Want to switch from iphone to android? I switched from iphone to android a few days ago and created this guide for people who want to switch iphone to android.
Smart phones have flooded the market and there is a lot of competition to be the market leader. The two main smart phone platforms in the market are iPhone and the Android version. Apple iPhone is considered as a priced possession by many. However, in recent days phone users are looking at the flexibility of Android based phones as well.
People nowadays are switching from iPhone to Android. They search for guidance from people who have already switched from iPhone to Android. The reasons being the better screen and the intuitive interface are more advance and faster in Android phones such as Motorola model Verizon Droid Ultra, Nexus 5 (for T-Mobile, AT & T and sprint), Samsung model Galaxy S4.
It may generally seem hard to transfer iPhone to Android for many users. Many users might have the question “How to transfer from iPhone to Android?” nagging in their mind. Few steps are suggested in this article to make the transition. Just like when PC users made the move to Macs and has not gone back, iPhone users may be expected to never turn back after switching to Android phone.
All the data will be backed up in the cloud and the choices are plenty. Even the survey results agree with 80% opting for an Android phone.
Advantages Of Changing An IPhone For An Android
Listed are the few points to change from an iPhone to an Android
- Cost – Android phones are much cheaper than any iPhone
- Customization – It is easy to personalize an Android phone than an IPhone
- Product options – Lots of variety and types are available. The choices are varied even you can choose based on the shape and size.
- Many apps that would cost you anything and are totally free are available
It is very easy to root an Android phone,
Options for Switching from iPhone to Android
There was a time when switching from an iPhone took a lot of effort however it has been simplified a lot these days.
There are many ways to do it, however you may prefer one over other. Here are two options I found useful.
The Easiest Way For Switching To Android From iPhone
I tried Phone-Phone Transfer software by Wondershare and it seemed to work seamlessly with almost no efforts in doing the switch.
Wondershare MobileTrans is a simple phone to phone transfer software that can installed on a Mac or a PC.
It supports transfer of all types of data including contacts, messages, videos, photos, audio, call logs, apps and calendars. In addition to the data transfer, it also supports backup feature for your data that can be handy to save your critical data.
MobileTrans also comes with a feature to erase data permanently. This can be useful in case you are planning to sell your old iPhone.
The Not So Easy Way For Switching To Android From iPhone
This option involves doing multiple steps for Transferring your data from iPhone to Android.
- Setup Your Android Phone
- Prepare Your iPhone for Transfer
- Sync Contacts Between iPhone and Android
- Sync Email Accounts Between iPhone and Android
- Sync Pictures & Videos Between iPhone and Android
- Find Common Apps Between iPhone and Android
How To Set Up An Android Phone?
- It is very simple to set up an Android phone. First you have to switch on the phone, connect to the internet, access google by logging in to your Gmail account and you can easily download the required apps or applications from google play store.
- It is important for you to check that the Android phone software has the updated version of the software and settings are updated to ensure the latest updates are available, notifications should be displayed on the phone.
- If the Android phone uses AT&T, you can download the app such as the visual voicemail from the google play store.
- Additionally other Gmail accounts can also be added.
How To Update Your IPhone?
First you will have to switch on the iPhone. Then connect to the internet. Access Gmail account by logging in. Check the latest updates for an iPhone and ensure you upgrade the iPhone with the latest software.
How To Sync The Entire Contact List?
Transfer contacts from iPhone to Android is the foremost thing. To back up the existing contact list in iPhone, first check for iCloud is used in your iPhone. The steps to check this is, go to setting, access iCloud, and switch on the contacts option. In case you are not using iCloud, sign up for the same right away.
Contacts from iPhone to Android can be easily made with this procedure. Also the new MAC operating system has mandated to use iCloud to transfer the contact list in the phone. The above procedure is also applicable to transfer Android contacts to iPhone.
How To Sync The Email Accounts
While switching to Android from iPhone, it is important to sync even the contacts from your Gmail account and the contacts in iPhone. To do this, check your Gmail account and go to settings.
There are you can switch on the option to sync the contacts. This will sync all the Gmail account contacts and the iPhone contacts. Copying iPhone contacts to Android is very simple and these simple options make it easy to switch from iPhone to Android.
iMessage Should Be Turned Off
While switching from Android to iPhone, the message settings has to be changed. In the iPhone, go to setting/messages. There you can switch off iMessage. This is important as this messenger is used as a direct contact from one iPhone to another iPhone. If it is left as on, then the texts from your friends who own an iPhone will not reach the Android phone.
