Transferring data from Samsung to a new Android: 5 proven methods

Moving to a new smartphone is always an exciting moment. Especially if we are talking about transferring all data from an old Samsung Galaxy to a fresh Androiddevice of a different brand (for example, Xiaomi, Google Pixel or OnePlus). Many users are afraid of losing important files, settings, or don't even know where to start. In fact, the process can be made quick and painless - if you know all the nuances.

In this article we will analyze 5 working ways to transfer data: from the official solution Samsung Smart Switch to manual copying via the cloud or cable. You will learn how to save contacts, SMS, photos, applications and even screen settings without loss. And also - what mistakes are most often made during migration and how to avoid them.

Important: if your new phone is also from Samsung, the process is simplified - just use proprietary software. But if the brand is different, you will have to combine methods. Don't worry: we have described each step in detail, including screenshots of key points (you will find them in the official documentation of the manufacturers).

1. Preparing for the transfer: what you need to do BEFORE you start

Before you rush to copy files, take a few critical steps. They will save you hours of time and headaches.

Firstly, check the compatibility of devices. If the new phone runs on Android 12 and newer, and the old phone runs on Android 8 or older, you may have problems transferring some data (for example SMS/MMS or notes Samsung Notes). In this case, it is better to use a cloud backup.

Secondly, free up space on both devices. For successful transfer via Smart Switch or Google Account a minimum of 500 MB free space is required on each smartphone. Delete unnecessary files or transfer them to your PC.

• 🔋 Charge both phones to at least 50% (preferably up to 80%). Data transfer may take up to 2 hours.
• 📶 Connect both devices to the same Wi-Fi network (if you plan to use wireless transfer).
• 🔐 Make sure that on the old one Samsung blocking disabled Find My Mobile (if it was activated).
• 📱 Update the software on both smartphones to the latest version. This will eliminate possible bugs during migration.

⚠️ Attention: If data encryption is enabled on the old phone (usually activated when setting a password), transferring via cable may take 2-3 times longer. We recommend temporarily disabling encryption in Settings → Security → Encryption.

Charging both phones >50%|Updating software on both devices|Freeing up 500+ MB of memory|Connecting to the same Wi-Fi network|Disable Find My Mobile on an old Samsung -->

2. Method 1: Samsung Smart Switch - official solution

Smart Switch is a proprietary application from Samsungthat allows you to transfer almost all the data from your old phone to a new one. It works even if the new device is not from Samsung, but with some restrictions.

What can be transferred via Smart Switch:

• 📞 Contacts, call log, SMS/MMS
• 📷 Photos, videos, music
• 📁 Documents (PDF, Word, Excel)
• 🎮 Some applications and their data (not all!)
• ⚙️ Screen settings, wallpaper, sound profiles

What NO to transfer:

• 🚫 Applications from Google Play (APK files only, no data)
• 🚫 Settings of some third-party applications (for example, WhatsApp or Telegram)
• 🚫 Data of some games (progress in Clash of Clans or Genshin Impact)

Step-by-step guide:

1. Download Smart Switch to both phones from Google Play (or Galaxy Store for Samsung).
2. On the new phone, select Get data → Android.
3. On the old phone, select Send data → Wireless (or Cableif using USB-OTG).
4. Confirm connection on both devices (PIN may be required).
5. Select data types to transfer and wait for the process to complete.

Connection type	Transfer speed	Required accessories	Limitations
Wireless (Wi-Fi)	~10-15 MB/s	No	May be interrupted when the signal is weak
Cable (USB-OTG)	~30-50 MB/s	USB-C/USB-OTG adapter	Not all phones support OTG
Via PC (Smart Switch for Windows/macOS)	~20-40 MB/s	USB cables, PC	Requires installation of software on the computer

⚠️ Attention: If the transfer is interrupted during the copying stage SMS or Call Log, do not start the process again - this may lead to duplication records. Instead, wait for completion or transfer this data separately via Google Account.

3. Method 2: Transfer via Google Account (for contacts, photos, applications)

If Smart Switch for some reason it is not suitable (for example, a new phone does not support this software), you can use Google Account. This method is universal and works on any Androiddevices.

