Before moving to a new phone, make a fresh backup of the old one and check that important photos, contacts, and documents are included. Confirm you know your account passwords and have access to any verification method the accounts require. If your authenticator app, banking apps, or work profile need separate migration steps, review those instructions before erasing or trading in the old device.
Most phones offer a guided transfer during initial setup, using a cable, local wireless connection, or cloud backup. A direct transfer can copy a large amount of data without waiting for a full cloud restore, while cloud options can be convenient if both devices have reliable internet. Keep the phones charged, close together when requested, and connected until the process finishes. The available choices depend on the operating systems and models.
After the transfer, check the new phone methodically. Open your photo library, contacts, messages, and essential apps; confirm that calendars and notes appear; and test calls and mobile data. Some apps require you to sign in again or restore information separately. Keep the old phone untouched until you are confident nothing important is missing. Then sign out, remove payment and account access as appropriate, and erase it using its built-in reset process.