New Phone Checklist: What to do when you Upgrade

Yay, it's the holidays! The festive season of giving good gadgets. I'm always kind of excited and simultaneously anxious each time I get a new phone. It's almost like giving up my current hand for a bionic replacement. Sure, the fancy new one may be able to shoot lasers and power clean better than Chuck Norris, but it's not mine. The other one has been with me for…well…in this case, two years (the phone, not the hand). It feels like it's a part of me.

Make the Transition Easier with our New Phone Checklist

First things first.

Back your data up

Every phone is different, but you can usually save your music, pics and data to a computer or cloud system. I like to save my contacts to my Gmail account so they follow me everywhere I go. If you're switching to a different phone on the same platform (iPhone to newer iPhone, Android to Android) you can often download the same apps directly from your phone account, but I take screenshots on my old phone and email them to myself so I can remember which apps I had in what order.

Transfer Old Info to your New Phone

Ideally, you can transfer info such as contacts directly from the old phone to the new phone in-store. But you should always back it up ahead of time just in case.

Before handing over your new phone as a trade in or online sale, wipe your data by factory resetting per your instruction manual.

Customize

Tweak the settings on your new phone so that you have a ringer, font and lock screen that match your style.

Configure apps how you want them laid out on your screens.

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