Messaging

Not surprisingly, Apple's iMessage system doesn't play nicely with non-Apple platforms. But that doesn't mean it's impossible to leave; you just have to take the right set of steps to avoid missing-message misery.

First, go into Settings on your iPhone, tap "Messages," and then toggle "iMessage" to off. While you're in Settings, you'll probably want to look for the "FaceTime" option and toggle it to off, too, since you presumably won't be active on that platform anymore.

Second, open Apple's "Deregister iMessage" web page and scroll down to the section labeled "No longer have your iPhone?" Put in your phone number, click the link to send a confirmation code, and then type the confirmation code you receive into the page.

Both of these steps are critical; if you don't complete them, Apple will likely intercept at least some of your incoming text messages, and you'll never even know you missed 'em.

you want to keep all of your existing text messages and bring them over to your new phone, an app called iSMS2droid can get the job done. The process is a bit gnarly and involves manually backing up your iPhone to a computer, then finding specific files and transferring them onto your Android phone — but if you really need to save all your old messages, it's about the best option you have.

The silver lining is that once you're on Android, keeping your messages synced and available on any device can be thought-free. Just be sure to pick a messaging app that automatically backs up and restores data from the get-go, and you'll be fine as wine.