iPhone XS Max iPhone - Moving Files from Android & Windows

[intz2nu]

So I've been using my iPhone as well...just a regular mobile phone? And as of recent I'd like to know how or what does one do to move files from a Windows PC to iPhone, or from an Android Backup solution to iPhone. Android has all kinds of the things to sync txt messages, files, etc etc, to a cloud or other things and I'd like to know is there a way to pickup where I last left off with my Android and Windows PC and pickup with everything on iOS? Also here's the situation is my Android (Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge) broke on me (can't power on) and if memory serves me right I had things backed up with my Samsung account I think it was? I'd like to know if there's a way to bring all of this over to my iPhone?

 

[akash.nu]

Generally backup files aren’t like simple copy/ paste from A to B. I don’t think there’s any easy / straight forward way to do it if the old phone is not functional anymore.

If you can get that phone working then follow this guide.

https://www.imore.com/how-switch-from-android-iphone-ipad

 

[Newtons Apple]

Agree with Akashi.nu. Backups are proprietary and will only work with a particular device/brand. No way to use the data in a backup cross platform.

 

[SquireSCA]

Apple doesn't have this stuff unfortunately. I know that with Android you can just plug your phone in to any computer(Windows, Linux, Mac) and it will just mount like a USB thumb drive and you can drag and drop whatever you want back and forth just like a thumb drive...

That's not an option here, I wish it was. :-(

Now, if you can at least get your Android phone into recovery mode and "mount USB" or something like that, you can likely copy the stuff off to your computer.

Or, log into your Google Account and a lot of stuff should be there. If you used Google Photos, all your pics and videos will be there in the cloud, as will your emails, calendars, contacts, etc...

What specifically is on the device that you are trying to recover and move to your iPhone?

 

[intz2nu]

I have videos and pics, this being said I did back it up to the Google cloud thing I think, but I also still have everything on the SD card that was in the phone so I guess now I'd need to know how to move these pics and videos from a Windows 7 PC to the iPhone, what would my options be?

 

[SquireSCA]

Do you need them physically on your iPhone? If they are backed up in Google Photos, just install that app to your iPhone, log in, and all your pics and videos will pop up right there. You don't need to physically copy them all over and chew up all your storage space. I turn off pic and video backup in iCloud and use Google Photos across my devices... SO whenever I get a new device, I just install the app, log in and all my stuff is there. If I want to copy specific photos or videos to the device I can do it right from the app.

The reality is that I don't need every pic I have ever taken since 2006 on my device with me at all times, but I do want access to them should I need it. Google Photos does that for me.

That's another benefit of using MicroSD cards... All your pics, videos and movies can reside on that, so if your phone dies or gets smashed, so long as that card is intact you can just pop it out and your stuff is safe...

 

[dangerfish]

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201196

 

[840quadra]

I have videos and pics, this being said I did back it up to the Google cloud thing I think, but I also still have everything on the SD card that was in the phone so I guess now I'd need to know how to move these pics and videos from a Windows 7 PC to the iPhone, what would my options be?

You can install google photos and download them that way. If you have videos that aren’t supported by iTunes you can use an app like VLC to watch those. That application has file support, and can access both cloud and local storage from multiple sources.

You can use the cloud to download the video items, or use iTunes to do a file transfer to the VLC application if you would like to use your local system to transfer files.

I know many don’t like iTunes, but in my opinion it is not much worse then using windows explorer (which people forget is also an application) to work with files on the phone. Just skip the backup stuff, and go straight into the applications area.

 

[akash.nu]

Yes. As others suggested, you can just install google photos app, everything will be accessible on the iPhone. Otherwise you can mount the SD card from a windows laptop and sync the pictures and videos using iTunes.

 

[SquireSCA]

You can install google photos and download them that way. If you have videos that aren’t supported by iTunes you can use an app like VLC to watch those. That application has file support, and can access both cloud and local storage from multiple sources.

You can use the cloud to download the video items, or use iTunes to do a file transfer to the VLC application if you would like to use your local system to transfer files.

I know many don’t like iTunes, but in my opinion it is not much worse then using windows explorer (which people forget is also an application) to work with files on the phone. Just skip the backup stuff, and go straight into the applications area.

There is no comparison between iTunes and windows explorer.

 

[840quadra]

There is no comparison between iTunes and windows explorer.

Sure there is. Both are essentially a file system manager, just don’t use the bloat on either and both can be simple.

 

[SquireSCA]

Sure there is. Both are essentially a file system manager, just don’t use the bloat on either and both can be simple.

Explorer is a box, you drag and drop items in and out of the box.

iTunes is a 250mb piece of convoluted bloatware that takes 6 steps to do anything and has like 50 different screens. It’s horrible.

 

[840quadra]

Explorer is a box, you drag and drop items in and out of the box.

iTunes is a 250mb piece of convoluted bloatware that takes 6 steps to do anything and has like 50 different screens. It’s horrible.

They are both applications. I am sorry you don’t understand that.

