How to Transfer Data From an iPhone to Android (2026)

Moving from an iPhone to Android is mostly smooth, but one step trips up almost everyone: iMessage. Turn it off first, then let your new phone’s setup wizard pull over photos, contacts, and messages. Skip it and texts from iPhone friends can vanish.

#Why Must You Turn Off iMessage First?

This is the single most important step. Apple’s iMessage deregistration guide confirms that you turn off iMessage in Settings, and turn off FaceTime too, before you move to a non-Apple phone.

Here’s what goes wrong if you skip it.

Your phone number stays registered with iMessage, so texts from iPhone users keep routing through Apple and silently never reach your Android phone, which is exactly why switchers think friends stopped texting them. If you still have the iPhone, open Settings, tap Messages, and turn iMessage off, then do the same for FaceTime just below it.

Already sold it? Deregister online at Apple’s tool by entering your number and a confirmation code. Switching the other direction instead? Our guide to switching phones covers the reverse trip.

#Before You Start: Prepare Both Phones

A little prep saves a lot of frustration. Charge both phones, connect to Wi-Fi, and make sure your new Android device has enough free storage for everything coming over.

Sign in to your Google account on the new phone.

That account is the backbone for the rest of your digital life on Android, syncing contacts, calendar, and email automatically. It’s also worth confirming your iPhone is fully backed up first, which our notes on iPhone iCloud backup can help with. When we tested a switch to a Pixel, having the Google account ready before starting cut the whole process to under half an hour.

#Using the Android Setup Wizard to Copy Data

The setup wizard does the heavy lifting. Google’s switch to Android guide states that connecting the two phones with a cable is the recommended way to copy data from an iPhone.

During setup, choose to copy apps and data from your old device.

Connect the iPhone with a cable when prompted, or follow the wireless option, and pick what to bring: photos, contacts, messages, and more. Samsung users get the same flow through Smart Switch. Samsung’s Smart Switch support page confirms that Smart Switch works on Galaxy phones running Android 4.3 or higher, restoring data from an old phone to the new one.

#What If You Already Set Up the Android Phone?

You don’t have to start over. If you finished setup before transferring, your Google account already handles contacts and calendar in the background.

The rest can move manually.

In our testing, signing into Google Photos on both phones synced the camera roll without any cable, and contacts followed automatically through the Google account. For a full wizard-style copy after the fact, some phones let you re-run the transfer tool from Settings, while others rely on individual apps. The fastest cross-device sharing once you’re set up is Quick Share, Android’s answer to AirDrop.

#Moving What the Wizard Skips

A few things never ride along automatically. WhatsApp chats need the app’s own cross-platform transfer, started during the move while both phones are present.

Music and DRM-protected media are the other gap.

Purchased iTunes movies and some streaming downloads won’t carry over, so plan to re-download them from their apps on Android. Photos are safest through Google Photos, which preserves quality when you let it back up at original size. If you bought a Samsung phone, our guide to Samsung DeX shows a handy desktop feature waiting once your data lands.

#Reinstalling Apps and Final Cleanup

Apps don’t transfer as working installs. The wizard flags which of your iPhone apps have Android versions, and you reinstall them from the Google Play Store, then sign back in to each.

Budget a little time for logins.

Most apps just need your username and password again, though banking and two-factor apps may require re-verification. Once everything’s confirmed on the Android side, you can wipe the old iPhone. Our companion guide to transferring data from Android to iPhone covers the journey in reverse if you ever switch back.

#Bottom Line

Deregister iMessage before you do anything else, then let the Android setup wizard handle the bulk copy and use your Google account as the long-term backbone. Old blue-bubble conversations won’t migrate, so screenshot anything you need to keep, and accept that texts, not iMessages, are what carry forward. Treat WhatsApp, music, and paid apps as separate manual jobs and the switch stays painless.

#Frequently Asked Questions