Before buying a new phone, it’s normal to start thinking about the hassle that’s inevitably going to come when transferring everything over from your last device. Though Android is quite developed when it comes to cloud services, Google still has a lot of work to do when it comes to transferring data with ease and efficiency — and while not entirely headache free, the Mountain View-based company has made gotten data transfer to the point where you won't be cringing when you look at your old and new phone. Here’s what you need to do in order to make transferring your data as pain free as possible.

Backup Your Information

Before you even think about transferring your information, you need to make sure your data is backed. Just in case your transfer doesn’t go as planned, you’ll have a peace of mind knowing that it’s back up safely and securely.

In order to do this, you’ll need to make sure your old phone is signed into your Google account. To make sure you’re logged in, you’ll want to go to your phone’s settings and check in the Google tab. Once you check that, you’ll be able to backup your phone. Go into your phone’s setting, and depending on the Android you have, you need to look for ‘Backup & reset’. If you’re having problems finding this, in the search bar look up ‘backup’.

Once you’re in the backup area, you’ll be shown a couple of options. You’ll see ‘Backup Google Drive’ which you’ll want to activate by tapping the switch beside it on. It will backup data such as apps, call history, device settings, contacts, photos, videos and SMS messages. Once you turn it on, it’ll backup automatically.

Then, you have the option to ‘Backup my data’. You’ll want to tap that on. This will backup your application data, Wi-fi passwords, and certain phone settings. These will be sent to Google and will transfer to your new phone once connected. By doing this, you won’t have to re-enter passwords to networks you’ve saved them on.

Now, once that’s completed, you’ll want to double check that all your information is backed. Go into your Google account and check to see if your information is there. If it’s there, then you’ve backed up your information.

Photos and Music

Now, if you’re wanting to transfer your photos and music, you’ll be able to use Google for this as well. It’s available for all phones. In order to do this, you’ll want to go to your settings on your phone. Then click on ‘Backup & Sync’. It’s important that the toggle beside it is blue, this mean it’s turned on. What’s great about your Google storage is that it doesn’t count your photos when using up storage. So, you’ll be able to store as many photos as you like without having to worry about using up storage.

Now, if you’re wanting to backup your music, you have two ways to do so. If you’re already connected to iTunes, Spotify and Google Play Music – you just go to the app on your new phone and sign in with your username and password. All your music will be accessible.

However, if you’re not using any of these services, you can still use Google Play Music, as they’ll allow you to store up to 100,000 songs for free. To do this, you need to sign in with your Google account. Once there, install Music Manager app on your PC. After you select the source of your music, the app does the rest of the work, uploading music and adding it to your library.

Passwords and Bookmarks

If you’re using Chrome, (and chances are that you are) you can also transfer your browser history, passwords and bookmarks to your new phone. To do this, go to the ‘Google tab’ in settings. Once there, scroll down and tap on ‘Smart Lock for Passwords’. When you’ve gotten there, you’ll be able to activate activate this feature by tapping the switch to “on”. Then, on your new device, once you sign into Chrome, all your passwords and information will be automatically transferred.

If you’ve followed the steps above, you should be ready to go with your new device. Fantastic job!