How to move from Android to iPhone with Move to iOS

2 min read · 8 steps · Updated 2 October 2026

Short answer

During the set-up of the new iPhone, choose Set Up Without Another Device, then From Android on the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen. Install Move to iOS on the Android phone, enter the code shown on the iPhone, choose what to transfer and wait until the bar on the iPhone is full.

Apple's Move to iOS app copies contacts, messages, photos, WhatsApp chats and more from an Android phone straight to a new iPhone. It only works during the first set-up of the iPhone. If the iPhone is already set up, it has to be erased first.

Step by step

  1. Prepare both phones

    Switch on Wi-Fi on the Android phone and plug both phones into power. Check that everything you want to move, including what is on a memory card, fits on the iPhone. Update Chrome on the Android phone if you want your bookmarks.

  2. Start the iPhone set-up

    Switch on the new iPhone and hold it near the Android phone. On the Quick Start screen, tap Set Up Without Another Device and follow the steps. You may be asked to activate your eSIM.

  3. Choose From Android

    On the Transfer Your Apps & Data screen, tap From Android, then Transfer with App. The iPhone shows a code of six or ten digits.

  4. Open Move to iOS on the Android phone

    Install the app from Google Play and open it. Tap Continue, accept the terms and allow the permissions it asks for.

  5. Enter the code

    Type the code from the iPhone into the Android phone. The iPhone creates a temporary Wi-Fi network. Tap Connect on the Android phone to join it.

  6. Choose what to transfer

    Tick what you want: contacts, message history, photos and videos, files, bookmarks, mail accounts, calendars, WhatsApp messages and media, and more. Tap Continue.

  7. Wait for the bar on the iPhone

    Leave both phones next to each other and plugged in until the loading bar on the iPhone has finished, even if the Android phone already says it is done. A large photo library takes a long time.

  8. Finish the set-up

    Tap Done on the Android phone and Continue on the iPhone, and complete the remaining steps.

Good to know

Music, books and PDFs are not moved automatically. Copy them by computer or cloud storage afterwards.

Do not use the Android phone during the transfer. A phone call or another app in front stops the copy. If it fails, restart both phones, switch off mobile data on the Android phone and try again.

A USB-C cable between the two phones makes the transfer faster than Wi-Fi.

Keep the Android phone untouched until you have checked on the iPhone that everything arrived. If the iPhone was already set up: how to factory reset an iPhone shows how to start again.

In short: iPhone set-up, From Android, Move to iOS app, enter the code, choose the content, wait for the iPhone's bar.

Sources
  • Apple Support: Move from Android to iPhone or iPad

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