Expert tips for switching to a new phone

I’m in a lucky however uncommon place. As a reviewer for Android Authority, I change between the most effective Android telephones — a lot. I’m on a new system as typically as each different week throughout stretches of the 12 months like Techtember and Techtober. I do know it’s not a scenario many individuals can relate to, however my frequent jumps between units have made me considerably of an knowledgeable on establishing a new Android phone. While you in all probability received’t want these tips as typically as I do, right here’s what I’ve realized that makes altering Android telephones a breeze.

Before we get to some recommendation, let’s contact on how I strategy altering telephones. For starters, I solely have one phone quantity and one main Google account. When I’m reviewing a system (or utilizing it past the assessment interval), I need it to really feel like my very own, not simply a secondary system for work. That means I transfer my main SIM card and day by day drive the assessment system each time — with an additional headache for the few weeks I exploit an iPhone annually. I simply discover it simpler to get a real looking expertise of utilizing a assessment system this fashion.

On high of that, I begin from scratch every time I arrange a new phone. Many folks choose to restore their system from an present backup, however I see it as a probability to ditch the apps I don’t use and experiment with a new dwelling display screen. After all, switching from a conventional smartphone to a foldable phone ensures you’ll have to reorganize your format. I can nonetheless entry my record of apps by way of my Google account, however by manually putting in them, I discover it simpler to skip over apps I don’t use all that usually.

That’s about it so far as the technical means of switching goes. There are a few different steps in my strategy, however they fall into the recommendation class, so we’ll get to them down beneath.

Alright, so on to the necessary components of switching Android telephones — the necessary life classes. You may discover that you simply already do a few of these issues, which simply reveals that nice minds assume alike. Hopefully, a few of the different tips will probably be new and may also help you streamline your course of.

The first and maybe most blatant, tip is to use a password supervisor. I used to memorize a stack of passwords when establishing a new Android system earlier than I finally gave up and began managing my logins. Life simply will get difficult when you could have to keep in mind private and work passwords, particularly when you add particular characters and capital letters. Right now, I’m utilizing Google Password Manager partly as a result of it’s free but additionally as a result of it syncs to my laptop computer and the phone I’m utilizing.

A dependable password supervisor is an integral a part of ranging from scratch every time I arrange a new phone. It signifies that even when selecting apps from the lengthy record in my Google account, I do know my login is simply a few faucets away. Sure, some apps can electronic mail you codes for one-time entry if you overlook a password, nevertheless it’s simpler to retailer them multi functional place. Just ensure you select a dependable password supervisor, and take a couple of minutes to verify for any previous information breaches.

This tip is a bit extra necessary should you’re maintaining your outdated phone, nevertheless it’s a good reminder even should you’re buying and selling it in. Pairing and establishing equipment will be simply as time-consuming as establishing your system itself, particularly should you’re switching from Google to Samsung or from Android to iOS. In the case of the latter, you may discover that your Apple Watch or Pixel Watch doesn’t work the way you need it to, or within the case of the previous, you’ll want an additional wearables app to handle your settings.

Personally, I choose to use a Garmin watch because it’s the easiest way to monitor my day by day runs and provides the most effective battery life. The profit to Garmin is that it’s working system agnostic and sometimes saves all of my preferences, watch faces, and Garmin Pay playing cards upon setup. However, I’ve additionally observed that Garmin doesn’t all the time need to surrender its connection to my earlier system. I don’t commerce assessment units to carriers after I’m performed, so my Forerunner 965 typically desires to pull notifications from a phone in my closet. It’s not a massive take care of apps like Telegram, however lacking texts and incoming calls is rather more of a headache.

The identical logic applies when pairing earbuds or headphones. If your outdated phone nonetheless has a cost, your ‘buds might try to pick up audio there rather than hopping to your new phone. Of course, one way around this is to make sure your old phone is dead before pairing your earbuds, but you can also jump into your Bluetooth menu and delete your headphones from the saved devices if you’re in a bit extra of a hurry.

Thankfully, I’ve a few pairs of wi-fi earbuds that pop up as saved units after I arrange a new phone. That means my JBL Soundgear Sense and Pixel Buds Pro maintain the EQ profiles and noise canceling preferences that I already hung out fine-tuning (pun meant).

That mentioned, should you’re leaping from one Pixel to one other or upgrading inside the Samsung Galaxy ecosystem, lots of your equipment ought to transition seamlessly between units — however the place’s the journey in that?

Honestly, all of my tips appear to tie again to the thought of beginning recent with a new phone, however this final one is necessary. If you’re going to restore your phone from a backup, ensure you’re not restoring the whole lot. There’s nothing worse than checking your 128 or 256GB of storage on the third day of getting a new phone and discovering that you simply’ve already crammed a chunk of it with photos, recordsdata, and music from an outdated backup.

Instead, I’d advocate restoring a few of the photographs and movies you actually need, possibly a week’s price of messages, and beginning recent on music altogether. After all, if Spotify Wrapped has taught us something, it’s that our music tastes can change from 12 months to 12 months — and even inside a single 12 months. I solely obtain podcasts and playlists from Spotify after I’m gearing up to journey, however I typically overlook to delete them afterward, even after I’ve already listened all over. The very last thing I need is for the ghosts of already-played podcasts to observe me from one system to the subsequent.

If you’re extra valuable about restoring your photographs, you may want to again them up by way of Google Photos. That ought to maintain them within the cloud the place you’ll be able to simply entry and obtain those you need whereas ignoring outdated screenshots and memes that — let’s face it — can go within the trash. I solely use Google Photos backup on telephones that I plan to use lengthy after my assessment interval, however that protects my library from the identical type of muddle.

At the top of the day, altering telephones ought to by no means be a daunting or worrying expertise. I do it greater than most individuals, and it nonetheless hasn’t pushed me loopy. If something, it’s given me extra of a probability to discover what I like and dislike about Android as a complete. I’ve realized what information and apps I need to convey with me from phone to phone and what I can safely depart behind with every recent begin.

My expertise with swapping Android telephones as typically as each two weeks has taught me a lot about embracing change, too. It’s not possible for everybody to change telephones on a regular basis, however it may be thrilling to attempt a completely different model, whether or not you’re leaping from Samsung to Google or switching it up with OnePlus or Xiaomi. All 4 provide distinctive flavors of Android — flavors that you simply may not get should you carry all your information and layouts with you every time you turn.

When you do make the change to a new Android phone, whether or not giant or small, with two cameras or 4, keep it up for a whereas. Take the time to discover completely different layouts, dig deep into the settings menu, and actually make it really feel like your personal. Before lengthy, you’ll determine the precise approach you need your phone arrange, and hopefully you received’t be tempted to swap telephones the subsequent time a new technology rolls round — however that is likely to be enjoyable, too, proper?