Software & Performance / Migration
Get everything off the old phone or computer and onto the new one without losing photos — then set up a backup that actually runs on its own.
The 30-second fix
Before you do anything, copy the photos off the old device to somewhere else — a computer or an external drive. Once they are safe in two places, the rest of the move is relaxed.
If that sorted it, you are done. If not, keep reading — the rest takes about 40 minutes.
You do not need to wipe the old device yet. Keep it until the new one is working and you have checked your photos are there.
Copy before you move. Get your photos onto a computer or an external drive first, so they exist in two places before anything else happens. Everything after that is calm, because even if a step goes wrong, the photos are safe.
A phone plugged into a laptop with the photo folder open
Plug the old phone or computer into a computer with a cable and copy the photos across, or copy them to an external drive. Do not skip this. It is the difference between a relaxed move and a disaster.
A new phone showing the sign-in screen for a cloud account
If you used iCloud or Google Photos, sign in to the same account on the new device. Your photos and contacts download again on their own. Give it time and keep it on Wi-Fi.
The phone-to-phone transfer screen during setup
Both Apple and Android have a proper transfer tool that moves messages, contacts, and settings between phones. Use it during the new phone's setup, with both devices side by side and plugged in.
A folder being dragged between two windows
For a new computer, copy your Documents, Pictures, and Desktop folders to an external drive, then onto the new machine. Install your programs fresh rather than copying them — copied programs rarely work.
Backup settings showing automatic backups enabled
This is the step everyone skips and everyone regrets. Turn on a real backup:
A photo count comparison between two devices
Compare the photo count on both devices. Open a few old photos on the new one. Once you are happy, keep the old device for a week or two before erasing it — then erase it properly before selling or recycling it.
Once this is set up, the next device change takes twenty minutes instead of a panicked afternoon. Automatic backup is the single most valuable thing you can switch on today, and it costs nothing but a few minutes of setup.
If none of that helped, it is usually a hardware or account problem rather than a settings one — and that is exactly the kind of thing worth handing to someone for an hour. Book a session →
If the steps above did not do it, that is what I am here for — remote, flat rate, plain language. You watch everything I do.
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