Help replacement phone

[Canesfan]

With all my WiFi issues and the newest issue of not being able to call out easily (recently it takes 4 unsuccessful attempts to then have a successful call), a replacement phone is being sent to me.

What is the easiest way to transfer my contacts, music and other data to the new one? My sD card will transfer my photos. I guess NFC would be a choice for isolated individual pages.

 

[joesixpack]

I'd use Google to re-establish my contacts. Music and data would be best handled by hooking your old phone up to a PC, transferring the data, and then plug in your new phone and transfer it back.

 

[Canesfan]

Follow-up. Got the replacement in less than 24 hrs. from my phone call to AT&T (their customer service is much improved).

I backed up the old phone (finally successful) by using Kies. I then tried out the new phone which seemed initially at least to be working properly. I then reset the old phone back to factory default. When I went back on Kies to update the new phone to the old phone's personaliztion, it FAILED me. Despite an apparently successful back-up having been done, Kies "due to limitations" was unable to copy my music, notes and contacts to the new one. I was able to get my music without the playlists by name transfered to the replacement phone. Pictures came via my external storage on my sD card. The other files, etc. had to be done by multiple means: AirDroid, and manually. Unlike the convenience and utility of iTunes, it took me many hours!!

Now....when I'm back to work at the multiple places that my usual day takes me to, I'll see if the WiFi is any better. Just as the phone it replaced, my home router and WiFi have not been a problem, but it is not where I need WiFi. Phone calls with this phone are just fine as is the Bluetooth.

Stay tuned for follow-up on the S4's many WiFi issues. If this phone mirrors the problems I've been having, I'll seriously consider buying my way out of my AT&T contract and switching both carriers and phones to Verizon and the iPhone.

 

[lotus49]

Welcome to the ugly world of Android phone syncing.

There are ways that you might have done this that would have been easier than copying them manually (eg SyncMate, Kies and lots of others). Probably the easiest way is just to hand over all your data to Google and then some or all of it can be synced with Google then re-synced with your new phone.

The fact is that Apple have backing up and syncing off pat and it's very easy with an iPhone. It's is more difficult and much uglier with Android and, if you have a lot of data or don't want to give all your data to Google, you have to rely on a ragbag of half-baked syncing solutions, none of which can do everything that iTunes can do. Two and a half years after switching from an iPhone to a Galaxy S2, I have not found even a half way elegant solution to this issue.

I know that not everyone here agrees with my views on this but I'd give Apple 10/10 for syncing and backup but I'd give Google about 3/10.

 

[Canesfan]

Agreed. Because of Kies and other short-comings is precisely why I had to do some of the replicating of the old phone manually to the new one.

 

[rcyphermd]

I use My Backup pro. Excellent app and developer very responsive. Back ups data,apps, photos, music to sdcard or cloud. Have used it for years.

 

[Canesfan]

(duplicate post) AT&T replaced the phone on 7/3. So far using WiFi at only two facilities, I've had mixed results. One facility experienced the same unsuccessful problem with obtaining and keeping a WiFi connection, plus it's previously described schizophrenic behavior. The other was successful but not perfection. At least I'm able to make and complete phone calls without 4-5 attempts. i will continue to post my WiFi experience with this phone for those with similar problems.