Help and step by step guide how to switch from iPhone to Android, from iOS to Android and from iPhone to Samsung. After switching from my iPhone to my Samsung Galaxy Note, the time had come for me to switch back all data and contacts between Christmas and New Year. Deliberately left a few days and then from the beginning of the new year, everything should be handled by the Samsung Note. Since some of you, who have also already met me in person, then asked how does the easiest switch from iPhone to Android, from iPhone to Samsung Galaxy, I would like to give you a guide and tutorial. My personal step by step guide to switch from iPhone to Android.
SIM cards / Nano-Sim / Micro-Sim – The solution – the adapter
If you had an iPhone for a long time, like me, and of course you used the Nano-Sim cards for it, you will of course have a problem when switching back to Micro-Sim. Everywhere on the Internet you can find templates, how to cut the SIM card smaller, how it works, but simply stick to it, no longer works. There are now two possible solutions – contact the provider and get a new SIM card sent (costs usually about 15-20 EUR depending on the provider) or order a SIM card adapter for the old SIM card, for example, on Amazon for about 4.95 EUR.
I have been using the SIM card adapter since the changeover without any problems and I can also state that if you buy a PREPAID card abroad, you are much more flexible. If there are only cheap nano Sims (as is often the case in Thailand, Singapore or even the USA), you can simply adapt them with the adapter for the Samsung Note.
iPhoto replacement – large amounts of images when switching from iPhone to Android
One of my main uses from the smartphone is of course the camera, and so over the years over 30,000 photos have accumulated on the iPhones that were almost impossible to manage with iPhoto. It was just not practical to wait ages each time until the APP starts on the laptop. So from the beginning, I managed my images via Lightroom and transferred accordingly.
If it should go fast, regardless of whether for regular backup or just for the selection of a few photos for a blog post, I regularly used PhotoSync from the Apple store. The app transfers the pictures within the WiFi network between your devices (also iPhone to iPhone, iPhone to iPad or iPhone to laptop).
Thus, it was no longer a big change for me to transfer the corresponding folders when switching from iPhone to Android later again from the laptop to the new Samsung Galaxy Note. If you manage your photos directly from the iPhone, the switch is almost automatic and very easy (see Samsung Smart Switch, below).
Copy music from iTunes Match to Google Play
For me, the next and an important task in the switch from iPhone to Android, getting my music from iTunes to Samsung Galaxy. Had I originally worried about how hard it would be to transfer back all the songs I’ve been reading into iTunes piece-by-piece over the years – it’s relatively easy.
I scanned my CD collections in advance via the laptop and then matched them with iTunes Match. This eliminated the need to always have the CDs handy, and when I had a hankering for the CD or artist, they were simply downloaded from the “Apple Cloud”. You can also take advantage of this feature if you no longer have your data on your computer.
Simply create a new destination directory for your data in iTunes (item: Preferences -> Advanced -> Storage location -> Change) and save it ideally on an external hard drive, such as the Seagate SEVEN. Gradually you can now download all the songs in good quality from the cloud for the switch from iPhone to Android.
In the meantime, install the Google Music app on your computer (http://music.google.com) and select the checkbox -> “Automatically upload songs added to iTunes” in the settings of the app. Thus, while downloading from iTunes, in the same time you already transfer the music tracks to Google Music and save a lot of time.
Tip: Since my music collection was somewhat larger, I have made these downloads at night and simply stopped Google Music when I needed the Internet connection itself. So you get without much trouble (and depending on the Internet connection even 15,000 music tracks transferred quickly). With Samsung, and as with me, with the Samsung Galaxy Note, there is additionally another good option – Deezer.
Deezer – the simple alternative for music on the Samsung Galaxy
As with many Samsung devices, Deezer’s music streaming service is already included as a “Samsung gift” for six months, making it a good option to give a try. While I still buy my favorite albums as CDs, it is often the case with current titles that I only want to listen to them for a short time on the plane, train or car.
Deezer offers the option on the Samsung devices to use the songs also directly as a download, so that I can download the current playlists (which kindly other users have already compiled) just with one click.
So I always have the latest songs, some of my favorite artists and some good soundtracks always with me and can easily and easily in the WiFi network then (eg in hotels) add or update.
For me, another big advantage with Deezer is that I can easily update and customize my playlists via the browser. No external app – just go to Deezer.com and log in with my smartphone data. It’s really easy that way, and it cleans up my music collection. The 15,000 songs I downloaded from iTunes Match are still stored on Google Music and as backups on two hard drives, and I just use most of the songs directly from Deezer.
