How can I get my SMS texts from my Android phone to my Windows phone?

[Windows Central Question]

I've tried using the Transfer my Data app on my Lumia 930 to get my contacts and texts from my Samsung Galaxy S2. But I can't even get the phones to pair over Bluetooth, even if I try to do it manually.

Doing it manually, I turn on BT for both devices and set the S2 to be discoverable. The Lumia finds it and I tap it to pair it. The Lumia pops up a message with a number. The S2 sits there thinking (it says 'pairing' next to the Lumia) until eventually the Lumia times out. A few minutes later, if I'm lucky, the S2 pops up the same number. But it's too late as the Lumia has already timed out. I get the same thing happening with the Transfer my Data app.

This afternoon the process descended into comedy as they were so out of sync that the S2 was popping up not the last number offered by the Lumia, but the number before that!

Is there some way I can make it work, or is there some other method I can try? It won't be a disaster if I can't get my texts onto the Lumia but it would be nice if I can.

I'm loving the Lumia 930, by the way. It was only delivered this morning, but I haven't found a single problem other than transferring texts so far. Looking forward to having it all set up as my main device.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Congratulations on your new Lumia 930!
Unfortunately, unless your contacts and SMS messages are synced to an account you're signed into on your Galaxy S2 (I doubt it with the S2), I can't think of a way to get your messages over. I'm sorry that Transfer Your Data isn't working. It seems like an issue with the Galaxy S2, probably because it's older, with older software and older hardware.

 

[garryknight]

Thanks for your reply. The Android system doesn't offer a way to sync SMS messages other than as part of a backup/restore operation. The fact that they're sitting somewhere on a Google server doesn't help get them onto my phone. I've found an Android app that exports them as text and I'll make do with that if I can't find another way. I'll probably hang onto the S2 for a while anyway, just to have them as a reference.

Thanks for your help, Zachary. I'm pretty convinced it's down to the old-version Bluetooth the S2 uses. The Wikipedia article on the S2 says:

"Even if the BCM4330 chip supports Bluetooth 4.0, the Galaxy S2 is limited to Bluetooth 3.0 using the last Android version released by Samsung (4.1.2). Bluetooth 4.0 support has been introduced in Android 4.3 versions, however the upgrade to an alternative firmware is required."

So it's using Bluetooth 3.0 and the Lumia 930 uses Bluetooth 4.0. I would have thought they'd be compatible, but I can't think what else could be causing timeouts.