Community Newsroom

Discover · ‎12-03-2020

With all this talk of sparkling 5G and delectable foldables, we'd understand if you've been eyeing up your upgrade and trade-in options recently. We also appreciate that the changeover can feel a little intimidating if your current device is spilling over with photos, apps and other personal data, or if it's your first time moving from an alternative operating system like iOS.

There's no need to stress though, because Smart Switch can help you transfer your photos, videos, music, contacts, alarms, messages* and even call history. There are also a few ways to use it, so whether you're a Wi-Fi champion or USB purist, you can choose the method that suits you best:

Transfer over Wi-Fi
Transfer using a USB cable
Transfer with PC or Mac
Transfer from external storage

Got the itch to switch? Choose how you want to transfer and then download Smart Switch for Android, Windows or Mac OS.

*Some types of content, like secure or encrypted data (including WhatsApp chats), will not transfer via Smart Switch. If you want to keep your WhatsApp chats, you can back them up and restore them using Google Drive.

Transfer over Wi-Fi

Make sure your devices are next to each together, connected to reliable Wi-Fi and have Smart Switch installed. You'll need at least 500MB of free space on each.

Android to Android

Open Smart Switch on your new phone and tap Receive data
- Select Galaxy/Android as your old device
- Choose Wireless as your connection method
Open Smart Switch on your old phone and tap Send data
- Choose Wireless as your connection method
- When the devices have found each other, tap Allow to connect
Smart Switch will now search for transferable content
- Select which items you want to bring across to your new device
Tap Transfer and wait for the process to complete

iOS to Android

Turn off two-step verification on your Apple ID before starting
Open Smart Switch on your new device and tap Start
- Select Wireless, then Receive, followed by iOS
Enter your iCloud username and password and then tap Sign-in
- Deselect any information you don't want to copy and select Import
- When you've imported the basics, you'll be prompted to select the media you'd like to download
Tap Close app and disable iMessage on your iOS device

Transfer using a USB cable

If you'd rather go old-school with a wired connection, first check that your devices have Smart Switch installed and that they support an MTP option for USB to allow content to be transferred.

Android to Android

Connect both phones using a USB-C connector.
Open Smart Switch on your new device and tap Receive data
- Choose Galaxy/Android as your old device
- Select Cable as your connection method
Launch Smart Switch on your old phone and tap Send data if asked
- Again, select Cable and Galaxy/Android if prompted
- Smart Switch will now search for transferable content
Select which items you want to copy and tap Transfer

iOS to Android

Turn off the two-step verification on your Apple ID
Open Smart Switch on your new device and tap Start
Connect your Galaxy to your iPhone using a USB-C connector and your Lightning cable
Tap Next on your new phone and follow the directions. It will ask you to select content to transfer.
Tap Transfer when ready

Transfer with PC or Mac

Using Smart Switch for PC or Mac is a great way to create back-ups of your smartphone data, which can be transferred to new devices at any time. First of all, download the Smart Switch software for Windows PC or Mac.

Create a back-up to PC or Mac

Open Smart Switch on your PC or Mac
Connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable
On your device, tap Allow
Select Backup. If you'd like to specify the content you'd like to back up, select More, then Preferences, followed by Backup items
Tap OK to finish

Transfer a back-up from your PC or Mac to a new phone

Open Smart Switch on your PC or Mac
Connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable
On your device, tap Allow
Select Restore and then Restore now to use the most recent back-up, or Select your backup data for more options
Tap OK to finish

Note: If your PC or Mac doesn't recognise your device, select More in the top-right of the screen and then Reinstall device driver.

Transfer from external storage

You can also make back-ups to external storage like an SD card and then transfer the data to your new device. Here's what you need to do:

Create a back-up to external storage

Connect your old device to your external storage using a USB cable or insert an SD card
Open Smart Switch
Select the Storage symbol in the top-right corner
Select Backup and then specify the content you'd like to back up
Tap Backup to finish

Transfer a back-up from external storage to a new phone

Use a USB cable to connect your new device to the external storage where you made the back-up. If you used an SD card, make sure it's inserted
Open Smart Switch
Select the Storage symbol in the top right-hand corner
Select Restore and then specify the content you'd like to restore
Tap Restore to finish

Things to note

Apps that require a username and password may store data on their own servers. Back up your data and note your log-in details before logging into these apps on your new phone.

If transferring from alternative operating systems, you'll need to download apps that weren't originally downloaded on the Google Play Store. If Smart Switch can't find Android alternatives, the content won't be transferred.

Technical requirements

Smart Switch for Android
A Samsung device with Android OS version 4.3 or later
Smart Switch for Windows
OS: Windows 7 or later	Required software: Microsoft Media Feature Pack You can download it from the following links: For Windows 7 \| 8 For Windows 10
CPU: Pentium 4, 2.4GHz or higher
RAM: 512GB or higher
Smart Switch for Mac
OS: Mac OS X 10.5 or later	MAC supported model Hardware: Models released after 2013*
CPU: 1.8GHz or higher
RAM: 512GB or higher
Driver installation space: 100MB or higher