Move to a new phone
You can move your whole account to a new phone by pointing the old phone's camera at the new phone's screen. Nothing is typed, your contacts and groups carry over, and nobody has to do anything. You need both phones in your hands.
Before you start
- You need the old phone that still holds your account and the new phone with Chillswitch installed but not yet set up.
- Both phones need an internet connection.
- This moves the account; it does not run it on two phones at once. After the move, you should forget the account on the old phone.
- Your contacts see no change. It is the same account.
If your old phone is gone, lost, or broken, use your recovery code instead. See if you lost your phone.
Step by step
On the new phone
1. Install Chillswitch from the App Store or Google Play and open it.
2. On the first screen, tap Device transfer ("Move an account from another device you still have"). It is under the other ways in, also on the sign-in screen. (A phone that already holds an account cannot receive another.)
3. The new phone shows a QR code and a short check code: "Check this matches your old phone." Leave it on screen.
On the old phone
4. Open Settings > Advanced actions and tap Move to a new phone ("Hand this account to a phone you're holding").
5. The camera opens: "On the new phone, tap 'Device transfer.' Hold the square it shows inside the frame." Scan the QR code on the new phone.
6. The old phone asks "Do both phones show this?" and shows the check code. Compare it with the new phone. If the new phone shows something different, stop; it is not the phone you scanned, and carrying on would hand your account to it.
7. If they match, tap They match, move my account. If not, tap They don't match.
Finish
8. The old phone shows "Handing it over..." and the new phone shows "Moving your account...". This takes a few seconds.
9. The old phone shows "Your account is on the new phone." The new phone opens your dashboard with your circle, groups, and schedule.
10. Forget the account on the old phone. The old phone still opens the account too, and Chillswitch cannot tell the two apart. If you are giving the old phone away, selling it, or leaving it behind, tap Forget the account on this phone. This deletes that phone's copy of the account key and signs it out. Check the new phone is working first; there is no way back from this step. If you want to keep the old phone for now, tap Keep it for now, but do forget it before it leaves your hands.
If something goes wrong
What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
"That took too long, so the code stopped working. Nothing was moved." | The code lasts about five minutes. Tap Start again on both phones. |
"What arrived didn't come from your account, so nothing was installed." | Start again on both phones. |
"This phone already holds an account, so another can't be moved onto it." | Use a phone with Chillswitch freshly installed, or forget the existing account first. |
"That code isn't a phone waiting for an account." | Point the old phone's camera at the square on the new phone. |
"We couldn't hand your account over. Nothing has changed on this phone." | Check your connection and try again. |
After the move
- Subscriptions are held by your App Store or Google Play account, not the phone. If a paid plan does not show up, open Plans and tap Restore purchases.
- Notifications: allow notifications on the new phone so reminders and alerts reach it. See set up notifications.
- Recovery code: it still works. Keep it safe.
- Signed-in phones: check Settings > Advanced actions > Signed-in phones and remove anything you do not recognize.
Not the same as signing in
Transfer needs the old phone. Signing in with a recovery code does not. See sign in with your recovery code.