Your diatribe to me doesn’t help the topic of this thread, don’t care if you don’t like iTunes, it’s irrelevant. Do you have any tips for the OP FOR their other issue with videos?

 

[intz2nu]

This is kind of sounding like a road block I was sort of expecting but yet went all out and grabbed the XS MAX with 512GB wanting to load everything from both my PC and SD card onto it. Okay so with the transfer from Android to iOS being a dead end because the Android phone can't be powered on, what is my options to have these media files (movies & pics) moved from my Windows 7 computer onto the iPhone?

Will the process be a simple drag and drop like I'm used to with Android and Windows working together? -OR- is there going to be a bit more work involved to complete this task?

 

[SquireSCA]

They are both applications. I am sorry you don’t understand that.

Your diatribe to me doesn’t help the topic of this thread, don’t care if you don’t like iTunes, it’s irrelevant. Do you have any tips for the OP FOR their other issue with videos?

Notepad and GIMP are both applications. I am sorry you don't understand that.

They are the same, right? Why not?

As for tips and help for him, I actually have contributed, but you chose to ignore all that and just focus on the minutia where I corrected your error on...

Working with Explorer is not in any way comparable to dealing with iTunes. One is simple, limited and intuitive and one is a large platform with many ins and outs and that is locked down, and convoluted in many ways...
[doublepost=1543147803][/doublepost]

This is kind of sounding like a road block I was sort of expecting but yet went all out and grabbed the XS MAX with 512GB wanting to load everything from both my PC and SD card onto it. Okay so with the transfer from Android to iOS being a dead end because the Android phone can't be powered on, what is my options to have these media files (movies & pics) moved from my Windows 7 computer onto the iPhone?

Will the process be a simple drag and drop like I'm used to with Android and Windows working together? -OR- is there going to be a bit more work involved to complete this task?

Go into iTunes and import your folder that has all your pics and videos on it, I assume just like you would with a music folder.

Plug in your phone, and it is located under the sync settings on the left, I have attached a screencap of mine, which I don't use, but it will show you what you are looking for. I think that if you tell it to sync the device with that folder, that it will push the pics and vids to the device. But with iTunes, you never know. In years past, I tried things like that and iTunes said, "Oh, I don't see those things on the device, so you must want me to delete them from your hard drive" and did so with no warning, not asking me if I want to continue, etc... So have a backup!

 

[dangerfish]

....what is my options to have these media files (movies & pics) moved from my Windows 7 computer onto the iPhone?

Will the process be a simple drag and drop like I'm used to with Android and Windows working together? -OR- is there going to be a bit more work involved to complete this task?

Just use iTunes. That is the original way iPhone users got media on and off our phones. I haven’t needed to plug my phone into a computer in years because of iCloud but that’s where you are going to need to start.

 

[840quadra]

Notepad and GIMP are both applications. I am sorry you don't understand that.

They are the same, right? Why not?

As for tips and help for him, I actually have contributed, but you chose to ignore all that and just focus on the minutia where I corrected your error on...

Working with Explorer is not in any way comparable to dealing with iTunes. One is simple, limited and intuitive and one is a large platform with many ins and outs and that is locked down, and convoluted in many ways...

Detached and irrelevant animosity aside. You addressed the issue of photos and only touched on videos.

Do you have any suggestions for playing videos that Android supports and iOS native apps don’t. That and getting them onto the phone without using iTunes? I am sure there are good alternatives you have found, noting your detest for that application.
[doublepost=1543177033][/doublepost]

This is kind of sounding like a road block I was sort of expecting but yet went all out and grabbed the XS MAX with 512GB wanting to load everything from both my PC and SD card onto it. Okay so with the transfer from Android to iOS being a dead end because the Android phone can't be powered on, what is my options to have these media files (movies & pics) moved from my Windows 7 computer onto the iPhone?

Will the process be a simple drag and drop like I'm used to with Android and Windows working together? -OR- is there going to be a bit more work involved to complete this task?

Using iTunes is indeed a compromise, and more difficult than it needs to be due to how Apple restricts access to the filesystem. There still is a way to copy files to your device and grant other applications access to media you already have on an SD card or otherwise.



Connect your device and open iTunes. Allow iTunes access to your device, skip local backups if you don't wish to use them. From there, browse to your device using the circled icon I highlighted above.


Click the File Sharing section in iTunes


Within the file sharing section, select an application with File support, and copy files into that.




Another option is to download an application on iTunes Store for your iPhone, called Documents by Readdle. It is a free application, and you can use it to copy nearly any file type over to the phone in this way.



Once on device open the Browse section, and select on my iPhone


Select Documents folder


From here you can select and move files to other locations. Or, within other applications you can browse here to access files and use their internal file copy system.

 

[SquireSCA]

I haven’t found a file format in my collection that android didn’t play natively, or via an app like VLC, which you can set as your default video player, very simple.

As for iOS, no, I pretty much gave up trying to get anything other than the 1 or 2 formats that my iPad can read... I am sure there are ways but it wasn’t worth the effort. It was easier to just re-encode the files I wanted to .mp4 with windows movie maker or whatever...