How to change the default Google account on your Android phone

It’s easy to add multiple Google accounts on Android and switch between them in Google apps by swiping up or down on your profile picture in the top right corner. However, changing the default Google account on your Android phone isn’t as intuitive as you may think.

The Google account that you used during the Android device setup is set as the default account on your phone. Over time, you might have added more Google accounts to your phone, and now you want to set a different Google ID as the default account and not be stuck with the one you used the first time.

Unlike your Google account on desktop, the company doesn’t tag an account as Default on Android. As a user, you have no idea which account is set as the default unless you remember the Google ID that you used during the setup. This practice can lead to confusion and mistakes during your day-to-day usage. You might end up uploading files to a different Google account on Drive or answer an incoming Meet call with your personal Google account instead of the work one.

Let’s go ahead and change the default Google account on your Android phone, shall we?

How to change the default Google account on Android

When dealing with multiple Google accounts on Android, you need to remove all the other Google accounts from your phone, except the one that you want to use as the default. It can turn out to be a cumbersome experience as you may need to add these accounts again for specific purposes.

Follow the steps below to make changes.

1. Open your phone’s Settings.

2. Scroll down and tap on Google.
3. Tap on the little right arrow beside your Google account, and select Manage accounts on this device option from the pop-up menu.
4. It will show all the added accounts on your phone. Select the Google account that you want to remove.

5. Tap on Remove account from the following menu.

6. Repeat the same steps for each Google account and leave the one that you want to set as the default.

Removing an account will delete all of its messages, bookmarks, contacts, browsing history, and other data from the device. If you have enabled syncing for Google Messages, Chrome, Calendar, and other services, the data is already backed up to your Google account, and you can restore it once you sign back in. Confirm your decision and remove the account.

Once you remove all other Google accounts, Android will promote the remaining account to the default on your phone. Go ahead, open any Google app on your phone, and you will see a new default account in the top right corner.

How to re-add Google accounts to your phone

You may want to add the removed accounts again so that you can use them across all the Google apps on your phone. Android will add these accounts as secondary, and they won’t interfere with the default Google account on phone.

1. Open your phone’s Settings. Scroll down to Google​​​​​​.

2. Tap on the little arrow right to the account name and email address, and select Add another account from the pop-up menu.

3. Verify your identity with a fingerprint, pattern, or PIN.
4. Enter the desired Google account’s email address and tap on Next.

5. Type the password in the following menu and hit the Next button.

If you have set up 2FA (two-factor authentication) for your Google account, the process will take you through further verification. Once you complete authentication, you will see the new Google account appearing on your phone.

Changing the default Google account can be tedious, especially for those dealing with four or five Google accounts on their phones. The process might take a while, but at least it’s relatively simple once you’ve figured it out. We still hope Google will streamline the whole ordeal in future Android versions.

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