Transfering data and other phone mysteries

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ADKM

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#295198 11-Mar-2022 15:10

Being totally new to cell phone technology (apart from occasional usage) I'm attempting to put the data from my very old Samsung s3 to a new Samsung phone.

I've put the s3 SIM card in the new phone and confirmed it gets a text. There are no contacts listed in it, but they're still in the s3. I Googled for advice and found details on backing up to the Cloud. I may have succeeded but it wasn't clear, telling me auto backup happen 1 hour after being plugged in and screen off) so not sure if it's done or not. . How might you confirm this?

Alternately I can connect phones to PC, if that is another way to do it but would need some help.

Thanks for any advice.

Dingbatt

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#2885059 11-Mar-2022 15:18

What are you actually trying transfer? If it’s your contacts, they are possibly backed up to your Google Account (the gmail address you use to sign into your old phone) or your Samsung account.

There is Samsung software called Smartswitch which transfers data from old to new phones but the Android version on your S3 may not support it. There is also Smartswitch available for PC.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

ADKM

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#2885068 11-Mar-2022 15:39

Thanks , data transferring now with Smartswitch.

ADKM

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#2885072 11-Mar-2022 15:50

Now completed and says :

The following categories have items not backed up.
X Call and contacts

Should I try again or change anything? The contacts are probably the most important.

ANglEAUT

altered-ego
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#2885155 11-Mar-2022 18:49

Welcome to the [rant] wonderful world of Android where every version of every apps looks different on every different handset[/endrant]

Back in the day, all contacts could only be stored on the SIM. That meant transferring the SIM card transferred the contact. The contact info was limited to 1 number only.
With the advent of a richer digital life where one contact could have multiple data points, the manufacturers started savings contacts on the phone by default. You loose your phone? = you loose your contacts
So then you got the option to store your contacts in the cloud

Ideally, you really want to find out where on your S3 the contacts are stored. This can generally be done by looking at the additional info of the individual contact or looking at the settings of the Contacts app

You have these options

On the S3, from the Contacts app, export all contacts to an SD card then move the SD card to the new Samsung & import the contacts using the Contacts app. Choose to import from file & select the file on the SD card
Install an app like Smartswitch to automagically transfer the contacts for you.
Seem like this was not as successful as you had hoped. Make sure you read all options available on the screen & start with changing as few options away from the defaults as possible. Double check the source of the contacts during this process
Sync the contacts to the cloud & wait for the process to do its thing (+-1hr after charging ...)
Again, doesn't seem like this was not as successful as it could have been.
- On the S3, under Settings > Account, check what cloud accounts you are logged into (possibly Samsung and/or Google accounts).
  Make sure these accounts are active, you are currently logged into them, they are set to sync contacts (& other data if you want) & you know the current password to access these accounts
- On the S3, from the Contacts app, copy the contacts stored locally & on the SIM card to your preferred cloud provider
- On the new Samsung, sign into your preferred cloud provider, enable contacts sync
- Force a sync / wait 1hr after charging ...
View the old contact on the S3 & manually create a new contact on the new Samsung
Back in the day, MyPhoneExplorer served me well for backups & access data on my device (glad to see he is still around)

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ADKM

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Ultimate Geek
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#2885174 11-Mar-2022 19:44

Thank you for all the details. The new phone has no SD container (as far as as I can see!) but I have copied the S3 contents (of both Phone & card folders) to the PC.

The cloud backup may have worked (as s3 oferred to restore them and show a list with green ticks), but I' have no idea how to access it on the new phone. And smartswitch may have done everything except contacts (which as I last resort I coule enter manually), so perhaps I should plug phone in and attempt a restore. I'm just a bit weary of mucking things up.

Before trying can I test or try the cloud method anyhow? In case it does have contacts? What app would I use? In fact I don't see any Apps icon???? Or Shazam which I think I downloaded.

