How To Transfer Data From Android To Iphone 5

If you are an Android owner and just switched to the iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c, you likely have a bunch of data on your old handset that you need to transfer to your new phone. It's not that difficult to transfer, you just have to know what to back up and where to find it. Read on as we walk you through the steps to get that data off your Android device and transfer it safely to your brand new iPhone.

There are two basic ways to transfer your data from one device to another. You can use cloud services to store your files in a location that is accessible to all your devices or you can pull your data off your old phone and manually transfer it to your new one. Both ways work well, so it comes down to personal preference. If you have a Dropbox account, a gmail address and a Twitter account, then you should use the cloud to transfer your data. If you don't have any cloud accounts, then choose the manual method and use your computer as the conduit between your phones.

Use Cloud services like Google, Dropbox and more

By default, Android devices tie in nicely with Google's suite of cloud services. Your contacts, calendar and emails are stored in your online Google account and are accessible on your iOS device. All you have to do is connect your iPhone to your Google account. You can use CalDav to connect the calendar information, CardDav for the contacts, and the Gmail app or IMAP for the email. You can also pull down contact information from Twitter and Facebook when you setup those accounts on your phone. Just make sure the "Contacts" toggle is turned on.

Images pose a unique challenge as Android uses Google + as the place to store your photos in the cloud. It's a social network and not really a storage account so the retrieval of the images on your iPhone is not that easy. The best solution is to use Dropbox as the intermediary as both Android and iOS can connect to the images folder and upload or download images as needed. To setup Dropbox for your photos all you have to do is install the Dropbox app and agree to the automatic photo uploads or go to the settings and enable that feature.

Google also has a suite of free iOS apps that provide access to your online accounts with minimal effort. Just install the apps on your iPhone, type in your account credentials and go. It's easy peasy. Here is a list of Google apps on iOS:

Google Search
Gmail
Google Drive
Chrome
YouTube
Google Maps
Google+

Manual Methods

If you prefer to use your computer to transfer your data, you'll need a USB sync cable and some additional software, if you are on a Mac.

Contacts:

To transfer your contacts, you will need to move the .VCF file from the phone to your hard drive as follows:

On your Android phone, go to your Contacts.
Tap the menu button and then tap Import/Export.
Tap Export to Storage
Select the contact data you want to transfer and tap OK.

The .VCF file will be on your SD card, where it can be transferred to your hard drive and imported into the Contacts app on you Mac. You can also send it yourself via an email. Just tap on the attachment on your iPhone and select "Add all contacts" when prompted.

If you have a PC, then you should be able to connect your Android device to your computer using the USB cable and the SD card will appear on your computer as a drive. If you are a Mac user, you will need to install the Android File Transfer app for the Mac. This app lets you browse through the files and folders on your Android phone. You can also use iTunes to move images, but I prefer the Android File Transfer app because the one app lets you access all your files at once.

Using Explorer on the PC or Android File Transfer app to browse through the files and move your photos and videos, which are usually in a folder titled DCIM. You can also drag over the Music, Movies, and any other folder your want to backup. Once you have all the files you need on your computer you can use iTunes to transfer the files to your iPhone

Photos and Videos:

Connect your newly activated iPhone to iTunes, click on the device name and then the Photos tab in the summary screen. Make sure "Sync Photos" is selected and then click "Choose Folder" to select the folder that contains the photos from your Android device.

Music:

Use Explorer or Finder to drag your Android device's music folder onto your iPhone in iTunes. iTunes will automatically transfer the music to your new iPhone. Sync your iPhone to iTunes, open the music app and your music should be there.

Let me know how it goes.