How to Transfer Data From Android to iPhone: Move to iOS, and the 'Already Set Up' Manual Paths

CodexFuse Team · 2026-10-27T05:50:13.189Z · 13 min read

Learning how to transfer data from android to iphone comes down to one question: is your iPhone brand new, or is it already set up? If it is fresh out of the box, Apple's free Move to iOS app sweeps contacts, photos, messages, WhatsApp chats and more across in a single pass. If the iPhone is already running, the app cannot run again — and you move each data type by hand instead.

This guide covers both routes in order. First, the five-minute prep that prevents most failed transfers. Then the Move to iOS steps, including the new no-app path for Android 17 phones and the faster USB-C cable option. Then the manual paths for an already-set-up iPhone — contacts, photos, mail, bookmarks and WhatsApp. And finally, what never transfers, so nothing catches you by surprise. Before you touch either phone, back up your phone — a fresh backup is the safety net if anything goes sideways.

How do I transfer data from Android to iPhone?

Use Apple's Move to iOS app during the iPhone's first setup. Turn on the new iPhone, reach the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From Android, open Move to iOS on your Android phone, enter the code the iPhone shows, pick what to copy, and leave both phones alone until the iPhone's loading bar finishes. If the iPhone is already set up, erase it and start again — or move each data type by hand, which this guide covers below.

1. On the Android phone, install Move to iOS from Google Play — or scan the QR code the iPhone shows during setup to open the store page.
2. Turn on the new iPhone and follow the setup screens. On the Quick Start screen, tap Set Up Without Another Apple Device.
3. On the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From Android, then tap Transfer with App.
4. Open Move to iOS on Android, tap Continue, read and agree to the terms, choose Automatically Send or Don't Send for app data, and allow Location and Notification permissions when asked.
5. Enter the six- or ten-digit code the iPhone shows. Join the temporary Wi-Fi network the iPhone creates — or connect the two phones with a USB-C cable for a faster transfer.
6. Pick what to copy, tap Continue, and leave both phones alone until the loading bar on the iPhone finishes — even if the Android phone says it is done.
7. Tap Done on Android, tap Continue on iPhone, finish setup, and check that contacts, photos and messages all landed before you wipe anything.

Which route are you on? Decide before you start

Pick your route before you tap anything, because the choice is made for you the moment setup ends. Move to iOS runs only during the iPhone's first setup — once that screen is gone, the app cannot reach back in.

If the iPhone is already in your hand and working, do not chase the app. The manual paths below cover the same data types, and you can run them in any order on a phone you are already living on.

Before you start: the five-minute checklist

A little prep avoids most failed transfers. Run through this list before either phone starts moving data.

• Make a fresh backup of your Android phone. If the transfer stalls halfway, you want a copy you can fall back on — not a half-moved library.
• Plug both phones in and keep them close together. The transfer can take a while, and a phone that dies mid-move means starting over.
• Turn on Wi-Fi on the Android phone. Move to iOS builds its own temporary Wi-Fi network between the two phones, and it needs Wi-Fi on to do it.
• Check the iPhone has room. The data has to fit — including anything stored on the Android phone's micro SD card. If space is tight, free up storage on your phone first.
• Update both phones to the latest software. Apple recommends updating both devices before you begin, and Chrome on Android needs to be current if you want your bookmarks to come across.
• Write down what you will need to rebuy or export. Paid apps do not cross platforms, authenticator codes must be exported before the switch, and banking and work apps should be checked for an iPhone version now — not after the Android phone is wiped.
• Check if it is a work phone. If the new iPhone is enrolled in Apple Business or Apple School Manager, Quick Start cannot copy data from your current phone, so talk to your IT team first.

Route 1: Move to iOS during iPhone setup

Move to iOS is Apple's only first-party tool for crossing from Android to iPhone, and it runs on the iPhone's Transfer Your Apps & Data setup screen. If you are setting up a new iPhone today, Move to iOS is the way to transfer data to new iPhone in one pass. Your Android phone runs a small companion app and acts as the source — nothing on it is deleted or changed, so there is no risk to the device you are leaving behind.

