Google renames Data Restore Tool to ‘Android Switch’

Google’s Data Restore Tool lets you migrate information when setting up a new Android device and it has now been renamed to “Android Switch.”

The Data Restore Tool has been around for years to move apps, photos, videos, messages, contacts, settings, and other files when switching to or getting a new Android device. 

After initial use, it’s not really something users interact with again, but it does have an app icon — a blue cable — and Play Store listing.

Both have now been updated (via Mishaal Rahman), starting with a logo consisting of three arrows that’s comprised of five dots each. The blue, yellow, and green scheme was first introduced with the “Switch to Android” app on iOS in 2022-3. Note the homage of going from blue to green bubbles. 

Meanwhile, the “Android Switch” name is much more straightforward, and something end users are likely to update when they see an update in the Play Store.

While this is for all Android devices, with over 10 billion downloads, the listing description today is all about how “This app is for Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro, and Pixel 9 Pro Fold.”

Specifically, how Google with these devices introduced the ability to move over data after the initial set-up process. Hopefully, that capability will come to all Android devices, with full Google Messages RCS transfer.