If you’re an Android user and want to switch to iPhone, you would have to use the Move to iOS app which helps you transfer over all your messages, files, contacts, and any other data you may need on your new iPhone.
Sometimes while using the app, the process can freeze and there may be some issues with your transfer. One of the biggest issues is Move to iOS getting stuck on preparing. In this article, you’ll learn a couple of methods you can use to help get your transfer working correctly.
How to Fix Move to iOS Stuck on Preparing
Here are 6 tips that you can try to troubleshoot the problem when Move to iOS is stuck on preparing.
1. Update all installed apps on Android phone
The first thing you should do if you are getting stuck on the preparing screen is to check all your installed apps. This issue might be due to some of your apps not being up to date. To check if this is the case you will have to go and update all your installed apps to the most current version available. To do this you can go into the Google Play Store app on your Android device.
- So go ahead and open up the Google Play Store app and while in the Play Store tap on the profile icon at the top right of the app.
- In your profile tap on the Manage apps & devices button to open up a list of the currently installed apps on your device.
- If there are any apps that have an update available you will see an “Update Available” label next to each app that can be updated.
Now that you can see all the apps that need to be updated you can go ahead and update them all and then try to transfer your data again to see if Move to iOS is stuck on preparing or not.
2. Power off/on both phones
If checking to see that all your apps are up to date doesn’t help you get passed the stuck preparing screen then you can try this next method. For this one, you would be just doing a simple restart on both of your devices. In other words, you will have to completely turn off both of your phones and leave them off for a minute or two then turn them back on again.
Once you’ve left your two phones off for about two minutes you can power them back on and try to set up your Android phone and new iPhone again with the Move to iOS app to see if it will successfully complete the transfer process.
3. Only use WiFi on Android phone
If the Move to iOS app is stuck on preparing again then you need to check the network connection on your Android. When using the Move to iOS app to transfer data from an Android phone to iPhone, you have to connect to the same WiFi on your devices. They are connected through WiFi, so make sure that you are not using any VPN while doing your transfer. Your phone may be having issues verifying the connection to your Android if you have a VPN on. Also, don’t use cellular data on your Android phone because it will interrupt the WiFi connection.
Therefore go ahead and turn off your VPN if you use one. Then go into your Android settings and disable Cellular Data Network and make sure that you are connected to a strong WiFi signal. Now that you’re only connected to your WiFi and don’t have a VPN that could be interfering with your connection you can try again to set up your new iPhone.
4. Taking the SIM card out of the Android phone
Another thing you can do to fix Move to iOS stuck on preparing is disconnecting your Android from the carrier’s antennas by removing the SIM card from the Android phone and restarting it. Maybe there is an issue with the connection to the WiFi caused by cellular data. A user from Reddit said disabling cellular data doesn’t work for them, but removing the SIM card works.
Taking out the SIM card from your device will remove its ability to be able to connect to the Network. After that do a quick restart of your phone. Once you’ve rebooted your Android phone without the SIM in it, you can try to redo the transfer to your new iPhone again.
5. Disable Auto-connect WiFi on Android phone
If your Android phone sometimes connects to another WiFi network automatically, the Move to iOS app may be stuck on preparing. You need to stop that so that it won’t connect to a different WiFi from the one that your iPhone connects to.
You can turn this option off in your settings. Open up the Settings app on your Android and go into the Network & Internet section. Now in your network settings tap on WiFi then on WiFi Preferences and here you can turn off the option to connect to open networks automatically. This way you will be able to select exactly which network you want to use on your Android phone for the transfer.
6. Delete all the WiFi networks that you’ve connected to before
To avoid any interference from the other WiFi networks, you can remove all the old networks that you had connected to on your Android phone in the past. You need to forget all the WiFi that you have connected it to and only keep the WiFi that your new iPhone is connecting to.
Open up your Settings app on your Android and then go into the Networks & Internet section. Next click on WiFi to open up a list of all the available networks in your area and previously connected networks. Tap on the WiFi network that you want to forget and hold your tap down for a few seconds until the little option to Forget pops up and tap on it.
This will stop your phone from automatically connecting to one of those networks by accident if they are available which can be messing up your connection. It can also solidify your signal to a network if you remove the network from your remembered connections and then reconnect to it. Now check whether the Move to iOS app is stuck on preparing or not.
Move to iOS Alternative
So if you are at this part of the article then it’s probably because none of the above troubleshooting tips were able to fix Move to iOS stuck on preparing. No worries though, you still have one final option. This last method is to use a third-party tool that can help you transfer your data to your new iPhone so that you won’t need Move to iOS app and get stuck on Preparing.
One tool you can use is iMobie AnyTrans. This is a pretty well-known third-party software that can be used to transfer your data from an Android phone to an iPhone.
- Go to their website and download iMobie AnyTrans on your computer.
- Once you’ve got AnyTrans fully installed go ahead and open it up then plug in both your phones with their USB cables.
- When you’re connected correctly you will see a new interface open up on AnyTrans that will show your devices.
- Now that you connected you have to click on the Phone Switcher option inside the AnyTrans tool.
- In the Phone Switcher interface go to the option that says Phone to iPhone and click on the Migrate Now button then click next.
- You’ll be taken to a new interface that shows all the different data on your device in different file categories. Select all the data that you want to transfer then click Next.
After you select all the data you want to send over to your new iPhone and click Next the transfer of all your files will start. You’re going to be taken to a different screen that will show you approximately how long it will take for the transfer to finish. Just wait for however long the timer says. When the transfer is successful you will see a new interface pop up in the AnyTrans tool telling you the transfer has been completed. The process is direct and simple.
