Phone help

How to Move From Android to iPhone

By TheTruthSpy Editor · Founder and editorPublished October 7, 202611 min read

An older phone and a new phone on a table, joined by a cable, with contact, message, photo and calendar icons arcing between them

Most of what matters on an Android phone can reach a new iPhone in one sitting: contacts, texts, camera photos, calendars and even WhatsApp chats. The catch is timing. Apple’s transfer only runs while the iPhone is being set up, so if you tap through setup first, you have to erase the iPhone to get the easy route back.

Passwords, authenticator codes, paid apps and subscriptions never travel in that transfer, and wiping the old phone before moving the codes can lock you out of accounts. The order below avoids both problems, and the checklist at the end tells you when the wipe is safe.

The short version

Do the transfer during iPhone setup: choose From Android and use the Move to iOS app (or the built-in option on some Android 17 phones).
WhatsApp chats go across in the same transfer, but only onto an iPhone that is new or freshly erased.
Move authenticator app codes and check your passwords before the old phone is wiped.
Paid apps and in-app purchases don’t cross between the two app stores. Cancel Google Play subscriptions yourself.
Keep the old phone, charged and untouched, until everything on the checklist works on the iPhone.

The order that saves you a factory reset

Setting up the iPhone first “just to have a look” is the classic mistake: Move to iOS only connects to an iPhone on its setup screens, and WhatsApp’s chat transfer needs one that is new or reset. Do it in this order:

On the Android phone: update the system, Chrome and WhatsApp, and turn on Google Photos backup so there is a second copy of your pictures.
Still on the Android phone: install Move to iOS from Google Play, and check the iPhone has room for everything, including anything on a microSD card.
Just before you move your number: turn off RCS chats in Google Messages (see the texting section below). Then plug both phones into power, side by side, with the Android phone on Wi-Fi.
Switch on the iPhone and run the transfer during setup.
After setup: install WhatsApp on the iPhone, sign in with the same number, then deal with passwords, authenticator codes and subscriptions.
Only when the checklist later in this article is complete: wipe the old phone.

A winding park path with four numbered stops: an upload arrow, a phone, a key and, last of all, a bin — The wipe comes last: everything else depends on the old phone still working.

What moves, what needs a separate step, and what stays behind

Apple’s list for Move to iOS covers contacts, message history, camera photos and videos, albums, files, bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, call history, voice memos, WhatsApp and some settings. Free apps in both stores can be added automatically. Music, books and PDFs must be moved by hand.

Item	Transfers in setup	Needs a separate step	Doesn’t transfer
Contacts, texts, call history	Yes	Optional: add your Google account so contacts keep syncing
Camera photos and videos	Yes	Google Photos as a backup copy
Calendars, bookmarks, mail accounts	Yes	Update Chrome first, or bookmarks may not come across
WhatsApp chats and media	Yes, if selected	Install WhatsApp and sign in with the same number	Call history, display name, Channels media
Free apps	Some, if in both stores	Sign in to each app again	Android-only apps
Passwords	No	Use Google Password Manager on the iPhone, or import
Authenticator codes	No	Move them in the authenticator app	Microsoft Authenticator’s Android backup
Music, books, PDFs	No	Copy by hand or re-download from the service
Paid apps and in-app purchases	No	Check whether the developer has its own account	Google Play purchases
Phone number on an eSIM	On some networks	Move the physical SIM, or ask your network for a new eSIM
Google Play subscriptions	No	Cancel in Google Play	Billing does not move to Apple

Three cards labelled Moves, Extra step and Stays behind, holding contact, chat and photo icons, a key and shield, and a star and gift — Contacts, messages and photos move in setup; passwords and two-factor codes need their own step; paid apps and subscriptions stay with Google Play.

Running the transfer during iPhone setup

Start with time to spare: a large photo library can take hours. Apple warns that using another app or taking a call on the Android phone mid-transfer stops your content transferring. Wording on the Android side varies a little between phone makers.

Turn on the iPhone and follow the prompts until Quick Start, then choose Set Up Without Another Device.
On Transfer Your Apps & Data, tap From Android. If your Android phone runs a compatible version of Android 17, Apple says it can transfer without the app; otherwise tap Transfer with App.
On the Android phone, open Move to iOS, tap Continue, agree to the terms and allow any permissions it asks for.
On the iPhone, tap Continue on the Move from Android screen. A six- or ten-digit code appears.
Type the code into the Android phone. The iPhone creates a temporary Wi-Fi network; tap Connect on the Android phone to join it.
Choose what to move, including WhatsApp if you use it, and tap Continue.
Leave both phones alone until the bar on the iPhone finishes, even if the Android phone says it is done first. Then tap Done on the Android phone and Continue on the iPhone.

