How do I back up my smartphone to my PC or Mac?
Smart Switch is an easy and troublefree way to create backups of your smartphone data for safekeeping. Smart Switch can create backups from both Android and iOS devices and can restore your data to a Samsung smartphone, making setting up your new phone a breeze.
Smart Switch is available to use on PC, Mac and most smartphones. Find out more about using Smart Switch on your phone.
The Smart Switch software can be downloaded for free. Once downloaded, you will need to install the programme before it can be used.
Download Smart Switch for Windows PC's
Please note: these are the minimum requirements needed to open Smart Switch. The amount of free hard drive space required will depend on the amount of data you are transferring
If you're using the Windows version of Smart Switch, your PC should meet the following requirements:
- OS version: Windows XP SP3 and up
- CPU: Intel Pentium 1.8GHz processor or above
- RAM: 1.00GB (recommended)
- Free hard drive space: At least 500MB (recommended)
- Screen resolution: 1024 X 768 (600), 32 it or above
- Required software: Windows Media Player 11 or higher
If you're using the Mac version of Smart Switch, your Mac should meet the following requirements:
- OS version: Mac OS X 10.5 and up
- CPU: 1.8Hz processor or higher
- RAM: 512MB
- Free hard drive space: 512MB (Minimum)
Please note: if your device is not recognised, select MORE in the top right of the screen then select Reinstall device driver. You will be asked to disconnect your device while Smart Switch installs drivers for your device. Once the installation is complete, reconnect your device to your computer.
Please note: if you'd like to select what is backed up, select MORE in the top right of the screen, then select Preferences. Select Backup items and choose the content you'd like to copy.
Unless you've set your backups to be saved in a specific place, your backup files will be saved into a default location.
- Window 8/7/Vista: C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\Samsung\Smart Switch PC
- Windows 10: C:\Users\[username]\Documents\Samsung\SmartSwitch
- Mac OS X: /Users/[username]/Documents/Samsung/SmartSwitch/backup
This depends on your device. Although Smart Switch makes transferring your information easy, there is some data that it can't transfer.
- Most app data will transfer, however any secure or encrypted data (i.e WhatsApp chats) will not be transferred. Find out more about transfering WhatsApp chats
- Many apps that require you to sign in with a username and password store data on their own servers. Make sure you have performed a backup or saved your data before logging into apps on your new phone
- Any apps that haven't been downloaded through the Play Store will need to be downloaded manually
- Smart Switch may not be able to transfer login details to specific apps, such as mobile banking apps. Make sure that you know your login details for any apps you wish to use on the new phone
- The Google Play Store and the Apple App Store are two seperate sites and have a different selection of games and apps. If you are transferring from an iOS device to an Android device, Smart Switch will try to download an Android alternative to your apps. If there isn't an Android alternative it won't be transferred
- Any content with DRM (Digital Rights Management) cannot be transferred by Smart Switch
If you're experiencing unusual behaviour on Samsung mobiles, tablets or wearables, you can send us an error report or ask us a question in the Samsung Members app.
This allows us to take a closer look at what is happening. The data is anonymised and only held for the duration of the investigation. Find out more about sending an error report through the Samsung Members app.
Thank you for your feedback!
Please answer all questions.