Keep your old phone until the new one has the things you need. Moving your SIM or phone number does not automatically move your photos, passwords, banking access or app history.
Before you start
- Back up the old phone and check when the backup finished.
- Make sure you know your Apple or Google account details and can receive sign-in codes.
- Check the new phone has enough storage for what you want to copy.
- Charge both phones and have Wi-Fi and a suitable cable available.
- Check separate instructions for your authenticator, banking and messaging apps.
Follow the new phone’s setup process
Use the manufacturer’s transfer tool during setup. What copies varies by phone, app and transfer method. Google’s Android-to-Android instructions explain that some downloads, accounts and app data do not copy automatically. If you are moving from iPhone, use its separate iPhone-to-Android instructions, including what to do about iMessage.
Test before clearing anything
Open a few old photos and contacts, check messages, and sign in to the apps you rely on. Test calls, texts and mobile data. Make sure your authenticator and bank work on the new phone before removing access from the old one. Keep recovery codes somewhere secure.
Ask your provider about moving an eSIM. Do not delete the old profile before you know how the new one will be activated.
Prepare the old phone for its next owner
Follow the manufacturer’s sign-out and erase steps, including account locks. On iPhone, manually deleting synced photos or contacts can delete them from iCloud and other devices too. Apple’s sale and trade-in checklist explains how to back up, transfer and erase instead.
Remove physical SIM and memory cards. Check any eSIM removal instructions. Photograph the phone’s condition and keep proof of postage if sending it to a buyer or trade-in service.
Reviewed 29 October 2026 · Here4Mobiles