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How to move Secure Folder to a new phone

The part of a phone upgrade that catches people out.

Short answer

Galaxy to Galaxy, use Smart Switch with a cable, sign in to the same Samsung account on both phones, and check that Secure Folder is in the list before you start. If the new phone isn't a Samsung, Secure Folder can't come with you, so move everything out of it first. Either way, don't wipe the old phone until you've checked the new one.

Before you start

  • Update both phones and charge both past half way.
  • Sign in to the same Samsung account on both.
  • Open Secure Folder on the old phone to make sure you still know its lock.
  • Make a note of apps inside Secure Folder that hold things you can't get back, like chats or authenticator codes. App data needs its own backup in some cases.

Galaxy to Galaxy with Smart Switch

  1. On the new phone, open Settings, then Accounts and backup, then Bring data from old device, and choose to receive.
  2. On the old phone, open Smart Switch and choose Send data.
  3. Connect the phones with a USB-C cable if you can. Wireless transfers are where people most often report Secure Folder being skipped.
  4. When you pick what to transfer, check that Secure Folder is included. If the old phone asks you to unlock Secure Folder, do it, or it gets left behind.
  5. When it's done, open Secure Folder on the new phone and check your photos, files and apps are there.

If Secure Folder didn't come across

Don't reset the old phone yet. Try the transfer again with a cable. If it still won't move, do it by hand:

  1. On the old phone, open Secure Folder, select everything and choose Move out of Secure Folder.
  2. Transfer as normal.
  3. On the new phone, move it all back into Secure Folder and delete anything left in the main gallery.

While the files are outside Secure Folder they're only protected by your normal screen lock, so do it in one sitting.

What about Samsung Cloud?

Older guides tell you to back Secure Folder up to Samsung Cloud and restore it on the new phone. On many recent phones and regions that option has changed or gone, so don't plan around it. Smart Switch with a cable is the reliable route.

Moving to a Pixel or another Android phone

Secure Folder only exists on Samsung phones, so nothing can restore it anywhere else. Move everything out on the old phone, transfer it, then lock it away again on the new phone. Our guide on hidden photos and a new phone covers the options on other brands.

The same is true of every on-device vault

Anything that keeps your photos only on the phone, Dobr included, needs a step like this when you switch. Dobr has no internet permission, so its vaults don't sync anywhere. Before you change phones, open each vault, save copies of what you want to keep, move them across, and import them into Dobr on the new phone. It takes a few minutes, and nothing private sits on a server in the meantime.

Last checked 2026-11-04. Phone menus change between Android versions and brands, so labels on your phone may differ slightly.

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