Once the iPhone is used again, after the switch from iPhone to Android, the iPhone will start using SMS to your friends with iPhones. Transferring SMS from iPhone to Android is also possible.
iTunes To Be On Sync With iPhone
It is important to ensure that the current iPhone you are using is fully in sync with the Mac iTunes. Also check if all the music files and the photos are backed up on the Mac when the sync is done. Just check if this done both in Mac as well as the iPhone. This step is important to transfer data from iPhone to Android.
Import The Contacts Manually (only If Needed)
Transfer iPhone contacts to Android can be done manually also. The contacts can be downloaded on the Mac by following the below steps:
- Enter apple.com/icloud. There you can login using Apple ID. There you can click contacts.
- There is a wheel symbol in the left corner at the bottom. Once you click there, you can pick the option “select all”. All the contacts will be selected. Then “export” option can be clicked, then enter the ‘downloads’ option to select ‘vCard into a vCard file’.
- You can access your Gmail account from the browser. In Gmail, select the contacts. You will be able to see all the Gmail contacts. The vCard file can be imported to the Gmail contacts by using ‘Important contacts’ option. This will enable transfer of contacts from iPhone to Android manually. Then check for any duplicates and delete the same. To delete duplicates use “More/Find & Merge Duplicates” option.
Music Transfer
To transfer music from iPhone to Android, first download the Google Music Manager in your Mac and run the app. The manager will help you upload the music list in the iTunes. The normal version is free of cost and is capable of handling almost all of iTunes. However, you will have to provide your information of credit card by signing up for Google Wallet.
Also ensure the music is received in the Gmail account. Once you finished installing Music Manager in Google Play, access that in the icon Music Manager which appear in the system tray. In Windows screen, it will be in the bottom right corner. For a Mac system, it will be in the menu bar which is in the right corner on the top. For a Linux system, you can check the notification area.
SIM Card Transfer
To switch iPhone to Android, an adapter may be required since the change has to be done from a nano-sim to a micro-sim. For that, restart your Android phone, then you are good to go. To use the messaging text option, either “hangouts” can be used which comes from Android 4.4 or the messenger app which is there from previous versions.
Moving Pics From IPhone To Android
There are several options to transfer data during an iPhone to Android switch.
Option-1: Using iTunes To Transfer Pictures
The photos in iPhone can be first copied to Mac and then the iPhone and iTunes can be synced. The details for the same can be viewed at http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4083
Option-2: Using Google+ To Transfer Pictures
Google+ is a huge library to store all the pics of past, present or future, all in a single place. The storage is unlimited and can be accessed from any corner of the world just by using a device connected to the internet. Also, a sea of options is available to pick the right photo app for you on Google play. Heavy photos of almost 2048×2048 pixels or 15 minute long videos will only eat up small space of the 15GB space which is free.
To back up photos, first you have to install the Google+ app in your iPhone. This can be done in the app store. In the Google +, you can sign in using the same Google account. The Google account is your Gmail iD and the same password. Select all your photos and click the option to ‘Auto Backup”. This is available in the gear icon which appears at the top end of the right corner.
Next, go to the “Camera and Photos” option, there you can click on “Auto Back up”. Switch on this option. These steps ensure all the photos are saved in the cloud. Now you can go to your new Android and open the app showing the photos. You will be happy to see all your iPhone photos in the Android phone.
Transferring Documents from iPhone to Android
Easiest way to transfer any documents , PDF, ebooks, presentations and other files will be to use a cloud provider which supports iPhone and Android both.
I have used Google drive and it worked seamlessly for transferring my documents. There are many options to do it and most of them are reliable in both iPhone and Android.
Finding The iPhone Apps On Android
You can not run iPhone or iOS apps on Android phone directly. Instead you need to find them in google play store. Most of the popular iPhone apps also have a Android version.
In case you are not able to find it on Android than you may find another option for doing the same stuff on android.
Transferring iPhone App specific data to Android
Transferring app specific data will be mostly depending on the app developer. If you are able to find a android version of same app than your data may be transferred automatically, however it may vary from each developer and the way your app stores data.
Any data from an app that does not exist in Android may be lost.
All the above steps can make iPhone to Android switch hassle free.