How to Set Up a New Android Phone
A new Android phone is a great feeling — but the thought of moving years of apps, photos, messages and logins across can take the shine off. The good news is that Android makes it genuinely straightforward, whether you've got a Samsung, a Google Pixel or any other brand. Follow these steps and your new phone will feel like your old one — only faster — within the hour.
Before you start: a five-minute checklist
A little preparation makes everything smoother. Make sure your old phone is backed up, that you know your Google account password (and your Samsung account, if you use one), and that both phones are charged. If you can, keep the old phone to hand and don't wipe it until the new one is fully set up and you've checked everything has arrived.
1. Back up your old phone
Make sure your old phone's Google backup and Google Photos are up to date — check the last backup date rather than assuming. This is your safety net: if anything goes wrong during the move, nothing is lost. If you use WhatsApp, run its own chat backup too, as messages transfer separately.
2. Power on and connect
Turn on the new phone, choose your language and region, and connect to Wi-Fi. A stable Wi-Fi connection matters here — you're about to download a lot of data, and doing it over mobile data can be slow and eat your allowance. Keep the phone plugged in while it works.
3. Copy your apps and data
When prompted, choose "Copy apps & data". The fastest and most complete option is a cable straight from your old phone (most new phones include a suitable adapter). If you'd rather go wireless, you can restore from a Google backup instead. The cable method moves more across — including many app logins and your home-screen layout — so it's worth the small faff of finding the right cable.
4. Sign in to Google
Sign in to your Google account so your apps, contacts, calendar and settings restore automatically. Samsung owners should also sign in to a Samsung account to bring across Samsung-specific data like notes, settings and some app data. You may be asked to approve the sign-in on your old phone or via two-factor authentication — keep it nearby.
5. Re-add accounts and check everything
Once the transfer finishes, add your email and any other accounts, confirm Google Photos is syncing, and reopen your most-used apps to check you're still logged in. Some apps — particularly banking and authenticator apps — deliberately don't transfer and need setting up fresh for security. Make a quick mental list and work through them.
How long does the move take?
With a cable and a typical amount of data, the core transfer usually takes anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, with apps and photos continuing to download in the background for a while afterwards. You can generally start using the new phone before everything has finished — just keep it on Wi-Fi and charge until the home screen fills in and Google Photos shows your full library. Don't be alarmed if app icons look greyed-out or "queued" at first; they're still installing and will sort themselves out. The wireless restore-from-backup method is more convenient but slower and a little less complete than the cable, so if you're moving a phone packed with apps and years of photos, the cable is worth the minor faff.
Don't forget these easily-missed bits
- Two-factor authentication. If you used an authenticator app, move it across or re-register it before wiping the old phone, or you can get locked out of accounts.
- Your SIM or eSIM. Move the physical SIM, or transfer your eSIM (your network can help) so you keep your number.
- Smart-home and wearables. Watches, earbuds and smart-home apps may need re-pairing to the new phone.
When you're happy, retire the old phone safely
Only once you've confirmed everything is on the new phone should you deal with the old one. Sign out of your accounts, then securely wipe it before selling, gifting or recycling it — never hand on a phone with your data still on it.
Old phone won't cooperate?
The whole process assumes your old phone still works. If it won't power on, the screen's cracked, or it's stuck, our smartphone repair team can often get it going just long enough to move your data over — and rescue the photos you thought were gone.