【Deborah Driggs Archives】

Attention Samsung Galaxy Note7 owners: the time has come at last to give up on Deborah Driggs Archivesthose potentially explosive devices in your pocket.

Samsung has revealed plans to remotely update all Galaxy Note 7 devices in the U.S., starting Dec. 19. The update will leave the phone "bricked" -- which means it will no longer be able to charge or work with cellular networks. (Unless you have Verizon, which is so far refusing to push out the update.

Note7 owners who refused to trade in the dangerous devices following the production halt in October must take action before Samsung renders their phones unusable.

So if you own a Note7, you're probably scrambling to ensure the personal info on your Note7 device doesn't get lost before Samsung bricks it.

Fear not -- here are some ways to safely store data from your Note7 so you can transfer it to another Android device -- or maybe even take the plunge and switch to iOS.

Backing up with Samsung Cloud

Note7 owners may have had quite a rough ride these past few months. But at least the devices utilize the Samsung Cloud, which should ensure all of your data is backed up.

To view and manage your Cloud preferences, open "Settings," "Cloud and accounts" and "Samsung Cloud". Using your 15 GB of free Cloud storage, you can backup data such as contacts, calendar events and notes. Then select the "Back up my data" option on the Samsung Cloud screen to add apps, messages and music.

If the Samsung Cloud's 15 GB of storage isn't enough for you, consider offloading photographs and additional data onto a microSD card.

Backing up with a Gmail account

Backing up your Android device is simple, especially if you have a Gmail account. The Google-owned system makes storing your contacts and other settings a breeze; just don't forget to back up your photos and videos separately via Google Photos.

Chances are that your information is already being synced to your Gmail account, thanks to the default setting, but it's definitely worth checking.

To make sure Gmail sync is enabled on your Note7 device, go to the "Clouds and accounts" page under "Settings," then click "Accounts" and "Google" to choose what stuff you're syncing.

Finally, visit the "Backup and reset" tab under "Cloud and accounts" to ensure that "Back up my data" is enabled.

Samsung's Smart Switch app

With the Smart Switch app you can easily transfer contacts, photos, messages and settings between Android, iOS, and even BlackBerry devices.

The app should be preinstalled on all Galaxy devices, so this option is a no-brainer.

Apple's Move to iOS app

Transferring from Android to iOS? It's a big step, but the two operating systems are more compatible than you might think -- and Apple is here to help.

Download Apple's Move to iOS app for Android devices in the Google Play store. This lets you transfer your contacts, your message history and more to your Apple device, via a Wi-Fi network.

Good luck out there in your soon-to-be Note7-less world. May the data be with you.