It used to be a Wi-Fi-only affair, with the two phones forming a private encrypted link. That still works, but Apple added a wired option, so you can now connect a USB-C cable for a noticeably faster and steadier transfer — worth using for a big photo library. A typical library lands in thirty to ninety minutes, and a wireless transfer with a big photo library can take over an hour.

While the transfer runs, leave both phones alone. Apple is blunt about this: on your Android device, the Move to iOS app should stay on screen the whole time. If you use another app or get a phone call on your Android phone before the transfer finishes, your content will not transfer. Watch the loading bar on the iPhone, not the one on Android — the iPhone's bar is the one that decides when it is done.

The no-app path: Android 17 phones can skip Move to iOS

If your Android phone runs a compatible version of Android 17 and the iPhone runs iOS 26.5 or later, you can transfer without the Move to iOS app at all. New iPhones ship with the latest iOS — see what is iOS 27 for what is new — and the no-app transfer needs iOS 26.5 or later.

1. Begin to set up your iPhone or iPad. On the Transfer Your Apps & Data page, tap From Android.
2. Tap Transfer without App.
3. Place your Android device next to your iPhone and tap Continue.
4. Use the camera on your Android device to scan the QR code on your iPhone and connect.
5. On your Android device, select the data you want to transfer — photos, contacts, calendars, call history, or messages — and tap Continue on your iPhone once the transfer completes.
6. If you want to transfer an eSIM, select the number on your Android device and tap Transfer.

If you cannot scan the QR code, you can enter your details manually instead. On the Android device, go to Settings, open Google Services, then All Services, then Pair with iPhone or iPad, and tap Copy Data. Enter the session ID and pairing code displayed on your iPhone and tap Continue. Check with your device manufacturer whether your Android device supports eSIM and data transfer without an app.

What Move to iOS actually moves — and what it leaves behind

Apple's list of what comes across runs to roughly thirteen categories. The table below is the honest version: what moves, and what to do about everything that does not.

After the transfer completes, you can download any free apps that were matched from the App Store. Apps themselves are the one thing that genuinely does not transfer: the binaries do not move, and most of your account state restores once you sign back in.

Route 2: your iPhone is already set up — move each type by hand

Move to iOS only runs during that first-boot setup. If your iPhone is already configured, the app cannot reach back in and copy things over; the only way to re-run it is to factory-reset the iPhone and start setup again, which almost nobody wants to do. Every major data type has its own clean path that works on a phone you are already using. Start with the photo transfer and a single Google account sign-in — those two clear most of what people actually miss.

Transfer contacts from Android to iPhone

Sign in with your Google account on the iPhone. Go to Settings, then Apps, then Mail (or Contacts), tap Add Account, and sign in with Google. Flip on Contacts and Calendars and they sync straight in. Adding the same Google account also pulls your Gmail in alongside contacts and calendar, so this one is often a single sign-in.

Transfer photos from Android to iPhone

Skip the old desktop shuffle and use the direct route: request a copy of your Google Photos library straight into iCloud Photos. Only photos and videos cross over — not Live Photos or Memories — and the import is blocked while iCloud Advanced Data Protection is switched on. The old advice was to install iCloud for Windows on a desktop, download your whole Google library, and re-upload it to iCloud; that slow, fiddly job is now only a fallback if the direct route is unavailable to you.

Move WhatsApp from Android to iPhone

Outside the Move to iOS window, use WhatsApp's own built-in chat transfer flow to carry messages and media across. It is the same result as the setup-time move, just run from inside WhatsApp instead of from Apple's app.

Mail, bookmarks and the rest

Mail follows the Google account sign-in above. For bookmarks, sign in to Chrome on the iPhone and your saved sites follow you. For apps, re-download them from the App Store and sign back in — Move to iOS would only have matched the free ones anyway.

What never transfers, no matter which route you take

A few things never make the jump, whichever route you take. Knowing them now beats discovering them after the Android phone is wiped.

