Affiliate links on Android Authority may earn us a commission. Learn more.
If you’ve just snagged a shiny new phone, you likely want to keep your messages. Here’s how to move text messages to a new phone.
QUICK ANSWER
To move text messages to a new Android phone Open Settings on your old phone > Check that you're using the right Google account > Tap Google > Tap Backup > Ensure backups are enabled > Scroll down and ensure SMS and MMS messages are listed> Tap Back up now. Then, turn on your new phone > Log in using the same Google account you used to create the backup > Choose Restore when asked if you want to restore the data connected to your account.
For instructions on transferring text messages to other models of phones, see below.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
You can use your Android phone and Google account to back up and restore your text messages. First, back up your messages on your old phone:
After you’ve backed up your messages, you can move to your new phone and do the following to download them all:
Like an Android phone, you can use your iCloud account on an iPhone to back up and restore your messages. First, on your old iPhone, do the following:
After your back up your messages, you can transfer them to your new iPhone by doing the following:
If the above steps don’t work, you can try using a Mac to back up and restore your messages. Here’s what to do:
You can transfer messages from an iPhone to an Android phone, but the process will be more involved. Here’s what to do:
The process is a bit more streamlined if you have a Samsung Galaxy phone. As a bonus, you can do it anytime, not just when setting up your new Android phone. Here’s what to do:
Apple offers an easy way to move messages from Android to iPhone. Here’s what to do:
It depends. If you already had message backups enabled, then you should be able to get them back. But if not, it is probably too late. Messages are saved locally to a phone unless you have backups enabled, meaning if you get rid of the device, the messages will be gone, too.
Yes, but the exact amount depends on how many there are, how long they are, and whether they contain images and other forms of content in addition to text.
Yes, you can choose to back up your messages only for the transfer process and then revoke the relevant permissions in settings once everything is complete.