When you set up a new Pixel phone, the easiest way to transfer data is from your previous Android device or iPhone. The process and options for data transfer may vary depending on the device and Android version.
Tip: For the smoothest process:
- Back up everything: Sync photos, videos, messages, and contacts to the cloud in advance.
- Stay powered: Fully charge both phones. While a typical transfer takes 20 minutes, large transfers can take longer.
- Cable failsafe: If you use a USB-C cable, the transfer can be faster and it acts as a failsafe if Wi-Fi drops.
If you don’t have access to your previous phone and it’s already backed up to your Google Account, learn how to restore data on your Pixel device.
To find visual, step-by-step instructions on how to transfer your data, check out Pixel Guidebooks.
Get your devices ready for data transfer
Important: To get the most out of your new Pixel phone, you need a Google Account. Learn how to create a new Google Account.
Before you transfer your files and information to your new Pixel phone, follow these steps to make sure all of your data transfers. To get your new Pixel phone ready for set up, learn more about tasks you can do.
To help you get ready for data transfer:
- Sync your apps with your Google account.
- Use passwords and passkeys across your devices.
- Back up and restore your data.
Prepare your devices:
- Fully charge both phones.
- Make sure both phones have a strong Wi-Fi connection.
- Keep them near each other.
- To avoid interruptions during transfer, turn off screen locks on both devices.
- Have a USB-C cable.
Tip: If your Pixel phone storage becomes full, data transfer could pause. Learn how to free up space on a Pixel phone.
Choose the device you’ll transfer data from:
Transfer data from an iPhone to a Pixel
Important: To transfer messages (including text messages and iMessages) and apps, use a cable. Wireless transfers that use the Android Switch app from the Apple App Store won’t include messages.
You can transfer your iPhone data such as texts, photos, music, contacts, apps, and calendars to a Pixel device.
If you're on a new Pixel phone, click here for support:
- iMessage or FaceTime: Before you transfer, turn off iMessage and FaceTime in your iPhone settings.
- Optimized storage: If your iPhone uses "Optimized Storage," some photos are in iCloud and won't transfer through a cable. To make sure your photos transfer correctly, first install Google Photos on your iPhone and use it to sync your photos to the cloud.
Copy data from your iPhone to your Pixel phone
Step 1: Get your iPhone ready for data transfer- Turn off iMessage and Facetime. Learn how to turn off iMessage.
- If an organization, such as a business or school, manages your iPhone, you have to:
- Log in with a personal ID.
- To successfully transfer data, remove the organization account.
- To prevent transfer interruptions, disable screen auto-lock and don’t use your iPhone during the data transfer process.
- To disable screen auto-lock: Navigate to Settings
Display & Brightness
- To disable screen auto-lock: Navigate to Settings
Display & Brightness - Turn on your Pixel device.
- Tap Get Started.
- You can change the language or vision settings of your device.
Important: Based on connectivity, the order of screens may differ.
- On your Pixel device, tap iPhone or iPad.
- Connect to a Wi-Fi network.
- If you can't connect to a Wi-Fi network, connect to your mobile network through a SIM card.
- Sign in to your Google Account.
- To connect to a mobile network, download your eSIM.
- Otherwise, follow the prompts to insert your SIM card.
Tip: Your Pixel supports eSIM based on your mobile carrier. For more details, check with your carrier.
On your Pixel device:
- On the “Copy data from your iPhone or iPad” prompt, tap Next
- On the “Use your old device” prompt, tap Next.
On your iPhone:
- Turn your iPhone on.
- Unlock your device.
To connect both your iPhone and Pixel device:
- Plug one end of your iPhone charging cable into your iPhone.
- Plug the cable's other end into your Pixel device.
- If you use a Quick Switch Adapter:
- Plug the cable’s other end into the adapter.
- Plug the adapter into your Pixel device.
- If you use a Quick Switch Adapter:
- On your iPhone, tap Trust.
- On your Pixel device, a list of your data types appears.
- The amount of iPhone storage may trigger a capacity warning since it may include system files or linked iCloud data. If you're sure that all your on-device data can be transferred, ignore the warning and continue.
- To know how much on-device storage your iPhone has, tap Settings
- To transfer all your data, tap Copy.
- To only transfer select data:
- Turn off what you don’t want.
- Tap Copy.
- To only transfer select data:
Transfer Apple passwords to your Pixel phone
Passwords stored in Apple passwords don’t automatically transfer to your Pixel phone. You need to:
- Export them from your iPhone. Learn how to export passwords to another password manager on iPhone.
- Import them into Google Password Manager or another password manager on your Pixel. Learn how to import passwords to your Google Account.
Important: Contacts, calendars, and Google Keep notes that you transfer to your Pixel device sync and upload to your Google Account. When you sign in to your Google Account on your Pixel device, your account info syncs.
| Data type | Cable | Wi-Fi | Post-setup data transfer (Cable only) |
|
Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Device-only, iCloud, and cloud-synced contacts | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SMS or RCS messages and iMessages which include photo, video, replies, emoji reactions, and other attachments | Yes | No | Yes |
| Documents and downloads | Yes | No | Yes |
| Device-only and iCloud-synced calendar appointments | Yes | Yes | No |
| Apps at no charge which are matched to Google Play1 | Yes | No | Yes |
| WhatsApp chat history | Yes | No | Yes |
| MP3 and audio files | Yes | No | Yes |
|
Voice memos
|
Yes | No | No |
|
Notes
|
Yes | No | Yes |
| Call history2 | Yes | No | Yes |
| Home screen app layout and custom wallpapers | Yes | No | No |
|
Device settings
|
Yes | No | Yes |
What doesn’t copy
|
No | No | No |
1 Some third-party apps and data may not be transferred automatically. Learn more about Pixel device data transfer.
2 To transfer your call history or Wi-Fi SSIDs, set your iPhone up for local backup encryption.
Transfer your iCloud data
Only on-device data is transferred with a cable. To make sure that the data is available on your Pixel, follow the instructions if you have data in iCloud or in other cloud services.
