How To Set Up a New Android Phone

First of all, your phone will ask you to select a language. This will display throughout the setup process and all the phone’s menus, so pick the right one!

Here you can also select vision and voice modes if you require accessibility features to be turned on throughout your use of the phone.

Tap ‘Get started’ to move to the next screen.

Here you are prompted to connect to a mobile network. You can do this by putting a SIM card into your phone.

In the packaging, there is likely an ejector tool to put in the SIM slot hole to remove the tray. Most modern smartphones take nano SIM cards, the smallest possible size.

Insert the SIM card you either have just got or the one from your old phone. If your device is unlocked for use on any network, or locked to the network of that SIM card, the phone should recognize the SIM card, giving you access to your mobile plan.

Some phones will allow you to choose to download an eSIM instead. This is an electronic SIM stored on the phone without the need for a physical card. Not all phones will give you this option.

If you don’t have a SIM card or don’t want an eSIM, you can tap ‘Skip’ to set up the phone without a mobile network connection using only Wi-Fi.

You can connect to Wi-Fi now, whether you added a SIM card to your phone or not.

Tap the Wi-Fi network you want to connect to, and then enter the network’s password. If you don’t know it, it can usually be found on the back of the Wi-Fi router.

Your phone will then connect to Wi-Fi and continue to set up

You can opt to ‘Set up offline’ if you wish, but you won’t be able to log in to your Google account without a mobile data or Wi-Fi connection. This is necessary in order to download apps and use the phone online.

Next, the phone will give you the option to copy apps and data over from your old phone. This includes your Google account, and also data such as text messages, photos, videos, apps, and settings.

You can select ‘Don’t copy’ here if you wish to set up the phone as new with no old data, or ‘Can’t use old device?’ if you do not have access to your old phone.

If you want to copy data, tap ‘Next’.

You can then use your old device to copy over data. First, the phone will suggest you will need the correct cable to do this.

If you have a cable with the two correct port connections, you can tap ‘Next’ and follow the on-screen instructions.

If you do not have the correct cable, you can still copy your data, but it will take longer. Tap, ‘No cable?’ or ‘Copy without cable’.

The setup will give you different options depending on which you choose. You can copy data from an old Android phone or an iPhone, too.

This stage can take several minutes, depending on how much data you want to move. Be patient!