ADKM

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Ultimate Geek
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#2885177 11-Mar-2022 20:09

I found the apps section, and that I don't have a cable to connect USB-C to normal usb. (yet).

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ANglEAUT

altered-ego
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#2885221 12-Mar-2022 00:07

For a Google account, log into your GMail account & open the Contacts page

Sorry, don't have a Samsung account to see if that functionality is available.

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ADKM

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#2885286 12-Mar-2022 11:11

Yes I see a list of contacts which must have come from the s3. Does this mean the "cloud backup" has worked ?

Sorry if this is a silly question, but what are the steps to copy this data to the new phone?

Dingbatt

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#2885295 12-Mar-2022 11:19

Log into the same account on your new phone.

“We’ve arranged a society based on science and technology, in which nobody understands anything about science technology. Carl Sagan 1996

ADKM

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Ultimate Geek
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#2885304 12-Mar-2022 11:42

Thanks, I did manage to do that and could see the same list. What then ? There was no obvious option to restore anything to the phone. Am I correct thinking it will copy all the data taken from the s3 and put in on the new one?

ANglEAUT

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#2885314 12-Mar-2022 12:10

Dingbatt: Log into the same account on your new phone.

ADKM: Yes I see a list of contacts which must have come from the s3. Does this mean the "cloud backup" has worked ?

Sorry if this is a silly question, but what are the steps to copy this data to the new phone?

Only your contacts have sync'ed via the "cloud backup". SMS, photos & other stuff are separate. I would hope that the Smartswitch app would transfer photos at least.

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ADKM

862 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 37

#2885316 12-Mar-2022 12:25

LOL I'm gonna give up! I expected it to be difficult but not plain crazy and I'm sick of trying. Thanks to all for tips etc.

Hammerer

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#2885325 12-Mar-2022 12:54

I go through the same sort of sync issues with relatives every year. The newer phone is almost always a Samsung which is expected given their market share. Currently, I’m phone supporting transfer of contact details, phone and email, from Android 6 to Android 11 Samsung.

I’m no expert but this may help.

Use google default apps

The main problem I’ve found is that syncing doesn’t work well between older and newer versions of Android if the you don’t use the main Google apps. So, for example, the Contacts app on my phone is usually not the same as the Google Contacts app, as in my case:

Default Contacts app on LG G7
Ver 9.10.33
Permissions Call logs, Contacts, SMS, Storage and Telephone

Official Google Contacts app installed from Google Play
Ver 3.62.2.[etc]
Permissions Contacts and Telephone

The rationale to solve these problems is to get as close to the Android app defaults as possible. As an aside, I assume that the default Google apps are the same as the AOSP (Android Open Source Project) default apps.

The solution is often to enable or install the main Google apps and check that they have all the correct contacts, messages, history, etc. Then do the syncing once everything is working for the default apps.
Sometimes stopping Android sync and then restarting the phone and sync can be successful if the first sync doesn’t solve the problem.

The Android version of the old phone appears to be a key issue.

Android 4 or lower is more often unsuccessful. Possibly this relates to app problems due to imperfect SD card support and API changes related to contacts.

Android 8 or higher is usually successful.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_version_history

Android 1.0

- Gmail synchronization with the Gmail application.
- Google Contacts synchronization with the People application.
- Google Calendar synchronization with the Calendar application.
- Google Sync, allowing management of over-the-air synchronization of Gmail, People, and Calendar.

Android 2.0

- Expanded Account sync, allowing users to add multiple accounts to a device for synchronization of an email and contacts.

Android 3.2

- Increased ability of applications to access files on the SD card, e.g. for synchronization.

Android 4.0

- New APIs for developers, including a social stream API in the Contacts provider.

Try vCard (.vcf=virtual contact file) export and import if you get stuck

This is my last resort option and works but can leave duplicate contact records after the import.

It does expose you to the vagaries of app support of specific vCard versions e.g. character set changes up to Android 7 which might also relate to why Android 8 contact transfer tends to be more successful.