Transitioning From Android To IOS

Hello!!

I don’t usually write technology related content because I am an absolute NOOB in this area, but I just wanted to share what it was like for a complete noob to transition from Android to IOS.

So just a little bit on the history of my device of choice, I started off with a Sony Erickson mobile phone, the Hello Kitty one (I don’t even know how many people would know what I’m talking about haha), and then I moved on to LG (I think…) I don’t remember the model but I remember it being my first touchscreen phone and that was a pretty big deal back then. After which I had a iPhone 4 (🙈) and toyed around with my Dad’s iPhone 3 at times. After which came the most drastic transition, iPhone 4 to Samsung Galaxy S4. Since then, I stayed with Samsung for a good 4-5 years, using Galaxy Note 2, Edge and 8. This year, I moved back to IOS on the Xs Max.

Technically the only reason I moved from IOS to Android in the first place was because I hated how I didn’t have control over my music. Things like downloading them online and Spotify weren’t a thing back then. It really was either you buy them in iTunes or you just had to find them on YouTube, which irritated me quite a bit.

After my switch to Android, I really enjoyed the freedom it gave me to edit my files on my laptop. Having autonomy over my files was really important to me, thus my 4-5 year stay.

But I also don’t live under a rock. Throughout the time I was with Samsung, I still saw how Apple evolved and like any other girl out there, I was seduced by the aesthetics Apple offered.

Which was why I decided to take the leap of faith and switch back to Apple this year. I’ve hear a lot about how IOS is much more flexible now that it was back in those days so I decided to give it a shot. Besides I am now on Spotify so I thought that the music situation wouldn’t be too bad no matter what.

The Process

So after all that, main point of today’s post. The process of the switch.

Well it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing but it was quick no doubt. There are a few things that are of upmost importance to me when I switch phone and I’ll tackle them one by one below.

1 | Contacts

So one of the most important things to move over for me are my contacts. And I certainly did not want to have to spend days retyping everything.

The thing is I read about this app called Move To IOS and I thought since it was an app by Apple, there was no way it could go wrong right? WRONG! I don’t really know what happened but somehow my iPhone just could connect to my Note. So that was a flop.

So I went to iStudio actually, and they told me that they could do the transfer for me. Which sounds great but I would have to pay them a hefty $70 which for a broke student like me is not quite how I wanted to start my Apple journey. I asked them for a diagnosis or just tips on how I could get the app to work but I was rejected and asked to pay the amount even it was just for a diagnosis.

So I went to a SingTel store, which was where I got the device in the first place. And the staff there was really nice, and they transferred all my contacts for me at no cost at all. I’m not sure how they did it but I think it was with this application called MCBackup.

2 | Pictures

So the next big thing. Images.

Well, remember how I said that I loved how Samsung gave me the autonomy to have control over my files? Yes, so getting them out of my Note 8 was a breeze. Well okay not exactly a breeze because I had a lot of files that had to be transferred so that took a while but it was easy enough for me.

Getting them into my iPhone proved to be the challenge I had. But thank goodness for those who are technologically savvy and all the app developers out there. I found this app called PhotoTransferWiFi, which is the easiest app to use that I had ever encountered. There is a web page, so what you do is that you upload your photos onto the page and it will transfer it into your phone, just like that. And I think it’s pretty safe mainly because

1. They don’t store your images (I think), it just pops them over from your computer to your phone via wifi
2. You have a unique website ‘link’ just for your phone, so it’s not like you’re sharing with anybody.

But at this point, I just want to remind you that I am a complete noob at this so if any tech-savvy people out there would like to have an input on this I will be ever so grateful.

My point is simply that it has worked well for me up to this point so I think generally it is still quite a good app to use.

3 | Music

Well, okay so where music is concerned, it’s a big thing for me because I have a lot of music I am listening to. My entire library has like over a thousand songs. Which may not sound like a lot of some of you but when you try replicating that library on Spotify or on Apple Music…

So that’s actually what I’m doing, I’m replicating them on these platforms now. I’m happy with Spotify, so I’m not getting Premium, and I’m currently still on my 3-month trial with Apple Music. Both are working brilliantly for me so I’ll just share a Apple Music subscription with a friend after my trial ends but otherwise that’s that.

I’m almost halfway through finding all my songs on Apple Music and barely a third on Spotify, so wish me luck yall.

To be fair though, I did find an app that allowed me to transfer all my music over but it didn’t quite work the way I’d like it to, aka the order was pretty messy and nothing was in alphabetical order by default (you might be able to change it I’m not sure but I didn’t figure out how) and I’m OCD like that. It serves its basic function though, so if yall are cool with the songs not being in alphabetical order, it is still a decent app to use. It’s called AirMore.

4 | Whatsapp

So yes, we probably all use Whatsapp more than we use the default messaging app now don’t we.

This is likely the one bad thing I have to say about the move actually. I really really wished I could have moved my messages over with me. There were a lot of meaningful conversations I’ve had with people who were really important to me and it really is a huge pity to have lost those conversations.

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s that Android and IOS backup chats differently so there is really not much we can do to move the chats over. I did find a couple of options though:

1. Use the Move To IOS app, if the app doesn’t work then pay $70 for the iStudio people to do it for you (I’m not sure if they guarantee success but you may want to check that out first)
2. Google. You’re gonna find a lot of softwares out there that claim that they can do it for you. Whether it actually works, I have no idea, but they do come with a fee, which, once a again, is not for a broke student like me

So those were the options I had. If you ever try option 2, do let me know how it went:) I’m super curious!!

So with that I’ve covered all that I wanted to, mainly because these are the key things. Other things like Instagram and Facebook, you’re fine as long as you remember your password

And that was my entire experience:) 2 weeks into using an iPhone and there really is not very much of a difference. The whole transition process was easier than I expected.

Till my next post, cya!!