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Official iPhone users switching to Galaxy S3 Tutorial/Support Thread

N

NJRonbo

Android Enthusiast
For those of you looking to switch from the iPhone to the Galaxy S3, don't be intimidated that you will lose the ecosystem you had in place with your other Apple devices.

That was the biggest fear I had a week ago until I learned all the workarounds that would make my Galaxy S3 sync perfectly with my Apple devices.

I'm still new at all this, so I am here as a student with all of you. I'll start this thread, but I will rely on others here to give their tips as well as correct any mistakes I may have made on the advice I am giving all of you.

Syncing your Apple Mail

I am guessing everyone has an iCloud email account. On the Galaxy S3, GMAIL is the standard email client, but it can easily be set up as an iMap account to perfectly sync your email. Yes, when you delete mail on your phone it also deletes it on all your Apple devices. Even your Apple email subfolders get carried over as well.

Here are the instructions on setting up an iCloud iMap account on GMAIL:


Verify that you are using the correct server credentials:

IMAP (Incoming Mail Server) information:

Server name: imap.mail.me.com
SSL Required: Yes
Port: 993
Username: example@me.com (use your @me.com address from your iCloud account)
Password: Your iCloud password

SMTP (outgoing mail server) information:

Server name: smtp.mail.me.com
SSL Required: Yes
Port: 587
SMTP Authentication Required: Yes
Username: example@me.com (use your @me.com address from your iCloud account)
Password: Your iCloud password

Note: If you receive errors using SSL, try using TLS instead.

Additional Information
SSL is required for both IMAP and SMTP connection with iCloud. POP is not supported by iCloud.

This is a great tutorial on how to sync your contacts and calendars to your Galaxy S3. Once done, whatever you add to one device is added across the board to all your devices.

If you would like to move files from your Mac to your GS3 I would recommend both these apps that are free from the Google Play Store:

Airdroid: Beautiful interface that uses a webpage IP address to wirelessly move files between your phone and your Mac. The only thing I could not figure out is how to access the folders on my Mac. I could use some help with that.

So, I tried this program....

Wi Fi File Transfer: While not as beautiful as Airdroid, I was able to open FINDER on my Mac and move files to my phone.
 
I have updated my directions based on a great deal of assistance I have received from members of this forum.

Please jump down to post #6 for the newest directions on moving your data from Mac to Android.
 
For me finding apps like Heywire and Wunderlist have made my transition easy. They are a fantastic cross platformer message app and to-do app.

Google Play blows away the combination of iTunes & iCloud.
 
Moving Music and Photos to your Android device from a Mac


There are many methods to pulling photos and music off your Mac to your Android device. You could pay money for specific software that claims to do it easily. These softwares include Syncmate, Salling, The Missing Sync and Easy Phone Tunes. There is nothing wrong paying for these softwares. The only problem is, the free versions I tried either had a hard time recognizing my Galaxy S3 (since it’s a newly released device) or crashed a few times on my iMac.

Actually, the cheaper and free programs I found work just as well.


Transferring iTunes Playlists via iSyncr

Perhaps not the most polished program, but for a mere $2.99 I highly recommend a program called iSyncr.

Directions:

1. Go to the Google Play Store and buy iSyncr for Mac
2. Once you open it on your GS3, it will ask for your email and then send you a link to the desktop software.
3. Download and install desktop software.
4. When you plug the USB cable into your GS3, go to the pulldown notification center where it says USB CONNECTED. Click on that and make sure it is CONNECTED AS MEDIA DEVICE MTP (rather than connected as camera).
5. Go to Applications folder in your Mac and and open iSyncr. An icon will be placed on your top toolbar. If your phone is plugged in and you see the icon, you will see something like: GT P7310 as the connected device. Click on that.

iSyncr will scan your iTunes you can import whatever playlists you would like.

Please note that if you rip CDs in iTunes they are mostly stored as .m4a files. The standard music player on Android will not recognize that file format. However, you can download a free app called JetAudio Basic which will perfectly read those songs.


Transferring files from Mac to Android using Android File Transfer

A free program that works? You will like Android File Transfer.

1. Download and install it on your Mac.
2. When you plug the USB cable into your GS3, go to the pulldown Notifications and find the USB CONNECTED notification. Put it in CAMERA (PTP) mode.
3. If all works well, a file finder window should appear on your desktop allowing you to transfer files such as photos.

Please be aware I have not tried to transfer files, due to time constraint. I just saw it was working. So, I can't guarantee you will be able to transfer out all your photos, but it seems reasonable you can.

Transferring files and music manually with an external SD Micro Card

This involves a bit more work than the paid software options, but it's actually quite simple and it won't cost you a dime to do.

I would suggest taking advantage of the fact that your GS3 supports an internal memory card and invest in a microSD card. You can use that card to easily transfer photos and music from your Mac to your Android device. Moving music is a bit more cumbersome and it does not preserve playlists (though you can create your own through the tutorial below).

For this method you will need a Micro SD card w/adapter (most cards come with it). If your Mac does not have a card reader slot built into it (newer Macbooks and iMacs do) you will need to purchase a SD a SD to USB reader (usually about $6)

First, let's format the card.

1. Put the SD card into the USB adapter
2. Go into your Mac Finder. Go to Applications. Go to Utilities Folder
3. Open Disk Utility

On the left pane you will see an icon for your SD drive. It should say something like "xx.GB GB Generic Storage." Click once to highlight

On the right pane go to the ERASE tab.
Under format: MS-DOS Fat
Name: (Your Name) SD CARD (or whatever you want, or just leave blank).
Click on ERASE

The card will format. Will take only a few minutes.

Okay, here is the fun part....

On your desktop your SD card should be showing up as an icon once plugged in. Click on it to open it in finder.

You are now in the root of your SD card. Create a new folder called MUSIC (right click -> new folder)

Now go into that MUSIC folder and create new folders for all your playlists (right click -> new folder) For example, one for THE BEATLES, another for KATY PERRY, another TRAIN.

Open up your iTunes software.

You can drag all your songs directly from the iTunes interface into those folders. For example, go into your BEATLES playlist and drag all your Beatles songs into the folder on your SD card called THE BEATLES. All your TRAIN songs from the iTunes playlist into TRAIN folder on your SD card.

Just drag, drag, drag songs. It will be so quick and easy. You can move hundreds of songs within 10 minutes just by dragging from iTunes software interface into the folders. Your original songs will not be affected. Please note that I am hearing that any songs you bought through iTunes cannot be copied. If anyone finds a workaround please let me know.

Now...

Please note that if you rip CDs in iTunes they are mostly stored as .m4a files. The standard music player on Android will not recognize that file format. However, you can download a free app called JetAudio Basic which will perfectly read those songs.
 
Have just updated the above directions with thanks to the many fine members of this board that assisted.
 
Wow, fantastic tutorial!

My S3 is due to arrive any day soon after I grew tired of Apple's mockery of it consumers in the mobile department.

I look forward to integrating my S3 with my iPad and Mac with ease thanks to your help!

Great effort.
 
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