If you change your phone, you can download and install the NHS COVID-19 app on your new device.
If you have an Apple phone, you can download the app from the Apple App Store. If you have an Android phone, you can download it from Google Play. For more help on downloading the app, see our user guides.
Installing the app for the first time
When installing the NHS COVID-19 app onto a phone for the first time, you will be asked to accept permissions to ‘Exposure Notifications’ on Apple phones and ‘Exposure Logging’ on Android phones, which allow the contact tracing app to work.
If you decide to update your new phone by restoring from a back-up, this prompt will not appear and if you have an Apple phone, you may see a message saying "Unfortunately, you cannot run this app". Find out how to turn on Exposure Notifications when upgrading an iPhone.
Restoring the app from a back-up
If you restore your phone from back-up, you will also need to click onto the NHS COVID-19 app and go through the onboarding process to set the app up again and to allow Exposure Notifications. This will need to be done for both Apple and Android phones.
You should also note that when you change your phone, your contact tracing data will not be transferred across to your new phone, including when you restore the app from a back-up.
This is because the privacy protecting features of the app means that all data stored by the app is stored on the specific device or handset that the app is on. This data is never backed up for privacy and security reasons and means that your app is secure and safe.