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Switching phones without losing your child's game progress

A new phone is exciting for everyone, until the child's pet, coins and rooms are gone. Here is how to make sure progress comes along, and what a grown-up should check first.

By Başar Ballıöz · · 2 min read

Few things upset a child more than opening a game after a new phone and finding everything gone. The pet is a stranger, the rooms are empty, and the coins have vanished. Games store their progress in different ways, so it's worth knowing how yours does it before you change devices.

Where does the progress live?

Most games keep progress on the device by default. That is simple and private, but it means the progress stays with that phone. When the phone is replaced, the game may start again from the beginning, unless a copy was kept somewhere else.

There are two common ways to keep a copy:

  • The phone's own backup. Android and iPhone can back up app data as part of the whole device backup. Restoring the backup onto a new phone can bring the game back.
  • The game's own cloud save. The game saves a copy to a cloud service tied to the family's account, so it can be restored on another device.

What cloud save asks for

Cloud save is optional. In Tibblo it uses the platform's own service: Google Play Games saved games on Android, and iCloud on iPhone and iPad. Tibblo does not create its own accounts for this and does not collect personal details to make it work.

Before turning it on, a grown-up should check a few things:

  • Who is signing in. Cloud save needs the platform sign-in. For a child under 13, the grown-up should be the one who signs in or confirms it.
  • Whether the birth question was skipped. If the grown-up check was skipped during setup, it's worth going back and answering it, so the game knows the right choices for the child.
  • That the copy is what you expect. After turning on cloud save, open the game and check the pet, rooms and coins before the next play session.

Steps for a smooth switch

  1. Before the old phone goes away, open the game and make sure it has synced. Cloud save and backups both need a little time after the last change.
  2. On the new phone, install the game from the official store and sign in to the same platform account you use on the old phone.
  3. Restore or sign in to cloud save, then check that the pet, the rooms and the coins are there.
  4. If something is missing, keep the old phone for a few days before you reset it, and ask for help in the support page linked below.

Purchases and restores

Coin packs bought in the game are tied to the store account that paid for them. Restoring purchases on a new phone uses that same store account. If the purchase doesn't appear, sign in with the account used to buy it before you contact support.

Need help?

Tibblo's support page explains purchases, cloud save, reminders and how to reach a real person. Start there if the pet is still missing after the steps above. The privacy policy explains what is stored on the device, in the phone's backup and in cloud save.

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