Back up or restore data on your Pixel device

You can back up data and settings from your phone to your Google Account. Before you transfer data to a new phone, or reset your phone to fix issues, back up your data. You can restore your saved data to a new phone or after a reset. Your photos, videos and contacts are synced to their respective services and are separate to device backups.

Learn how to transfer data and restore from a backup with our step-by-step tutorial.

Go to this video with audio descriptions: Back up data on a Pixel phone

Automatically back up your device

Back up your phone with Google One

Important: To help protect your backed-up data, use a PIN, pattern or password screen lock instead of a swipe or Smart Lock.

You can set up your device to automatically back up your files.

1. Open your device's Settings app.
2. Tap Google services Backup.
   Tips:
   • If this is your first time, turn on Back up your device with Google One and follow the on-screen instructions.
   • Select the data that you want to back up: Photos and videos, Device data or both.
3. Turn Backup by Google One on or off.

Your Google One backup can take up to 24 hours. When your data is saved, 'On' will be displayed below the data types that you selected.

What your backup includes

Important:

• Not all apps can be backed up or restored. To find out more about an app, learn how to contact an Android app's developer.
• Photos in your Locked Folder can't be backed up.

A Google One backup saves this info from your phone:

• App data
• Call history
• Contacts
• Device settings, including Wi-Fi passwords and permissions
• SMS and MMS messages

Photos and videos are backed up separately through the Google Photos app. To manage these settings:

1. Open the Google Photos app.
2. Tap your profile icon Photos settings Back up & sync.

Learn more about how to choose the backup quality of your photos and videos.

Your backups are uploaded to Google's servers and are encrypted with your Google Account password. For some info, your device's screen lock PIN, pattern or password is also used for encryption.

Check which photos, data and settings you backed up

You can check what data and which apps are included in your backup.

1. Open your device's Settings app.
2. Tap Google services Backup.
3. Under 'Backup details', review what data is backed up on your device.

Check the last backup date from a browser

You can check when you last backed up your data, and how many backups you have, from Google Drive.

1. Go to Google Drive.
2. On the left, click Storage.
3. Click Backups next to the icon.
4. You'll find a list of backups from devices and when they were last modified.

Switch backup accounts

1. Open your device's Settings app.
2. Tap System Backup.
3. Tap Account storage.
4. Tap the Google Account that you want to use for backups. If the account that you want to use isn't there, tap Add account.

Erase after backing up

After you back up, you can reset your device by erasing everything on it. Learn how to reset your device to factory settings.

Get your data onto a new device

Important: Both devices must be on the same Android version or your new device must be on a later Android version. If your new device is on an older Android version than your previous device, it may result in an incomplete data transfer. Find out how to check and update your Android version.

Restore data on your new device, without your old device

1. Turn on your new device and tap Get started on the 'Welcome to your Pixel' screen.
   • On the 'Set up using another device' screen, tap Pixel or Android device or iPhone or iPad.
   • Select an option based on the previous device that you have.
2. When you receive a prompt to scan the QR code, tap Skip.
   • Connect to Wi-Fi.
3. Sign in to your Google Account with the same email that was connected to your previous device.
4. On the 'Copy data from your Android device' screen, tap Next.
5. Choose the backup that you'd like to restore onto your new device. To finish setup, follow the on-screen instructions.

Restore data on your new device, with your old device

1. Turn on your new device.
2. On the 'Welcome to your Pixel' screen, tap Get started.
3. On the 'Set up using another device' screen, tap Pixel or Android device or iPhone or iPad.
   • Select an option based on the previous device that you have.
4. When you receive a prompt to scan the QR code, scan it with the camera on your old device.
5. To finish setup, follow the on-screen instructions.

Restore data after set up (Pixel 9 and later)

1. Open your device's Settings app.
2. Tap Back up or copy data Copy data.
3. Select the data that you want to transfer over. Learn how to transfer data from a cloud backup.

Tip: You need to use the same device that you previously used to transfer data.

Sync cloud data like photos, videos and messages

To sync cloud data:

1. Sign in to your Google Account.
2. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Factory reset your device

This option is only recommended if you've already tried all of the other methods to restore data onto your device. A factory reset will erase all data from your device and you'll need to set it up again. Learn how to factory reset your Google Pixel device.

Add another account to a set-up device

1. Open your device's Settings app.
2. Tap Google Add another account.
3. Follow the on-screen instructions.

Tip: The process can take up to 24 hours.

Related resources

• Add or remove an account
• Recover a recently deleted Google Account
• Transfer files between your computer and phone
• Choose the upload size of your photos and videos