Dr. Applelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the iOS

Switching from Android to iOS seems hard to many users. It means reinstalling apps, renewing subscriptions if any, and changing a lot of habits. If you are ready to taste that apple, and the new phone and table is already lying on your table beside the good old one, here is how to switch easily.

There’s the App for That

You may have noticed that asymmetry: lots of Google apps are available for iOS, and only a few ones by Apple are on Google Play. And one of these few is the one we need. With a telltale name like “Move to iOS”, it simplifies the process and saves you many motions. So, this is how to do it. Get both of your devices, as you’ll have to operate both and have them connected to each other.

1.  Turn on your iPhone/iPad and start the initialization;

2.  Proceed on it until you’re on “Apps & Data” page;

3.  Select “Move Data from Android”;

4.  Take your Android device and run Google Play on it;

5.  Find the “Move to iOS” app, tap “Install”. Confirm installation if necessary.

6.  Run “Move to iOS” on your Android device

From this moment on, you’ll need to work with both devices.

7.  Tap “Continue” on both devices;

8.  On your Android device with “Move to iOS” running, tap “Agree” and then “Next”;

9.  Watch the 12-digit code on your iPhone or iPad;

10.  Enter this code on your Android device when prompted;

Here comes the most interesting moment of the entire procedure. Now your Android and iDevice form an ad hoc network over Wi-Fi. Now, look at your Android device and choose which data you want to be transferred to your iPhone/iPad:

• Messages. By default, it only means SMS and MMS (if you still use them in 2021).
• Contacts. That is your entire phone book.
• Calendar. Your Google Calendar is well usable on iOS, even if you don’t install the app.
• Google account. If you transfer it, it will apply to all the Google apps you install.
• Camera Roll. If you choose this, all your galleries will be moved to your iDevice, and this may be the longest part of the procedure.

When it’s done, just follow the procedure on your iPhone/iPad. When it launches, it will prompt you to log in on all the accounts you have transferred from your Android.

Tips

• If you have some pictures hidden on your Android device and want to transfer them to the iPhone/iPad, you’ll need to unhide them and then hide them again on the recipient.
• You may find that the quality of the transferred pictures has become worse. To avoid that, you can sync them through a third-party cloud or create a backup on a flash drive/SD card.
• Make sure your iPhone/iPad has enough space for media content.
• In general, apps are not compatible across systems, but many of them exist for both Android and iOS. These are supposed to install automatically, but if not, try to search for them manually on App Store.

Did It Work?

In theory, it’s the perfect method of switching. In reality, though, there are many unexpected factors that can make it harder. Let’s talk about how it worked for you, what went wrong, and what you think of switching in general. Welcome to the comments, and let’s have a good talk!