A USB-C cable between the phones makes the transfer faster. If your number is on an eSIM, setup can move it across too, but only with iOS 26, a compatible phone on Android 16 or later and a supported network (in the UK, Apple lists only EE). Once it moves, the Android phone loses its signal, so it works on Wi-Fi only from then on.

Two phones on a sofa cushion, both plugged in, the new one showing a six-digit code and the old one a number keypad — Both phones on charge and left alone: the transfer fails if the old phone takes a call part way through.

WhatsApp: one chance, during setup

WhatsApp history goes across inside Move to iOS; the WhatsApp backup in your Google account only restores onto Android. WhatsApp’s requirements:

Android 5 or later on the old phone and iOS 15.5 or later on the iPhone.
The latest WhatsApp on both phones (you install it on the iPhone after setup), and the same phone number.
An iPhone that is factory new or reset to factory settings.
Both phones on power and on the same Wi-Fi network, or the Android phone connected to the iPhone’s hotspot.

When you pick WhatsApp in Move to iOS, the Android phone asks you to tap Start to prepare the export and signs you out of WhatsApp there. After setup, install WhatsApp on the iPhone, sign in with the same number and tap Start to import. Individual and group chats, media, your profile photo and communities come across; call history, your display name and Channels media do not.

The old phone keeps its copy until you delete WhatsApp or wipe it: a safety net if the import goes wrong.

Group chat on an older phone, with message bubbles and photos flowing along a dotted line to a new phone showing a progress bar — WhatsApp’s chat move only works onto an iPhone that is still at the setup stage, or has been erased back to it.

Photos: keep a second copy in Google Photos

A second copy in Google Photos protects you if a long transfer fails part way, and the app works on iPhone too.

On the Android phone, open Google Photos and tap your profile picture.
Tap Photos settings → Backup and turn Backup on.
Leave the phone on charge and on Wi-Fi overnight, then tap your profile picture again and check it says Backup complete.

Free Google storage is shared between Photos, Gmail and Drive, so a large library may need paid storage. Screenshots and pictures from other apps may sit in folders that aren’t backed up by default. To check a backup really works, open photos.google.com on a computer and look for your latest pictures.

Bedside table at night with a charging phone uploading photos to the cloud, beside a lamp, a glass of water and a book — Overnight on charge and Wi-Fi is the easiest time for a large photo backup to finish.

Passwords and two-factor codes: the step that locks people out

Passwords

Passwords saved in Chrome or Google Password Manager live in your Google account, not on the phone. You have two choices:

Keep using Google Password Manager. Install Chrome on the iPhone and sign in. Then open Settings → General → AutoFill & Passwords, turn on AutoFill Passwords and Passkeys and select Chrome so it can fill passwords in other apps.
Move to Apple’s Passwords app. In Chrome on Android, tap More → Settings → Autofill and passwords → Google Password Manager → Settings → Export passwords & passkeys → Download file. On iOS 18.2 or later, import it with Settings → Apps → Safari → Import → Choose File. The file shows every password in plain text, so delete it everywhere once the import is done.

Authenticator apps

Authenticator codes cause the most trouble, because they live on the phone and a wipe deletes them. How you move them depends on the app:

Google Authenticator can sync codes to your Google account, so signing in on the iPhone may bring them back. You can also use Menu → Transfer accounts → Export accounts on the old phone and scan the QR code with Import accounts on the iPhone.
Microsoft Authenticator says backups only restore onto the same type of device, so an Android backup will not restore onto an iPhone. Add each account again on the iPhone, usually from the security settings of each service.
Other apps vary. Look for an export option; if there is none, add each account again on the iPhone before removing it from the old one.

Codes sent by text follow your phone number, so they work as soon as the SIM or eSIM is active on the iPhone. While you are at it, you could turn on two-factor authentication for your important accounts.

Close-up of an old phone showing a QR code while a new phone's camera frame lines up to scan it — Move authenticator codes while both phones work; after a wipe, recovery depends on backup codes you may not have saved.

Paid apps and subscriptions

Apps and in-app purchases bought on Google Play stay with Google Play, so a paid game or tool usually needs buying again. The exception is a service where you sign in to the developer’s own account: that subscription follows the account, not the store.

Google Play subscriptions keep charging after you switch, and Google says even uninstalling the app doesn’t cancel them. In the Play Store, tap your profile picture → Payments & subscriptions → Subscriptions, pick each one and tap Cancel subscription. To keep a service, resubscribe on the iPhone when the paid period ends.

