Upgrading to a new Android phone is a refreshing experience. It brings the joy of using new hardware, getting adjusted to a new user interface, as well as trying out a new set of specs. Though, transferring your data and apps from the old phone to its successor can be quite the ordeal – especially if this is your first time.

Well, rest assured, as we are about to go through the easiest, quickest and most budget-friendly options available that ensure a peaceful transition.

Access to a computer won’t be necessary, though your old smartphone must be able to connect to the internet via WiFi or via data, or have a properly functioning USB import.

We will give you 7 options in this article, and you can jump directly below using these links:

  1. Samsung users should look at Samsung’s SmartSwitch
  2. Huawei phone owners can use Huawei’s Phone Clone
  3. LG users should try LG Mobile Switch
  4. Any Android user can try Google’s cloud backup to move app data and photos
  5. The Copy My Data app can move your information for you
  6. Copy with the Clone It app
  7. Move with SendAnywhere

Google

Let’s kick things off with the most mainstream way of transferring data between two Android devices; Google’s very own backup and restore service. In a nutshell, what the user has to do is backup the old phone’s data via Google Drive, and then, while setting up the new phone, restore it in the same way.

Backup your data on the old phone

For those unfamiliar, Drive is Google’s cloud storage system, where all your data is stored, for when you need to restore it to the new phone. Google offers to each user 15GB of free Drive storage, so do occasionally check how much of the 15 gigs you’ve got left, by heading over to Drive.Google.com.

Fire up your old phone, connect it to the internet either via WiFi or data. After that’s been taken care of, go to Settings > Backup and reset and enable automatic restore. Make sure your Google account is being used as the backup account – see the “Backup account” tab for that.

Tap “Backup my data”. We would advise against using the phone until the backing up process is completed. If you turn on automatic backup, device and app data will be periodically saved remotely.

The above will cover:

  • Google Calendar settings
  • Wi-Fi networks and passwords
  • Home screen wallpapers
  • Gmail settings
  • AppsDisplay settings (brightness and sleep)
  • Date and time
  • Third-party app settings and data (varies by app).

Any phone running Lollipop and above has an equivalent of the Backup and reset option in its Settings app. The menu varies by each manufacturer’s user interface.

To save photos and videos through Google, you will have to use Google Photos.

In most cases it is already pre-installed to your phone. If it isn’t, the app can be downloaded from the Play Store for free. The app should automatically connect to your Google account and periodically upload your latest photos and videos to Drive.

A similar procedure is in place when backing up your music. Much like Google Photos, Google Music comes with your phone straight out of the box.

Once the user connects the phone to his Google account, the app automatically fetches all the .mp3 files downloaded on the device.

Restore your data to the new phone

While setting up the new phone, you will be asked to sign in to your Google account. If you have multiple, fill in the one used as your backup account.

Select the device whose data you want to restore to the new phone. If you wish to restore all apps and settings, then hit Restore. The particular option is solely available when you are setting up your phone for the first time, or after a factory reset.

Though, to restore specific apps, tap on the arrow next to Restore all. After selecting the apps, hit the Restore button.

Apps

Understandably, though, some people might not feel entirely comfortable with the Google gateway. For these folks, we scanned the Play Store and found three third-party applications that can get the job done equally well.

Copy My Data (Android 2.3.3+)

Copy My Data is the simplest and most straight-forward data transferring app of all that we tested. Download and open the app on both devices (it’s free) and connect them to the same WiFi. From your new phone, tap on the “To or from another device over WiFi” and then wait a few seconds for the app to detect the other handset.

Once it does, click on the device’s name and then hit “Copy data from selected device”. A security PIN will then show up on the old device. Enter the 4-digit PIN on the new device and you’ll be good to go.

The app seamlessly allows you to transfer contacts, calendar info, photos, and videos. It takes a few minutes for the process to be completed – it depends on the size of the data one is transferring.

Pros:

  • No in-app purchases
  • Quick
  • User friendly

Cons:

  • Limited amount of transferring options
  • It doesn’t allow the user to select specific items. Instead, it transfers all the data from each category.

Send Anywhere

Send Anywhere has quickly gained a good reputation for its user-friendliness and reliability. Unlike the previous app, Send Anywhere allows the user to pick specific items from each data category. It also offers a wider range of data types that can be transferred; including audio, apps and document file format (PDF, .doc etc.).

The transferring process is similar to the one used in  Copy My Data; pick the files you want to send from the old phone to the new one, enter the 6-digit code on the new phone and the rest is history.