At the moment, however, I suspect that I will certainly no longer listen to all the songs and will more often use the option to download only what I feel like listening to at the moment. After the introductory period of six months, I will certainly continue to use Deezer. It makes listening to music while traveling much easier – and more effective. A good option from Samsung and a nice gift with a smartphone purchase.
SAMSUNG Smart Switch – How to switch from iPhone to Android.
If you have a Samsung device, like me, you can download the software Samsung Smart Switch directly from the Internet and install it on your PC or Mac. You then have four options to have your data switched back directly when you switch from iPhone to Android:
Data transfer via iCloud from your iPhone to your new Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
Data transfer via iTunes (this is the way I chose)
Data transfer from Android to Android (e.g. from a Sony Xperia, Google Nexus or HTC smartphone to your Samsung Galaxy Android smartphone)
Data transfer from Blackberry or Symbian to a Samsung Android smartphone
After you have installed the app, you can start right away. For me, the easiest option when switching from iPhone to Android was to sync my devices directly via iTunes and transfer all data.
Important: Before the switch from iPhone to Android, please create a Google+ account – also for Google-Music and Google-Play, so you save a lot of time later and don’t have to log in everywhere.
If you synchronize via iTunes, you should make sure that the backup settings in iTunes are on the hard drive and not in the cloud and that this single backup should not have a password and is not encrypted. Generally, it is recommended to password protect the security backups. Only encrypted and password-protected backups, of course, can not be transferred to the Samsung Galaxy smartphone, so this time make an exception.
If you’re not sure where to find these options in iTunes, you should first connect the iPhone to your computer, open iTunes, and then uncheck “Encrypted” and “Password Protected” in the middle of the “Info” tab for the phone.
You have the option to switch from iPhone to Android with the program SAMSUNG Smart Switch from iOS version 4.2.1 and is therefore possible with almost every still running iPhone.
Samsung Smart Switch can be called directly and does not need to be installed separately on your computer. After confirming the terms and conditions, selecting your Apple phone, the transfer for the switch from iPhone to Android can begin.
You now have the option to choose which content you would like to have transferred from your phone during the switch from iPhone to Android, such as
Your contact details and addresses
All SMS messages and short messages in the system
Photos and video clips on your iPhone
Music tracks that are on your smartphone. Be aware that tracks with copy protection or DRM rights may not be able to be copied from iOS to Android.
Your appointments and tasks – if you have already created a Google+ account, the data will be transferred from Apple to Google accordingly.
Depending on the number of music tracks and photos, the transfer takes between 10 minutes and an hour – but no need to worry, you will always be kept up to date via the various progress bars.
APPs, APPs, APPs – how to switch from iPhone to Android
One of the few things you can’t do directly with a transfer program is transfer all the APPs between the different operating systems and the different logins for the APPs. Here the easiest way when switching from iPhone to Android is still – to do it manually. Thus, you also get rid of many APPs that have simply accumulated over the years, but are no longer used.
One of the big advantages of Android is the simple interface for apps directly in the browser. While the speed of Apple and iTunes can be a bit slow (depending on the size of your music collection), you can easily access the Android Store for your Samsung Galaxy phone in the browser. You can find the store under play.Google.com and your possible Android devices are displayed directly.
Under the familiar gear wheel on the right side of the Google Store, you will find the option to give your smartphones and tablets a unique name. It is especially practical for companies to give the devices a descriptive name and the name of the employee. This simplifies the installation of the APPs in the long run – with several devices.
Afterwards, only one option helps – browse iPhone page by page and enter the corresponding APPs into the search field in the Google Play Store. Most of the APPs that you had on the iPhone, you can also currently find on Android. One exception is currently the APP Hyperlapse from Instagram, which is not yet available as an Android version.
Many apps that offer in-app purchases (such as the popular image editing program VSCO) often offer the option to restore purchases from the old platform by logging in and syncing or refreshing. For example, with VSCO it is easy to synchronize all filters and settings and also transfer the edited images directly with SYNC. Example of easy transfer when switching from iPhone to Android.
EMAIL-APP – How to switch from iPhone to Android
I did the setup of the different email accounts by hand during the switch from iPhone to Android and due to the automatic input function it was really very easy from the second email account on.