Texting your Android friends and groups

iMessage handles chats with other iPhones; check it is on in Settings → Apps → Messages. Chats with Android users use RCS if your network supports it on iPhone (iOS 18 or later), which brings typing indicators, better photos and proper mixed group chats. Check Settings → Apps → Messages → RCS Messaging; if the switch isn’t there, your network may not support it and chats fall back to SMS and MMS.

Since iOS 26.5, Apple and Google have been rolling out end-to-end encryption for iPhone–Android RCS chats. It is a beta, on by default, and needs a supported network and an up-to-date Google Messages at the other end. Look for the lock icon in a chat rather than assuming it is encrypted.

One job on the old phone: if Google Messages used RCS, turn it off before you move your number, so Android friends’ messages don’t keep going to it. Tap your profile picture → Messages settings → RCS chats and switch RCS chats off. Google notes this removes you from RCS group chats, so ask to be added again from the iPhone. If the old phone is gone, messages.google.com/disable-chat does the same with a code sent to your number.

Phone lying on a patterned train seat, showing a four-person family group chat with a photo of a dog — Over RCS, a mixed group of iPhone and Android users gets typing indicators and sharper photos than MMS allows.

Day-one checklist before you wipe anything

Work through this with the old phone switched on beside you, so anything that fails can still be fixed.

Check	How to confirm
Calls and texts work	Call and text someone on Android and someone on iPhone
Contacts are complete	Search for three people you rarely contact
Photos arrived	Scroll back to your oldest photos and open a few videos
WhatsApp history	Open an old group and scroll back several months
Email and calendar	Send a test email and check next month’s appointments
Passwords fill in	Sign in to your bank, email and one shopping site
Two-factor codes	Sign out and back in to your most important account using the iPhone
Banking and payment apps	Install, register the new device, add cards to your wallet again
Subscriptions	Google Play shows nothing still active that you meant to cancel
Other maker-only content	Notes, voice recordings or files kept in apps with no iPhone version are exported

Keep the old phone, then wipe it properly

Put the Android phone in a drawer, charged, for a week or two. Something forgotten usually turns up: a rarely used account’s verification, a note in an app with no iPhone version.

When you are ready to pass it on, remove your Google account and then do a full reset, following how to wipe a phone before selling it.

Open drawer seen from above with an old phone, its charger and a paper tag with a date to wipe it — A dated tag on the old phone is a simple reminder to wipe it once nothing more is needed.

What if the transfer stalls or fails

The phones won’t connect. Turn off mobile data on the Android phone, plus any “smart network switch” style setting that could pull it off the iPhone’s temporary Wi-Fi.
It stops part way. Restart both phones and try again, without opening other apps.
Not enough space. Untick videos, finish setup, and bring the rest over later through Google Photos.
You already set up the iPhone. To use Move to iOS or move WhatsApp chats, you need to erase it: Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Erase All Content and Settings, then start again.
WhatsApp shows no chats to import. Check it is signed in with exactly the same number and both WhatsApp versions are current.

Frequently asked questions

Do I lose my Google account if I move to iPhone?

No. Gmail, Drive, Photos and saved passwords stay in your Google account. You can use the Google apps on the iPhone, or add the account to Apple’s apps through Settings → Apps → Contacts → Contacts Accounts → Add Account → Google (Mail and Calendar share the same accounts).

Can I move WhatsApp after I’ve finished setting up the iPhone?

Not with the official method, which needs an iPhone that is factory new or reset. If your chats matter, erase the iPhone and run setup again while the old phone still has them.

Do I need to do anything with my SIM card?

A physical SIM just moves across. An eSIM transfers during setup only on supported networks and phones (see above); otherwise your network can issue a new one.

Can I use Move to iOS without Wi-Fi?

The iPhone creates its own temporary Wi-Fi network, so the data doesn’t go through your router, but Wi-Fi must be turned on. A USB-C cable between the phones also works.

Sources and further reading

Written by

TheTruthSpy Editor · Founder and editor

Parent of [two] children aged [9 and 14], and has run [TheTruthSpy] on the family's Android phones since [2022].

I started [TheTruthSpy] after trying to find a parental control app that would tell me what it could and could not see. Most of them would not, so I ended up building one that does. I write the guides on this site myself, on the phones in my own house — [a Samsung Galaxy A-series and a Pixel], both on [Android 14]. When a page says a menu sits three taps deep, I counted the taps. When a page says a feature cannot do something, it is because I tried it and it did not work. I am not a security researcher and I do not pretend to be one. What I have is [three] years of living with these tools in a house with teenagers, and a strong dislike of software that overstates itself.

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