transfer to a new smartphone

[Wendelin Uez]

It's time to move to a new smartphone. I knwo when changing from one Android
smartphone to a newer one I can login to my Google account with the newer
smartphone and data are copied from backup to the new one.

Bit what exactly is copied? I have addtional apps installed having their own
data, f.e. WhatsApp, Firefox, Mail clients. Are these non-Google-apps and
their data also backuped and restored, or do I have to reinstall them
manually?

[Carlos E.R.]

Post by Wendelin Uez
It's time to move to a new smartphone. I knwo when changing from one
Android smartphone to a newer one I can login to my Google account with
the newer smartphone and data are copied from backup to the new one.

Get in advance an usb3 to usb3 cable, to connect both phones together.
Make sure both phones are charged full. There is automated software on
the new phone to copy all that is necessary.

Post by Wendelin Uez
Bit what exactly is copied? I have addtional apps installed having their
own data, f.e. WhatsApp, Firefox, Mail clients. Are these non-Google-
apps and their data also backuped and restored, or do I have to
reinstall them manually?

Whatsapp copies fine, just make a full backup to google before
transferring. I'm unsure if the usb cable copies everything (I did not
have the cable last time I made a transfer).

[Arno Welzel]

Post by Wendelin Uez
It's time to move to a new smartphone. I knwo when changing from one Android
smartphone to a newer one I can login to my Google account with the newer
smartphone and data are copied from backup to the new one.
Bit what exactly is copied? I have addtional apps installed having their own
data, f.e. WhatsApp, Firefox, Mail clients. Are these non-Google-apps and
their data also backuped and restored, or do I have to reinstall them
manually?

Mostly all apps with their data will be transferred when you use the
direct copy feature using Bluetooth. That means you power on both
devices and put them next to each other and then transfer the data using
the transfer function when you setup the new device. Using Google backup
and restore should work mostly identical, but I did not do a thourough
comparison of both methods yet.

One exception are apps which use the secure storage of the device since
this data can not be copied by design - it only exists in the secure
storage and can be used to verify the identity of the device or do
cryptographic signatures but it can not be read and copied to another
devices for security reasons. For example banking apps and Google Wallet
work this way.

Also some apps may not allow to backup and restore data - what also is
the case for most banking apps but also some apps which use DRM to
protect downloaded content.

[Stan Brown]

Post by Wendelin Uez
It's time to move to a new smartphone. I knwo when changing from one Android
smartphone to a newer one I can login to my Google account with the newer
smartphone and data are copied from backup to the new one.
Bit what exactly is copied? I have addtional apps installed having their own
data, f.e. WhatsApp, Firefox, Mail clients. Are these non-Google-apps and
their data also backuped and restored, or do I have to reinstall them
manually?

My Samsung phone was stolen last month, so I had to follow the
process you described on my new Pixel phone. I found that most of the
non-Google apps did get restored. I can't remember which ones I had
to download manually, but it was a small number. It wasn't a matter
of downloading only the apps in Google's Play Store, because I had no
apps on my old phone from any other source -- other than the Samsung
ones that came preinstalled on that phone, and I didn't care about
losing those.

YMMV, but for me getting everything re-established and setting all
the settings on my new phone took only an afternoon, much less than I
had feared. And because you'll still have access to the old phone,
you won't have to spend time racking your brain to remember what is
missing. :-)

[The Real Bev]

Post by Wendelin Uez
It's time to move to a new smartphone. I knwo when changing from one Android
smartphone to a newer one I can login to my Google account with the newer
smartphone and data are copied from backup to the new one.
Bit what exactly is copied? I have addtional apps installed having their own
data, f.e. WhatsApp, Firefox, Mail clients. Are these non-Google-apps and
their data also backuped and restored, or do I have to reinstall them
manually?

When I bought a Pixel2 in 2020 I was surprised to find that following
the Pixel instructions copied over EVERYTHING from my Motorola G5.
Passwords, apps, settings, everything. I regretted not removing the
sdcard from the G5 because the Pixel created a new named subdirectory
with all that stuff in it and which I am now afraid to delete. Still,
I've only used half the storage the Pixel came with. I am most afraid
of having to re-do all the app settings (I never leave anything alone),
but this fear was groundless.

If all phones are this easy now you should have no trouble.

[Gelato]

Post by The Real Bev
If all phones are this easy now you should have no trouble.

You even get the homescreen folders and app icons nowadays in the exact
same place on the new phone as they were on the old phone.

It's now so easy that it's almost to the point that you can't tell the
difference between the old phone & the new after a migration nowadays.

[s|b]

Post by Wendelin Uez
Bit what exactly is copied? I have addtional apps installed having their own
data, f.e. WhatsApp, Firefox, Mail clients. Are these non-Google-apps and
their data also backuped and restored, or do I have to reinstall them
manually?

They should be copied as well, but for security reasons it's possible
you have to log in again on the new device. In my case all my apps were
copied and they were even in the same order and in the same maps that I
created.

My latest phones were Pixels and they contain a cable to connect both
devices and transfer the data. You get step by step instructions. Not
much can go wrong. (Well, maybe if you have a Samsung... ;-)