What can be transferred:

• 📞 Contacts (synchronized automatically)
• 📅 Calendar and events
• 📷 Photos and videos (via Google Photo)
• 🎮 Applications from Google Play (list of installed ones, but not data)
• 📝 Notes (if used Google Keep)

Instructions:

1. On an old phone open Settings → Accounts and archiving → Backup and recovery.
2. Enable Data archiving and select your Google Account.
3. Click Backup now and wait for completion (may take from 10 minutes to an hour depending on the amount of data).
4. On a new phone, when you turn it on for the first time, select Restore data from backup and log in to the same Google Account.

If the new phone is already configured, you can restore the data manually:

1. Go to Settings → Google → Recovery.
2. Select the latest backup and click Restore.

⚠️ Attention: Restoring from Google Account will overwrite the current data on the new one phone. If you have already added new contacts or photos, make a backup copy of them before restoring.

What to do if Google Photos does not sync all photos?

If Google Photos "stuck" on synchronization, check:

1. Is there enough space in Google Drive (15 GB is provided for free).

2. Is synchronization of mobile data enabled in the application settings?

3. Are there traffic restrictions on your Wi-Fi network?

If the problem persists, try downloading photos via a browser to a PC (photos.google.com).

4. Method 3: Manual transfer via OTG cable or PC

If you only need to transfer photos, videos or documentsand the rest of the data is not important - the easiest way do it manually via cable or computer. This method is suitable for users who want to control every stage.

Option 1: Via OTG cable (direct connection)

1. Buy USB-OTG adapter (costs ~200-500 rubles).
2. Connect the old phone to the new one via the adapter.
3. On the new phone, open Explorer (or Files) and copy the necessary folders (DCIM for photos, Download for downloads, etc.).

Option 2: Through a computer

1. Connect the old phone to the PC via USB and select the mode File transfer.
2. Copy all the necessary files to your computer (for example, to a folder on your desktop).
3. Disconnect the old phone, connect the new one and transfer the files back.

Advantages of manual transfer:

• ✅ Full control over which files are copied.
• ✅ No restrictions on data type (even rare formats can be transferred).
• ✅ No dependence on the Internet connection.

Disadvantages:

• ❌ Takes a lot of time with a large amount of data.
• ❌ Not transferred SMS, call log or application settings.

5. Method 4: Transferring SMS, calls and applications through third-party apps

If you need to transfer SMS, call log or data applications (for example, saves in games), and Smart Switch couldn’t do it, you will have to use specialized utilities.

For SMS and calls:

• 📲 SMS Backup & Restore —saves messages to a file and restores them on a new phone.
• 📞 Super Backup & Restore —copies SMS, call log and contacts.

For applications and their data:

• 📦 Titanium Backup (requires root-rights) - saves APK files and application data.
• 🖥️ Helium - works without root, but requires connection to a PC.

Instructions for SMS Backup & Restore:

1. Install the application on your old phone.
2. Click Backup and select which messages to save (SMS, MMS).
3. Save the file to Google Drive or copy it to your PC.
4. Install the same application on the new phone and click Restore.

⚠️ Attention: Applications like Titanium Backup require root accesswhich may void your warranty. If the phone is under warranty, use alternative methods (for example, synchronization through the game developer account).

6. Method 5: Transferring data through cloud storage (Yandex Disk, Dropbox)

If you have slow Internet or do not have an OTG cable, you can use cloud storage. This method is universal and works on any device.

Step-by-step guide:

1. Install the cloud storage application (Yandex Disk, Dropbox, Mega) on both phones.
2. On the old phone, upload the necessary files to the cloud (photos, videos, documents).
3. On the new phone, download files from the cloud to the device memory.

Advantages of cloud transfer:

• 🌐 Works on any device (even if one phone is on iOSand the other on Android).
• 🔒 Data is stored in encrypted form (in most services).
• 📱 Does not require cables or a PC.

Disadvantages:

• ⚠️ Volume limitation (for example, Yandex Disk only 10 GB is free).
• ⏳ Long loading time with a large amount of data.

Cloud	Free volume	Max. file size	Download speed
Yandex Disk	10 GB	50 GB	~5-10 MB/s
Google Drive	15 GB	750 GB	~3-8 MB/s
Dropbox	2 GB	50 GB	~2-5 MB/s
Mega	20 GB	No limits	~10-15 MB/s

7. Common errors and how to avoid them

Even when following the instructions, users often encounter problems:

1. does not see the new phone

• 🔌 Check the cable (use the original USB-C).
• 📱 Reboot both devices.
• 🔄 Enable USB debugging on the old phone.

