How to back up your mobile phone

1. Switch on automatic backups – tap Settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > iCloud Backup.

2. Connect your iPhone to WiFi and put it on charge – do this each time you want your photos, iMessages, mobile settings and contacts saved, automatically, to iCloud.

1. Grab a USB cable – connect your iPhone to your computer.

2. Open iTunes – when you see your iPhone in the Summary section, click Back Up Now.

3. Give it a few – your computer will have a complete backup of your iPhone in minutes

Your Android will automatically upload your photos and videos to your Google Photos library when you:

1. Open your Google Photos app – sign in with your Google account.
2. Tap your profile photo or initials (top right) > Photo settings > Back up & Sync.
3. Tun on Back Up & Sync – your photos and videos will automatically save to your Google account.
4. Tap your profile photo or initial again – you can check your photos were backed up.

Your Google Account comes with 15GB of storage but don’t worry, you can also back up your Android phone photos using:

• A USB cable – connect your phone to your computer and copy your photos and videos to your Mac or PC.
• Microsoft OneDrive app – sign in with your Microsoft account and tap Me > Settings > Camera Upload.
• G Cloud app – create your account and tap Backup Now. Or go to Settings (the gear icon) > Upload.
• Amazon Photos app – tap More > Settings > Auto-Save, then delete photos and videos on your Android to free up space.

Back up your documents, images, videos and audio files to Google Drive:

1. Open your Google Drive app.
2. Tap Add (+) > Upload.
3. Select the documents, images, videos or audio files you want to back up.

Or use Dropbox or Microsoft OneDrive. Both will give you a reasonable amount of free storage and you can buy even more for a monthly or yearly fee.

Your Android should be doing automatic backups, so your settings, WiFi networks and passwords, and display preferences are saved to your Google account. To check this is happening, go to:

• Settings > Advanced > Backup, then switch on Back Up to Google Drive.
• Or your Samsung’s Settings > Accounts & Backup > Backup & Restore > Google Account, then turn on Back Up My Data.

To manually back up your data and settings:

1. Open your Android’s Settings app.
2. Tap System > Backup > Back Up Now > Continue.

If these steps don’t match your mobile’s settings, find out what to do using our how-to guides from Virgin Mobile phone support.

So you don’t lose everyone’s number when you change phones – which happens if you store them on your phone or SIM card – you should back up contacts:

Check they’re saving to Google Contacts

• Settings > System > Advanced > Backup.
• Or Samsung Settings > Accounts & Backup > Backup & Restore > Google Account.

Apps from Play Store are synced with Google, so when you sign in on a new mobile, you get the option to restore your apps. No need to back up your phone’s email or calendar, they’re already stored in the cloud, ready for you to access using the Gmail or Google Calendar app on another device.

Switch on automatic backups in the Google One Android app

1. Open your Google One app and tap Storage > Device Backup, then:
   
   Set Up Data Back Up – if this is your first time.
   
   View Details – if your phone’s backed up on the app.
   
   
2. Go to Manage Backup – choose your settings and do as the app says.
3. Check back in 24 hours – when your Android’s backed up, it’ll say ‘On’ below each type of data (photos, contacts, messages, device data…)

1. Swipe left on your Start screen.

2. Tap Settings > Backup > Apps + Settings > App Backup.

3. Sign in on your Microsoft account, if need be

4. Press Back Up Now > Continue

5. Restart your phone when it’s backed up

1. Swipe left on your Start screen

2. Tap Settings > Backup > Photos & Videos

3. Choose the upload quality and other settings – your phone will automatically upload your photos and videos to OneDrive

4. Restart your phone when it’s backed up.

1. Swipe left on your Start screen

2. Tap Settings > Backup

3. Switch Backup On next to Text Messages

4. Restart your phone when it’s backed up

1. Connect your phone to WiFi

2. Follow the setup instructions – sign in with the Microsoft account you used to back up your phone, and when you get to Restore Phone, select Windows Phone > Next

3. Wait till your phone’s 100% restored (takes minutes) – tap Next > Next > Next, and your phone is restored

When you link your iPhone to a Google account, you can save your contacts to your email account as well as sync your Google email and calendar to your phone.

1. Open the Settings app on your iPhone

2. Tap Mail, Contacts, Calendars

3. Tap Add Account, select Google, then enter your Google account details and tap Next

4. Gmail will ask you if you want your Mail, Contacts, Calendar, or Notes to by synced to your iPhone. To save your contacts to your Gmail, make sure that the Contacts option is switched on

5. Tap Save to complete

Linking your Android phone with your Google account allows you to back up all of your important data as well as sync your calendar to your phone.

1. Open the Settings app on your Android phone

2. Tap Google Settings

3. Enter your Google account details and log in

4. On this menu you can chose to back up your data or restore data from your old phone onto a new one. If you specifically want to save your contacts to your Gmail account, tap Settings for Google apps

5. Tap Google Contacts sync

1. Open your phone’s Settings app

2. Tap** email + accounts** and select add an account

3. Tap Google and enter your Google login details to sign in.

The easiest way to move your phone contacts to your computer is using the iCloud or iTunes.

iCloud

1. Make sure that your iPhone is set to automatically back up your phone to the iCloud

2. Using your computer, sign into your iCloud account. If you have a Windows PC, you will need to download iCloud for Windows from Apple

3. Check that your contacts are synced with your phone.

4. On a Mac, open the Contacts app to find your contacts. On a Windows device, you can find your synced contacts in Outlook

iTunes

1. Make sure that your iPhone is set to automatically back up your phone to iTunes

2. Connect your iPhone to your computer via a USB connection

3. Open iTunes

4. Click on the button to access your connected phone

5. Click on Info

6. Check the Sync Contacts and click on the dropdown menu beneath it to choose where you would like to sync your contacts. You can sync them with your Google account, with Windows, or Outlook

7. Click Apply to finish

There are two ways to transfer Android contacts to a computer.

Convert to VCF file

One way of moving your contacts from one place to another is to export them from your phone in the form of a VCF file. This kind of file can be used to transport your contact list to multiple different devices, including importing them into a new phone.

1. Open the Contacts app on your phone

2. Tap the menu icon at the top of the screen and select Manage Contacts

3. Tap Import/Export contacts

4. Select Export. Then choose which contacts you would like to export from your phone

5. Name the VCF file and choose where you would like to save it. To move this file onto your computer, you can either store it in the cloud, send it via email, or transfer it to a computer via a USB connection

Use the Android File Transfer app

1. Download Android File Transfer app on your computer

2. Plug your Android phone into your Mac or PC using a USB cable

3. Open Android File Transfer on your Mac or your phone’s storage on PC (My Computer > your mobile)

4. Drag the files you want to back up from your phone to a folder on your PC

With a windows phone, you can export your contacts in the form of a CSV file to easily move your contacts from one device to another. To do this, complete the following steps.

1. Open the browser on your computer and in the address bar type https://outlook.live.com/owa/

2. Log into the same Microsoft account you use on your phone

3. On the top of your screen, click Manage to open a drop-down menu, then click Export for Outlook.com and other services

4. You will be prompted to save a CSV file to your computer. Name and save this file to a location of your choice.

If you lose your contacts for any reason, you can use this file to transfer your contacts to a Windows phone.