How do I move from an iPhone to a new Android phone without losing my photos and messages?

Apple built a ‘Transfer to Android’ tool into iOS 26.3, made with Google, so no separate app is needed. Put both phones side by side on Wi-Fi, scan the QR code on the Android phone, and pick what moves: photos, messages, contacts, calendars, notes, apps, passwords, and even your number and eSIM on supported carriers. Just don’t skip turning off iMessage.

Your shiny new Android is sitting in its box, and everything you care about — years of photos, texts, and contacts — is still on your old iPhone. Short answer: you can move it all straight from the iPhone itself. Apple built a “Transfer to Android” tool into iOS 26.3, made together with Google, so there is no separate app to download — you put the two phones side by side and pick what comes across.

Why it works: with both phones on the same Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on, you scan the QR code shown on the Android phone (or type in the pairing code instead) and choose what to move — photos and videos, messages, contacts, calendars, notes, apps that also exist on Google Play, passwords, and even your phone number and eSIM on supported carriers. A few things do not make the trip: Health data, Bluetooth accessory pairings, and locked or password-protected notes have to be handled by hand.1. Charge both phones and put them on the same Wi-Fi, with Bluetooth on.2.

Start setting up the new Android, and when it asks, choose to copy data from an iPhone.3. On the iPhone, open Settings, then General, then Transfer or Reset iPhone, then Transfer to Android.4. Scan the QR code on the Android phone, pick what to move, and leave both phones alone and plugged in until it finishes.5.

Before you put the iPhone away, turn off iMessage and FaceTime on it (Settings, then Apps, then Messages and FaceTime), so texts from iPhone friends don’t vanish into iMessage after your number moves.6. Already gave the iPhone away? Use Apple’s Deregister iMessage page to free your number.Pro tip: The step everyone skips is turning off iMessage — do it before the switch, while you still have the iPhone in your hand.Ad’s take: Switching sides used to be a weekend project with cables and tears.

Now it’s mostly “put them next to each other and wait” — just don’t skip the iMessage switch-off; that’s the one that bites people.