2. Applications are not transferred

• 📦 Smart Switch only transfers APK files, not data. For saves, use Helium or Titanium Backup.
• 🎮 For games, check whether they support cloud saves (for example, via Google Play Games).

3. Photos have been transferred, but are not displayed in the gallery

• 🖼️ Restart your phone - sometimes the media scanner does not keep up update the library.
• 📁 Check that the files are copied to the folder DCIM/Camera.

4. There is not enough space on the new phone

• 🗑️ Delete unnecessary files through Settings → Storage.
• ☁️ Transfer some of the data to the cloud (for example, old photos).

⚠️ Attention: If after the transfer the phone starts to slow down, check whether the system files have been copied (.thumbnails, .nomediaThey can be safely deleted through Explorer.

8. What to do after transferring data

Transferring data is only half the battle. After completing the process, follow a few important steps to ensure that the new phone works stably.

1. Check the integrity of the data

• 📞 Open Contact and make sure that all numbers are in place.
• 📷 View photos in Gallery.
• 🎮 Launch key applications (messengers, games) and check your saves.

2 Set up synchronization

• ☁️ Enable automatic sync for Google Photos, Contacts and Calendar.
• 🔄 Set up a backup copy to Settings → Accounts and backup.

3. Optimize your new phone

• 🚀 Disable unnecessary applications in Settings → Applications.
• 🔋 Activate mode Adaptivnaya batareya dlya ekonomii zaryada.
• 🛡️ Ustanovite antivirus (naprimer, Malwarebytes) i proverte sistemu.

4. Utiliziruyte staryy telefon pravilno

• 🧹 Cdelayte polnyy sbros (Nastroyki → Obshchiy sbros).
• 🔒 Udalite vse akkaunty (Google, Samsung, sotsialnye seti).
• ♻️ Esli telefon eshchyo rabochiy, mozhno prodat ego ili sdat v pererabotku.

💡

Posle perenosa dannykh ne speshite sbrasyvat staryy telefon! Poderzhite ego vklyuchyonnym 2-3 dnya na sluchay, esli ponadobitsya chto-to do perenesti.

FAQ: Otvety na chastye voprosy

Mozhno li perenesti dannye s Samsung na iPhone?

Da, no s ogranicheniyami. Ispolzuyte prilozhenie Move to iOS ot Apple. Ono perenosit kontakty, soobshcheniya, fotografii i nekotorye nastroyki, no ne vse dannye (naprimer, prilozheniya iz Google Play pridyotsya ustanavlivat zanovo iz App Store).

Pochemu Smart Switch ne perenosit nekotorye prilozheniya?

Smart Switch ne mozhet perenesti:

• Prilozheniya, zashchishchyonnye DRM (naprimer, bankovskie ili strimingovye servisy).
• Prilozheniya, kotorye ne sovmestimy s novoy versiey Android.
• Dannye prilozheniy, esli oni ne podderzhivayut rezervnoe kopirovanie.

Reshenie: Ustanovite takie prilozheniya vruchnuyu iz Google Play i avtorizuytes zanovo.

Kak perenesti sokhraneniya iz igr (naprimer, Genshin Impact ili Clash of Clans)?

Dlya bolshinstva mobilnykh igr sokhraneniya privyazany k akkauntu:

• 🎮 Genshin Impact: Privyazhite akkaunt k miHoYo ili Google Play.
• 🏰 Clash of Clans: Podklyuchites k Supercell ID.
• 🐔 PUBG Mobile: Ispolzuyte Facebook ili Twitter for synchronization.

After linking, simply install the game on the new phone and log into your account - progress will be updated automatically.

What should you do if, after the transfer, the phone begins to heat up and quickly discharges?

This is normal in the first 1-2 days - the system indexes new files. If the problem persists:

• 🔍 Check which applications are consuming the most battery in Settings → Device care → Battery.
• 🧹 Clear the cache in Settings → Storage → Cached data.
• 🔄 Reboot the phone.

Is it possible to transfer data from a broken Samsung screen?

If the screen does not respond to touches, but the phone turns on:

• 🖱️ Connect the mouse via USB-OTG and control the phone with it.
• 💻 Connect the phone to the PC and copy the data via Smart Switch for Windows.
• ☁️ If synchronization with Google Account, the data can be restored on a new phone.

If the screen is completely black, but the phone makes sounds, try connecting it to the TV via HDMI adapter (for example, Samsung DeX).