It’s pretty easy to move your data from one device to another when you change your smartphone. But, Since WhatsApp conversations are end-to-end encrypted, they are not transferred automatically. Data migration therefore requires several additional steps that are not always easy to understand; The procedure differs depending on the device.
So we will explain to you how to recover your messages on another device. Meta has a fairly simple to use feature that requires scanning the QR code, but if you want to transfer your conversations from an Android device to an iOS smartphone or vice versa, the process is a little more complicated. Here’s how to do it.
Transfer conversations between two Android smartphones or two iPhones
For this procedure, A few minor prerequisites are required. First, both your Android devices must be running Android 5.1 SDK 23 or newer, but most importantly, they must have the same phone number. WhatsApp on iPhone requires at least iOS 2.23.5.x.
Also note that your new phone should not be registered with WhatsApp until you start switching to your old phone. Finally, make sure the two devices are side by side and connected to the same Wi-Fi network. If all this is respected, you can start.
- Lunch What’s up on your old phone
- Go Settings > Discussions > Transfer chats > To start
- “If you see a message stating: WhatsApp wants to access the camera » Tap Allow. You will need to use your old phone’s camera to scan the QR code on your new phone. Also make sure you allow access to nearby Wi-Fi devices by going to “Permissions” in the app.
- To start What’s up on your new phone
- Accept the terms and conditions and enter your phone number to verify. Enter the code sent to you
- Press To continue Inside Transfer chat history and grant access to the local network
- Scan your new phone’s QR code with your old phone’s WhatsApp camera
- Grant access to the local network again when prompted
- A progress bar will show you how much of your history has been transferred. Don’t move your phones apart, lock them, or leave WhatsApp. You will not be able to send or receive messages during transfer. You can stop the transfer at any time by tapping Cancel.
- Once the transfer is complete, you will see the “Transfer Completed” message. Tap Next. You’ll be taken to the profile setup page where you can enter your name. You will then see the Chats screen with all your previous chats.
Transfer conversations between Android smartphone and iPhone or from iPhone to Android smartphone
To transfer your data between two operating systems, The easiest way is probably to go through Google Drivehowever, WhatsApp has implemented its own procedure, which requires other apps such as Smart Switch from Samsung or Move to iOS.
Allows you to save your WhatsApp conversations In the cloud on Google Driveallowing you to easily restore them to your new device. We explain how to do it:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the three-dot menu in the top right, then tap . Settings
- Press Discussionslater Save chats
- Press Backup to Google Drive and choose how often you want to back up your chats. You can choose from Daily, Weekly, Monthly, or Only When I Press “Save”. This last option allows you to manually backup your chats whenever you want.
- Press Bill and log in to your Google account. If you don’t have a Google account, you can create one by tapping Add account and following the instructions.
- Press To protect and choose to use Wi-Fi or cellular data.
- Press Include videos If you want to back up your media files as well. This will increase the size of your backup and may take longer
- Press To protect To start the backup process. You can see the progress of your backup on the same screen. You can also cancel the backup at any time by tapping Cancel.
- install the app google drive and sign in to the Google account you used to back up your chats on your old device. If you already have the Google Drive app and are signed in to the same account, you can skip this step.
- To organise What’s up from the app store and verify your phone number. You must use the same phone number you used on your old device. Otherwise, you won’t be able to restore your chats from Google Drive.
- Press restore Wait for the restore process to complete when prompted. A message appears that says “Restoring your messages and media from Google Drive.” Do not exit the application or disconnect the Internet during this process
- Press Following enter your name and choose a profile photo. You can also skip this step and do it later.
- Press Finished and you will see your chats on your new device. You can also access your media files by tapping the attachment icon in any chat.