• Paid apps. App purchases do not cross platforms — write down which paid apps you will need to rebuy before you switch.
• Authenticator codes. Move your two-factor authenticator codes carefully, because losing them can lock you out of accounts. Use the app's own export or recovery codes before the switch.
• Google Wallet passes and Google Pay tokens. They do not carry over; you re-add cards in Apple Wallet by hand.
• Sideloaded Android apps. They are gone, since they have no App Store equivalent to pull down.
• Android-only automation. Anything driven by Tasker scripts or Bixby Routines has no counterpart on iOS at all.
• Accessories. A Galaxy Watch works with only a fraction of its features on iOS, and earbuds pair fine but lose their phone-specific tuning. Before you decide, list every device that connects to the phone and check what it does on the other platform.
• Banking and work apps. Check that your banking and work apps exist on the new platform before you move.

If the transfer fails or stalls

Most failed transfers have one of a few causes, and Apple lists the fixes in order. Try them before you start over.

• Leave Move to iOS on screen on the Android phone. Switching apps or taking a call mid-transfer stops your content from moving.
• Turn off anything that might affect the Wi-Fi connection. On Android, turn off apps or settings like the Sprint Connections Optimizer or the Smart Network Switch, then find Wi-Fi in Settings, touch and hold each known network, and forget the network. Then try the transfer again.
• Turn off cellular data on the Android phone, then try again.
• Restart both devices and try again.
• Check the storage. You might find that only some content transferred and your iOS device ran out of space. If so, erase your iOS device and start the transfer again, and make sure your Android content does not exceed the available space on your iOS device.

After the move: the ten-minute check

Do not wipe or trade in your old phone until you have opened your photos, messages and key apps on the new one and confirmed everything arrived. Scroll your contacts, photos and message threads, and check that the things you actually care about made it across. Keep the Android device intact for a week or so as a safety net — once you have lived on the iPhone for a few days you will know exactly what, if anything, still needs a manual nudge.

Sources

• Apple Support — Move from Android to iPhone or iPad (published May 11, 2026) — the official steps, what transfers, the no-app path for Android 17 and iOS 26.5, and the troubleshooting list.
• TalkWithTech — Move data to a new iPhone: 4 ways and what gets left behind (published October 22, 2026) — the four transfer methods, timing, and the work-phone caveat.
• BestForAndroid — How to transfer data from Android to iPhone (and what actually moves) (updated October 5, 2026) — the manual per-type paths, the direct Google Photos to iCloud transfer, what never transfers, and real-world testing across three switch profiles.
• Medium — Android vs iPhone in 2026: Which One Should You Buy, and Is Switching Worth It? (updated October 25, 2026) — the forgotten-first list: paid apps to rebuy, authenticator codes, banking and work apps, and watch and earbud limits.

Frequently asked questions

Can I transfer data from Android to iPhone after setup?

Not with Move to iOS — it only runs during the iPhone's first setup. If the iPhone is already set up, either erase it and start again, or move each data type by hand: contacts and calendars through a Google account sign-in, photos through the direct Google Photos to iCloud transfer, and WhatsApp through its own chat transfer flow.

Does Move to iOS transfer WhatsApp chats?

Yes. WhatsApp messages and media are on Apple's list of what Move to iOS transfers during setup. If the iPhone is already set up, use WhatsApp's own built-in chat transfer flow instead — it carries the same messages and media across.

How long does it take to transfer data from Android to iPhone?

A typical library lands in thirty to ninety minutes, faster on a USB-C cable than on Wi-Fi. A wireless transfer with a big photo library can take over an hour. The time depends on how much data you are moving, so a slow progress bar is not necessarily a sign that something is wrong.

Do I need the Move to iOS app if my Android phone runs Android 17?

No, not if the iPhone runs iOS 26.5 or later. On the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From Android, then Transfer without App, and scan the QR code on the iPhone with the Android phone's camera. If you cannot scan the code, enter the session ID and pairing code manually through Settings, Google Services, All Services, Pair with iPhone or iPad.

Will my paid Android apps work on my new iPhone?

No. Paid app licenses are tied to the platform you bought them on, so a paid Android app is not magically a paid iPhone app. You will need to rebuy the iPhone version from the App Store. Free apps that exist on both stores can be matched by Move to iOS and downloaded from the App Store after the switch.