You can also upload files to Send Anywhere’s website directly from the app itself and download them later on. After uploading the files, the app generates a download-link that will expire after 48 hours.

Furthermore, it is worth mentioning that Send Anywhere also functions as a file management tool, allowing you to delete, move and copy files.

Pros:

  • Free
  • A lot of options to transfer or manage your files
  • WiFi Direct is available

Cons:

  • SMS, MMS, phone call log transfer unsupported
  • Requires Android 4.0.3 and up.

Clone It (Android 2.2+)

Clone It has been around for quite a long time and is as easy to use as the other two. While its current version (2.0.18_ww) has been reported to come with a few bugs, Clone It features SMS, MMS and Calls Log data transfer, all three of which are not usually supported by most data transferring apps. You can even move some of your system’s settings.

As far as the procedure is concerned, select receiver on the new phone and sender on the old one and then pair the devices – make sure both are connected to the same WiFi.

You can either transfer all files of each data category by clicking on its respective icon or hit “Click here to choose details” in order to move specific items. Once you’re ready, click start.

As aforementioned, many users have pointed out several bugs with the latest version. We too came across some issues, as the app kept turning off the WiFi on the sender, making it impossible to complete the transfer. The company has acknowledged the existence of such bugs and says it will be releasing an update soon.

Pros:

  • Free
  • User-friendly UI
  • Covers most types of data

Cons:

  • Too many ads
  • Current version has some very frustrating bugs

Manufacturer options

If your new smartphone is made by Samsung or Huawei or LG, then look no further. All three of them have their own home-brewed data transferring app.

Samsung’s Smart Switch (Android 4.0+)

Smart Switch was launched by Samsung a couple of years ago and since then has served millions of users that chose a Galaxy as their new phone.

Like most apps of its kind, Smart Switch is quite user-friendly, featuring an elegant and minimalistic UI. The app is capable of transferring all types of data; including contacts, calendar, SMS and MMS, call logs, apps, photos and videos, music , alarms, saved WiFi connections, wallpapers and document file format.

If your old device is a Galaxy, then you will also be able to transfer app data and home layouts. Furthermore, Smart Switch offers the option of transferring your data via USB cable, which can be a life-saver in case your old device’s WiFi antenna is broken.

The wireless data transferring process is pretty ordinary; select your old device as the sender and the new one as the receiver, pair the devices, select the items you want to send and then click send.

Pros:

  • Easy to use
  • Supports all types of data
  • Data transfer via USB is available

Cons:

  • Multiple incidents of the data transferring process being frozen midway

Huawei’s Phone Clone

In the last few years, Huawei has managed to become the second biggest player in the Android business. Therefore it was quite predictable for them to launch their very own data transferring app.

Phone Clone works in a pretty straight-forward manner as well; download the app on your new Huawei device and on the old phone, establish a connection between the two devices either automatically via a QR Code or manually, select the types of data you wish to transfer and then tap next.

Compared to Smart Switch, Phone Clone selection of supported data is limited, as it can only transfer your contacts, SMS and call logs, photos and videos, and audio. In addition to shortcomings, the user cannot select specific items. So you would have to transfer the entire data file, even if you need just one item from the particular category.

Pros:

  • Easy to use

Cons:

  • Limited amount of supported data
  • The current version (8.0.0.305_OVE) of the app does have a lot of bugs
  • Users can’t transfer specific items, only the entirety of each category.

Requires Android 4.0 and up.

LG’s Mobile Switch (Android 4.1+)

Mobile Swicth works pretty seamlessly and offers three ways of transferring your data; wirelessly, via USB, or via microSD card.

Download and open the app on both devices and select one of the three transferring methods. The devices will pair automatically. Choose the items that you want to transfer and then hit next.

Photos, videos, audio, documents, call log, contacts, SMS, MMS, calendar info, apps and voice memos can be transferred by Mobile Switch.

Despite having a very user friendly UI, LG last updated the app in July, and therefore left a lot of technical issues unresolved since then. Multiple users have reported that the app freezes while the data transferring process is ongoing. Others have said that it randomly crashes. So keep in mind that it could take some time until the app gets the job done.

Pros:

  • Easy to use
  • Data transfer via USB and microSD is available
  • Covers most types of data

Cons:

  • The ridiculous amount of bugs could make it impossible to get all your data transferred

If you encounter any problems while trying out any of the above or have a recommendation to make, feel free to shoot a comment down below.

Filed in Cellphones. Read more about and .