How to migrate your data to your new Mac

Apple includes a free tool called Migration Assistant that copies your files, email, contacts, calendars, photos, music, and browser bookmarks from a Windows PC to your Mac, and drops each one into the right app. It only copies, so nothing is removed from your PC. Here is the whole process, start to finish.

Before you start

1. Update Windows on the PC and update macOS on the Mac.
2. Quit your open apps. Turn off any antivirus, firewall, or VPN on both machines for the duration of the transfer, since those can interrupt it.
3. Put both computers on the same Wi-Fi network and turn on Bluetooth on both. If an older PC has no Bluetooth, a USB Bluetooth adapter works. If your Mac is on macOS Ventura 13 or earlier, connect both to the same network or link them directly with an Ethernet cable.
4. On the PC, download Windows Migration Assistant, matching the version to your Mac's macOS. For macOS Sonoma 14, Sequoia 15, or Tahoe 26, that is Windows Migration Assistant 3. Apple lists the correct version for each macOS on the page linked below.

Run the migration

1. On the Mac: if it is brand new and still showing the setup assistant, the transfer is part of that setup. If you already finished setup, open Migration Assistant yourself. Press Cmd+Space and type its name, or find it in Applications, in the Utilities folder. Enter your administrator password if asked.
2. On the Mac: when it asks how you want to transfer, choose "From a Windows PC" and click Continue.
3. On the PC: open the Windows Migration Assistant you downloaded and follow the prompts until it asks for a code.
4. The Mac shows a code. Type that same code on the PC and click Continue. The two computers find each other and connect.
5. On the Mac: wait while it calculates your data, then tick the categories you want to bring over. You can expand any category to pick specific items. Click Continue.
6. If you are transferring a user account, handle its password now. An administrator account asks you to set a password, so set one and remember it, because you will log in with it. A standard account is given a temporary password shown on screen, so write it down.
7. Let it run. A large transfer can take hours and may look like it has paused. When it finishes, quit Migration Assistant.
8. Restart the Mac and log in to the migrated account with that password.

After it finishes

• Authorize your Mac for purchases with your Apple Account before you sync or play anything you bought from Apple.
• If you have more than one Windows user account to move, log in to that account on the PC and run the steps again.

What comes across, and where it lands

• Email and accounts from Outlook or Windows Mail go to the Mail app.
• Contacts go to Contacts, and calendar appointments go to Calendar.
• Music, podcasts, and audiobooks go to the Music, Podcasts, and Books apps.
• Bookmarks from Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and the rest go to Safari.
• Your documents and photos go to your Home folder.

Once it is done, your files, accounts, and bookmarks are already in place on the Mac. Nothing left the PC, so you can keep that machine around until you are sure everything came across.

For the exact steps, the current download links, and the full transfer list, see Apple's guide: Transfer from PC to Mac with Migration Assistant.