Tips:
- You may continue to set up your Pixel during transfer.
- To find results and tips on how to transfer any missing content, review the transfer summary screens once the transfer is complete.
- You can transfer some of your data wirelessly but cable is recommended as it transfers more data types.
After initial setup, here are other items that transfer to your Pixel device:
Photos, videos, documents & other files stored in iCloudBased on your library size, the transfer can take several hours or days. It may also require a purchase of a Google One storage plan. Learn how to transfer iCloud photos and videos to Google Photos.
To transfer files from your iCloud as an alternative:
- On your computer, sign in to your iCloud account.
- Choose the files you want.
- Export the files.
- To upload your files, choose their destination based on their type:
- Google Photos: Photos and videos
- Google Drive: Miscellaneous files and PDFs
To use subscription-based services like Spotify or Apple Music:
- Download the app.
- Sign in to your account.
You can retrieve the following data if you sign into the Google Account you previously used:
- Passwords from Google Password Manager
- Non-Google Accounts and their data, which includes contacts and calendar events
- Your progress in some game apps or websites
Frequently asked questions
What if some of my data didn’t transfer over?If you're on a new Pixel phone, click here for support:
- Google Messages: It can take up to 24 hours for the Google Messages app to fully index and display your history. Keep the phone plugged in during this "post-transfer lag."
- Google Photos: Check if they were stored in the cloud. To find synced content, log into the same Google Account in the Google Photos app.
- WhatsApp: If history didn't transfer, make sure you use the same phone number. On your old device, turn on the cloud backup within the WhatsApp app.
If you encounter issues during transfer, try these steps:
- Check for app updates: On both devices, update Google Messages to the latest version. On your old device, set it as your default messaging app.
- Use a cable for iOS: To transfer messages (including text messages and iMessages) and apps, use a cable. Wireless transfers that use the Android Switch app from the Apple App Store won’t include messages.
- Wait for indexing: It can take up to 24 hours for a large volume of messages to fully index and appear in the app list. To verify if the data has arrived, you can search for a known message by keyword.
- Check storage: Data transfer may pause if your new Pixel phone's storage is full.
- Retry with Android Switch: To copy any missing data after setup, use the Android Switch tool in settings.
If you can't use your previous device or don't have a cable that fits, learn how to fix issues with data transfer.
- Finish setup notification: If it has been less than 72 hours since setup and you get a “Pixel setup isn’t done” notification, tap it to complete the process.
- Restore anytime: You can transfer data and merge it with your current device content without a factory reset.
- On your new Pixel phone, open the Settings app.
- With Android Switch, tap Back up or copy data
If you skipped the transfer or need to try again because it failed:
- On your new Pixel phone, open the Settings app.
- Tap Back up or copy data
Tip: If you transfer from iOS, to make sure messages are included, use a cable.
- Sync through Google Photos app: On your previous iPhone, install the Google Photos app and turn on backup. This syncs both local device photos and iCloud photos to your Google Account, which makes them visible on your new Pixel phone.
- Apple data transfer:
- Sign in with your Apple ID at privacy.apple.com.
- To move your media directly to Google Photos, select Request to transfer a copy of your data.
- This process typically takes 3–7 days.
Important: RCS is now available for Android and select iPhone devices, provided by Google or your carrier under your carrier's terms of service.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a modern industry standard for messaging and enables more dynamic and secure conversations than SMS and MMS. Learn how to turn RCS chats in Google messages on or off.If you use Google Password Manager, it’s already installed on your new device. Learn more about Passkeys.
If you use iCloud to store your passwords or Passkeys, you need to log in to your apps and services manually.
- Deregister iMessage: Before the transfer, you must turn off iMessage and FaceTime in your iPhone settings. If you’ve already completed the transfer, deregister your phone number at selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage. This makes sure that new messages reach your Pixel phone instead of disappearing into the Apple cloud.
- Cable connection: For iPhone-to-Pixel transfers, WhatsApp history requires a cable connection during initial setup. You must choose to transfer apps and make sure to select WhatsApp.
- App backup: On your old device, in the WhatsApp settings, turn on cloud backups. Then you can restore your history when you first launch WhatsApp on your new Pixel.
- Google Play Store only: Only apps installed from the Google Play Store will transfer. Sideloaded apps or those from other stores (like the Galaxy Store) must be installed manually.
- iOS app matching: If a direct match isn't found for an iOS app, you can search the Google Play Store for the app or a comparable alternative.
- Paid apps: Paid apps from the Apple App Store won’t transfer. You'll need to repurchase them from the Google Play Store.
Tip: For transfers that involve more than 60 GB of data, make sure both devices are fully charged and connected by a USB cable. This is to prevent connection drops or battery depletion during the process.