One of the things that bothers me the most when I first launch a new phone is having to reconfigure everything. If we carry out a “clean” configuration from scratch, in the case of applications, this means entering the Play Store and reinstalling all the apps one by one. Seriously?
Luckily, Android has a backup system in the cloud that allows you to transfer all the applications you had on your previous mobile phone and automatically install them on the new device. Something really convenient!
How to transfer apps from one Android device to another in an automated way
The Google backup system allows you to restore not only the contacts, the call history, or the SMS on the new phone but also the applications.
This requires a relatively recent version of Android, although some manufacturers also have their own backup tool for this type of situation if you do not have this option available.
Method # 1: Google Backup
Before you start setting up the new phone, make sure you have backup enabled on the old phone. Otherwise, you will not be able to transfer the apps or the rest of the data stored in the backup copy.
- Open the Android “Settings” menu.
- Go to “System -> Backup” and check that the backup is activated.
- Enable the “Google One Backup” tab if it is not activated and click on “Create a backup now.”
- If you have a Samsung mobile, you will find these options in the “Settings” menu in “Cloud and accounts.” Then, in the “Google Drive” section, click on “Back up data” and verify that the “Google One Backup” tab is activated.
In order not to take any unpleasant surprises, within the backup settings menu, review the section “Backup information -> Applications” and make sure that Google has saved a copy of your applications.
Some apps may not be compatible with the Google copy system. They are usually very specific cases, but if it happens, you will have no choice but to install these apps by hand later.
Transfer the applications
Now that you have the backup active on your old Android device, it is time to start with the transfer of apps. Android only allows you to restore apps when the device is in a factory state.
If the device is new and you have just taken it out of its box, you will not have any problem. Otherwise, it will be necessary to reset the device to its factory state to continue.
- To reset an Android device to its factory state, go to “Settings.”
- Go to “System -> Recovery Options”.
- Click on “Return to factory status (delete all)”
- Note that this will erase all data and settings on the device.
Once you have the device in factory state, start it and stay on the welcome screen. If the phone is new, just turn it on and boot it up for the first time.
- Follow the welcome prompts, and configure some initial information such as the time and language.
- At a certain point, the system will ask you if you want to restore the phone data from a backup copy. Select the “Recover from a cloud backup” option.
- Sign in with your Google account. You must use the same Google account that you had on your previous Android device.
- Android will then search for a backup available. Select the copy of your old Android phone.
Data Recovery
From here, the system will show you a list of all the data you can recover, such as contacts, call history, etc. Normally the restoration of the apps is usually disabled. Activate the apps box (as well as the rest of the options you want to keep) and click”on the “Restore” button.
This will launch the restore process, which can take several minutes. During this time, the phone will start up, and you may start using it, although the transfer of apps will gradually take place in the background. Just make sure the device is connected to a Wi-Fi network with a good signal to restore the backup as quickly as possible.
Method # 2: Google Play Store
If you already have your new Android configured and you do not want to restore it to a factory state, you can use this other method. Just open the Play Store as if you were going to install an app and follow these steps:
- Click on your avatar icon, located in the upper right corner of the Play Store.”Select “Manage apps and”device.”
- Go to the “Manage” menu.
- Open the drop-down and select “Not installed.” This will show you a list of all the apps you downloaded in your day and are not currently on this device.
- Select one by one all the apps that you want to reinstall on this new device.
- Finally, click on the download button that you will see in the upper right corner of the screen.
This is certainly a much more manual process than restoring a full backup, but it does give us a bit more leeway.
Method # 3: Manufacturer Apps
Using Google backup is the best option if you don’t want to mess up your head a lot. There are also other options. Some manufacturers usually incorporate their own backup tools pre-installed on the phone, although you can also download them from the Play Store without a problem.
We are talking about utilities such as Clone Phone (OnePlus), Huawei Backup, Samsung Smart Switch, or Mi Mover for Xiaomi mobiles.
Their operation is very similar to that used by Google, and all of them allow you to transfer apps and other data between Android devices. You just have to install them and activate the copy in the old terminal and then do the same with the new terminal.
