How to Transfer Messages From Old Android Phone to New One?
Welcome back to Lifehacker’s weekly tech tips column, Tech 911 . As always, I want you to send me emails about all the problems you have with your gear – can’t you decide what to buy, can’t pair one thing with another, can’t tell why the thing that you just bought so slowly and so on. If it’s good, interesting, or unusual (and applicable to more people than just you), I’ll present it in this column!
Lifehacker reader Rick writes this week:
I have this question. My smartphone is old, with a capacity of 4 gigabytes, the memory is full. Got a new phone (Samsung Galaxy S8, 64gig). The Consumer Cellular guy told me that when I switch to a new phone, I will lose my text messages. I’m definitely not going to be happy about this since my wife passed away 6 months ago and I have messages that mean a lot to me. The only way to save the texts is to install the application. Although, unfortunately, I cannot do this because there is not enough space on the old phone for the app. Is there a way to save these messages and will they stay on my old phone after I make changes?
First off, Rick, I’m sorry to hear about your loss. I have a few friends who are overwhelmingly relieved to be able to view old messages – or, in some cases, listen to old voice messages – from loved ones who have died. I will do my best to help you.
The quickest and easiest answer is to ignore what your old smartphone is telling you. I am assuming this is Android, but if not, please write back with the exact model and I will adjust my recommendations.
It doesn’t matter if your old 4GB smartphone is full of data (be it photos, apps, music, etc.). Since you are moving devices, here’s what I would do:
- First, I would try the Samsung Smart Switch app. There is no guarantee that it will work perfectly considering how old your previous smartphone is compared to your new one, but it’s worth a try. However, you will need at least 500MB of free space on your old device, so …
- Uninstall any apps you have installed on your phone. You are migrating from that device anyway, so you can simply re-download them to your new device.
- Download Google Photos and start backing up all your photos and videos to the cloud. You should be able to transfer them when you move to a new device, but in case something goes wrong, they will be here.
- Alternatively, you can also connect your Android device directly to your desktop or laptop and transfer files from it via file explorer. You may need to switch your device to file transfer mode instead of charging mode.
- Once you’ve done that, you’ll also be able to delete any videos on your device (at least) to free up space. You can also delete the photos as soon as you confirm that all backups are saved elsewhere. Honestly, I prefer the Google Photos method because then you can also access those photos and videos from your new Samsung device.
Now that you’ve freed up some space, you can try the Samsung Smart Switch app and see how good the job is of transferring your messages to your new device. However, I also recommend purchasing battle-tested SMS Backup & Restore for your old and new device. This is an incredible application that will allow you to both transmit your messages and save an archived copy elsewhere, which I would do in your case, given the circumstances of your wife’s messages.
Once you’ve installed the app, download it, agree to all the permissions it asks for and click on “More options” on the home screen (at the bottom). After that click on “Settings”.
Here you can specify where to back up your messages: Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, or locally on your device. Next, you’ll want to click on “Backup Settings” and make sure MMS is selected so that you can back up any photos or videos you’ve sent (or received). You can also select the Add XSL Tag option if you want to be able to view your messages in a web browser (handy!).
When you’re ready, head back to the app’s main menu (hamburger icon in the top left corner) and tap the “Back up now” option. Once you’ve created your archive, you can also use the transfer option to send your messages to your new device (hopefully). Or you can simply download the backup file to a new device and import it through the app; your choice.
Although I mostly use iPhone these days, SMS Backup & Restore was one of the very first apps I installed when I used Android in the past. In my opinion, this is one of the most useful apps you can get. Hope you feel good.