How do I transfer my photo vault from iPhone to Android, or back?

What works and what does not

New phones are a top reason vault users lose photos. We read 836 App Store reviews of vault apps. Of the reviews about lost photos, 28 name a new phone as the cause. A move from iPhone to Android, or back, adds one more risk. The free cloud of one platform does not open on the other.

Way to move	iPhone to Android	Android to iPhone	Plan
Phone-to-phone transfer	Yes	Yes	Free
Encrypted .york file	Yes	Yes	Free
York Cloud sync	Yes	Yes	Pro
iCloud backup	No	Not used	Free
Google Drive backup	Not used	No	Free
Apple or Google switch tools	No	No

York Vault uses the same library format and the same key design on iPhone and Android. That is why the transfer and the .york file work in both directions.

Before you switch

1. On the old phone, open York Vault and check the backup row. Both numbers should match.
2. Find the paper with your 12-word recovery key.
3. If you use a cover library, open it with the cover code and note its count too.
4. Keep the old phone until the new one shows every item.

Way 1: phone to phone

Use this when both phones are with you. It needs no internet connection.

1. Put both phones on the same Wi-Fi network, or close together.
2. Install York Vault on the new phone, from Google Play or the App Store.
3. On the old phone, start the transfer in York Vault. It shows a QR code.
4. On the new phone, open York Vault and scan the QR code.
5. The items move over your local network, encrypted with a one-time key.
6. York Vault runs the restore check and shows a count.

Keep the old phone until the count matches, for example “12,400 of 12,400 items”.

Way 2: the encrypted .york file

Use this when the phones are in different places. It also gives you a copy on a drive first.

1. On the old phone, export your library as one .york file.
2. Save it to a USB drive or a cloud drive that both phones can reach.
3. Install York Vault on the new phone and import the file.
4. Enter your code or your recovery key.
5. York Vault restores the items and checks them.

Each .york file holds one library or one album. If you have a cover library, export it too, with its own code. See export everything for the file.

Why switch tools do not move the library

Apple’s Move to iOS app moves “contacts, message history, SMS messages, camera photos and videos, photo albums, files and folders” and more. The Android switch from Google moves photos, contacts, calendars and free apps. On some new phones it also moves app data.

None of this opens a York Vault library on the other platform. York Vault keeps the keys that open your items in the secure hardware of the old phone. On Android, that is Android Keystore. Android Developers say that an attacker “can’t extract their key material (for example, to be used outside of the Android device).” On iPhone, the keys stay in the Secure Enclave. So use York Vault’s own transfer, the .york file or your recovery key.

After the move

On the new phone, York Vault backs up to the free storage of that platform. On Android, that is your own Google Drive. On iPhone, it is your own iCloud. See York Vault for Android and encrypted backup.

Your plan comes with your library. The Google help page says paid apps and in-app purchases do not move with its switch tool. York Vault does not need that tool for its plan. It ties Plus or Pro to your library, so the plan is on the new phone with no tap. You manage and cancel the plan in the store where you bought it. York Vault tells you which store that is.

Pro: keep both phones in step

If you keep an iPhone and an Android phone, Pro syncs one library across both through York Cloud. Each device encrypts items before upload. See sync across devices.

For moves from iPhone to iPhone, see move to a new iPhone. For other vault apps, read how to transfer a photo vault.