SharingCastHow to Transfer Photos from an Old Phone to a New Phone
Keep every photo and video when you upgrade, whether you stay on Android, iPhone or switch.
In this guide
In this guide
Before you start
Photos are usually the most precious thing on an old phone, and a new phone is the moment they are most likely to get lost. A few minutes of preparation makes the move much safer:
- Find out how many photos you have and how much space they take. On Android, check Settings → Storage. On iPhone, check Settings → General → iPhone Storage → Photos.
- Check the new phone has enough free space. If your library is 80 GB and the new phone has 64 GB free, you will need to choose what to copy or keep some photos in the cloud.
- Charge both phones and connect to Wi-Fi. Large transfers can take a while, and Wi-Fi avoids using mobile data.
- Keep the old phone until you have checked everything. Do not reset it straight away.
Android to Android
New Android phones offer to copy data from your old phone during setup, either with a cable or wirelessly. This usually includes photos, contacts, apps and settings, and it is the easiest option if you are setting up the phone for the first time.
If you already finished setup, or the copy missed something, you have a few options:
- Google Photos backup. If backup was turned on, your photos are already in your Google account. Sign in on the new phone and they appear in Google Photos. Check the backup quality and your storage limit.
- Quick Share. Select photos in the gallery, tap Share and choose Quick Share to send them to a nearby Android phone.
- A direct transfer with SharingCast. Useful for large albums and videos at full quality, without depending on cloud storage (see below).
iPhone to iPhone
Apple’s Quick Start transfers everything from the old iPhone to the new one during setup, including photos. If you use iCloud Photos, your library also syncs automatically once you sign in with the same Apple Account, as long as you have enough iCloud storage.
For a few albums rather than everything, AirDrop is the quickest way between two iPhones.
Switching between Android and iPhone
Moving between the two systems is where people most often lose photos, because the built-in tools are designed to keep you within one family of devices.
- Android to iPhone: Apple’s Move to iOS app copies photos, contacts and messages during the iPhone’s setup. If you skipped that step, Google Photos on the iPhone can show photos that were backed up from Android.
- iPhone to Android: Google provides tools to copy data during Android setup, and Google Photos can be used to back up from the iPhone first.
- Either direction, without the cloud: a browser-based transfer works between any two phones, because both have a browser.
Watch out for HEIC photos from iPhones. Most newer Android phones open them, but some older apps do not. If that is a problem, the iPhone camera setting “Most Compatible” saves future photos as JPEG.
Moving photos directly with SharingCast
If you want full-quality originals without uploading your whole library to the cloud, send them phone to phone:
- On the old phone, open sharingcast.com (Safari on iPhone, Chrome or the SharingCast app on Android).
- Tap Send and choose photos and videos. On Android you can choose a whole folder such as DCIM/Camera; it arrives on the new phone as one zip file with the folder intact.
- Set a password, since these are personal photos, then tap Start sharing.
- On the new phone, open sharingcast.com, tap Receive, enter the code and password, and tap Connect.
- Choose what to download. The receiving device lists the incoming files. Keep them all ticked or untick the ones you do not need, then press Download selected. Both screens show live progress.
- Save the files. When the transfer finishes, use Download all to save everything as one ZIP file, or the Download button under each file to save it on its own. Keep both devices awake until you are done.
For a very large library, send it in batches, for example one year or one album at a time. Each batch finishes cleanly, and anything already transferred is kept if a later batch is interrupted.
On an iPhone, received photos land in Files → Downloads. If you sent a folder, tap the zip file once in Files to extract it. Then select the photos, tap the share button and choose Save Images (or Save Video) to add them to the Photos app. On Android, open the zip in the Files app and choose Extract.
Start moving your photos →Check everything before wiping the old phone
- Compare counts. Roughly compare the number of photos and videos on both phones.
- Open a few old and new items. Make sure videos play and older photos open at full resolution.
- Check hidden and favourite albums. Some transfer tools skip hidden albums, screenshots or app folders such as WhatsApp images.
- Look at other apps’ media. Messaging apps often store photos in their own folders, which are not always included.
- Only then reset the old phone. Signing out of your accounts first prevents activation locks for the next owner.
Frequently asked questions
Will my photos lose quality?
Not with a direct transfer or a full backup. Messaging apps and some “storage saver” cloud settings do reduce quality.
How long will it take?
It depends on the size of your library and your Wi-Fi. A few gigabytes usually take minutes on a good home network; a library of 100 GB can take an hour or more.
Can I move WhatsApp photos too?
On Android, WhatsApp media is stored in its own folder, which you can send like any other folder. Chats themselves need WhatsApp’s own transfer or backup feature.
Do I need a cloud account?
No. A direct transfer works without any account on either phone.