Chrome.

AirPods, iCloud mail and calendar

• AirPods work with Android as normal Bluetooth earbuds. Put them in pairing mode and choose them in Bluetooth settings. Automatic switching and some controls are iPhone only.
• iCloud email keeps working: add your @icloud.com address to the Gmail app with an app-specific password from account.apple.com.
• iCloud contacts and calendars copy across during setup. If you keep using iCloud on a computer, export or share calendars so new events show up on Android too.
• iCloud Drive files: download what you need from icloud.com, or move them to Google Drive.

Messages or photos missing after the transfer

If old texts did not appear, open Google Messages and set it as the default SMS app; the copied messages only show in the default app. If photos are missing, they were probably in iCloud with only small copies on the iPhone; use the privacy.apple.com transfer to Google Photos described above. As long as you have not erased the iPhone, you can run the copy again from Google’s Android Switch app.

First week on Android: set these up

• Turn on Google Photos backup so new photos are saved, and Backup by Google One in Settings › Google › Backup.
• Add your cards to Google Wallet for tap to pay; your bank may ask you to verify each one.
• Check Find Hub is on in Settings › Google › All services, so you can find the phone if you ever lose it.
• Choose your default apps, such as browser, phone and messages, in Settings › Apps › Default apps.
• Learn the gestures: swipe in from the left or right edge to go back, and swipe up and hold to see recent apps.

Before you sell or trade in the iPhone

• Check that everything important is on the Android phone, including WhatsApp chats, photos and authenticator codes.
• Confirm iMessage is off. If you already erased the iPhone, use Apple’s Deregister iMessage page with your phone number.
• Turn off Find My and erase the iPhone. See how to turn off Find My iPhone and how to factory reset an iPhone.
• Compare trade-in offers from your carrier, Samsung or Google, and resale sites. Launch promotions on new Android phones often give extra credit for an iPhone.