Especially with the Samsung Galaxy Note and the large 5.7″ display, you can quickly enter the necessary data with both hands. When entering the second IMAP account and the corresponding servers, the Galaxy already suggests my settings directly, so there is no need to enter cumbersome incoming and outgoing server data.
The use of email addresses from the Apple area also works without any problems, the matching with PUSH notification worked for me without any problems.
If you only have an email account with Google, you can of course only use the emails via the GMAIL account and the corresponding APP (already preinstalled). In this case a configuration is absolutely not necessary. All existing entries are already done with the registration for the Google Play Store.
Camera APP – internal Samsung camera or external camera APP
While I regularly resorted to external camera APPs on my iPhone, such as Camera+ and ProCamera, I have so far exclusively used the internal camera app on my Samsung Galaxy and also relatively few filters.
A few examples of the camera quality of the Samsung Galaxy smartphone, I have already presented to you a few weeks ago in my Instagram series from Berlin, with the best “black and white night shots from Berlin”. These pictures are really only taken with the smartphone and only changed to black and white via VSCO. In the same way, I used the internal app already in January for photos from showrooms during the Fashionweek in Berlin or even to take a good snapshot of a dinner in a restaurant in Berlin once.
For me, who regularly takes countless photos with the smartphone already alone for the various social media channels, such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google+, of course a very important function and the quality still – incredible. At the moment, I don’t feel like I’ll be looking for an alternative for the camera app installed in the Samsung Galaxy. Just give it a try – the following picture was taken on a cold rainy day in Hamburg, during the Instagram walk (#WWIM11).
The sunset picture was taken unaided with the default camera app on the Samsung Galaxy on Sylt – late March at just 2°C, bone-chillingly cold – but beautiful….
Upload pictures and music with SAMSUNG Kies If you want to upload pictures directly to your Samsung Galaxy smartphone – like the Note in my case – it’s very easy and much faster than with iTunes and iPhoto, as I found out to my surprise. For all Samsung smartphones you can download the APP – Samsung KIES on the Internet and connect your Samsung phone directly to the PC and Mac. After you connect the included to the smartphone and computer, you will get a file manager and you can easily move the favorite pictures, music files or even video clips to your smartphone.
Don’t be surprised when transferring files, especially if it’s “only” 50 photos, that it’s very fast. I had suspected the first time I used Samsung Kies, the transfer had not yet taken place and I pushed the photos a second time directly to the smartphone. Result was of course, the pictures were duplicated and I could directly learn how to remove files from the phone again with Samsung KIES. 🙂
Note: It may take a few seconds until your photos then also appear on the smartphone in the camera app.
CONCLUSION – How to switch from iPhone to Android – from iPhone to Samsung Galaxy
As mentioned at the beginning, I had deliberately taken the days between Christmas and New Year as a period for the switch from iOS to Android and wanted to use piece-by-piece my switch from iPhone to Android and especially the acclimatization. Even though it took some effort to make the switch from iPhone to Android, I thought the switch from iPhone to Android would be even more complicated.
When you’ve held an iPhone for years, knowing the settings practically by heart, you always look at the new Samsung Galaxy Note a little suspiciously at first. Does it work just as well as an iPhone, can you convince an “Apple disciple” of the device and how long does it take to change over.
My surprise was actually much more how little I still held the iPhone in my hands in the first few days, many of the APPs settings are identical and the settings seem tidy and simple. Things I knew on the iPhone I recognized in many versions, just with many more options for personal customization after the switch from iPhone to Android.
Even after more than three months now, I have not regretted the switch from iPhone to Android and Samsung Galaxy at any point and am more than happy with my device and the 5.7″ screen. At first I thought the change from 4″ to 5.1″ or 5.7″ would be too extreme and the device would no longer be handy, but I notice how productive I am on the go and how quickly I can answer an email that I would otherwise have answered on my laptop in the evening.
For me, the Samsung Note with the large – and above all clear – display has become an absolute work relief, especially because the battery now also lasts the whole day for me. But I’m curious och not at some point the step from the switch from iPhone to Android will not reverse and whether there are still obstacles in the future when switching from iPhone to Android, which I have not noticed so far.
The reasons why I switched to a Samsung Galaxy Tab S and a Samsung Note despite Macbook, iMac and former iPad and iPhone, I will tell you then in my second part of the impressions of Android and Samsung Galaxy. I hope my tips and experiences for the switch from iPhone to Android could help you with your switch from iPhone to Android.
