How to Move WhatsApp Chats to a New Phone (and What Breaks Along the Way)

The short answer

Moving WhatsApp between two phones on the same operating system uses either a cloud backup or a local direct transfer. Crossing between Android and iOS needs a factory-reset target phone, a cable or a stable local Wi-Fi network, and the Apple or Google migration app. Some data stays behind: call logs, custom notification sounds, and media that was offloaded to free up storage. When the phone number changes at the same time, change the number inside WhatsApp on the old handset first.

Android to Android

Two official routes move messages from an old Android phone to a new one: a cloud restore through Google Drive, or a local direct Wi-Fi transfer.

Route 1: Direct device-to-device transfer

This route uploads nothing to Google Drive. Keep both phones side by side on the same Wi-Fi network with location services turned on.

1. Open WhatsApp on the old Android handset.
2. Tap the three dots in the top right corner, then tap Settings.
3. Tap Chats, then Transfer chats, then Start.
4. Accept the local network and location permissions so that the QR code scanner opens.
5. Install WhatsApp on the new Android handset from the Google Play Store.
6. Open WhatsApp on the new phone, accept the terms, and enter the same phone number.
7. Tap Continue when the app offers to transfer chat history from your old phone.
8. Scan the QR code shown on the new phone using the camera on the old phone.
9. Keep both devices unlocked and close together until the counter reaches one hundred per cent.

Route 2: Google Drive cloud backup

Use a Google Drive backup when the two phones are not in the same place at the same time.

1. Open WhatsApp on the old phone.
2. Tap Settings, then Chats, then Chat backup.
3. Select your Google account under Google Account settings.
4. Set Frequency to anything other than Never, then tap the green Back Up button to force a sync now.
5. Wait for the upload progress bar to finish.
6. Open WhatsApp on the new Android handset after inserting the SIM card or activating the eSIM.
7. Verify the phone number with the SMS code.
8. When WhatsApp detects the cloud backup, tap Restore.
9. Wait for the message database to download before tapping Next. Media files carry on downloading in the background.

Fallback: Local database file copy

When Google Drive fails, or when the restore has to be offline, WhatsApp writes an encrypted backup file to local storage each night.

1. Open a file manager app on the old phone.
2. Navigate to Internal Storage/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases. On older Android builds the path is Internal Storage/WhatsApp/Databases.
3. Locate the latest database file, usually msgstore.db.crypt15 on current builds, or msgstore.db.crypt14 on older ones.
4. Copy that file, and the whole Media folder from the parent directory, to an SD card or to a computer over USB.
5. Install WhatsApp on the new phone and do not open it yet.
6. Paste the Databases and Media folders into Internal Storage/Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/ on the new phone.
7. Open WhatsApp, complete phone number verification, and accept the prompt to restore the local backup it finds.

iPhone to iPhone

Moving WhatsApp between iPhones works well when the iCloud account has enough free space for the media library.

Route 1: Direct transfer during iPhone setup

Apple's setup assistant moves WhatsApp app data directly when it transfers everything from an old iPhone to a new one.

1. Place the new iPhone next to the old iPhone during initial setup.
2. Follow the Quick Start prompts and choose Transfer from iPhone.
3. Keep both phones connected to power until the system transfer finishes.
4. Open WhatsApp on the new iPhone.
5. Enter the phone number and confirm the SMS verification code. The app opens with the chat history in place.

Route 2: iCloud backup restore

Use an iCloud backup when the new iPhone is set up manually as a new device.

1. On the old iPhone, open Settings, tap your name at the top, tap iCloud, and check that iCloud Drive is on.
2. Open WhatsApp, tap Settings in the bottom navigation bar, tap Chats, then tap Chat Backup.
3. Tap Back Up Now and wait for the upload to finish. Turn on Include Videos first when videos matter.
4. Take the old iPhone out of service or remove its SIM card. Do not wipe the old phone yet.
5. Open WhatsApp on the new iPhone and confirm the phone number.
6. Tap Restore Chat History when the prompt appears.
7. Keep the app on screen until the database restore finishes.

Wiping the old iPhone before the iCloud upload has finished loses the messages. For a second copy on a desktop before you start, read the instructions for exporting individual chat files.

Android to iPhone

Android to iOS is the most fragile WhatsApp migration path. An Android Google Drive backup cannot be restored onto an iPhone, so the transfer runs through Apple's Move to iOS utility on the Android device.

The Android phone needs Android 5.0 or higher, and the iPhone needs iOS 15.5 or higher.

The operational constraint is that the iPhone has to be on its factory setup screen. An iPhone that is already set up, signed in, and arranged has to be wiped before this tool will run.

1. On the Android phone, download and open the Move to iOS app from the Google Play Store.
2. Turn on the new or factory-reset iPhone and place it next to the Android device.
3. Follow the setup steps on the iPhone until you reach the Apps & Data screen.
4. Tap Move Data from Android. A six-digit or ten-digit code appears on the iPhone screen.
5. Enter that code into the Move to iOS app on the Android phone.
6. The iPhone creates a private Wi-Fi network. Tap Connect on the Android phone when prompted.
7. On the Transfer Data screen on Android, select WhatsApp from the checkbox list.
8. Tap Start on the WhatsApp screen. WhatsApp on Android prepares the database for conversion, and signs you out on that device when it finishes.
9. Tap Next to return to the Move to iOS app, then tap Continue to transfer the files over the local connection.
10. Finish the remaining iPhone setup steps.
11. Install WhatsApp from the Apple App Store on the iPhone.
12. Open WhatsApp, enter the same phone number, and tap Start when prompted to complete the migration.

iPhone to Android

iPhone to Android needs a USB-C to Lightning cable, or a USB-C to USB-C cable for an iPhone 15 or newer. The Android phone has to be factory fresh or fully reset.

1. Power on the new Android handset and connect it to the iPhone with the cable.
2. Follow the setup prompts on the Android phone.
3. When prompted to transfer data, trust the connected iPhone and select apps and data for migration.
4. When the transfer tool reaches WhatsApp, a QR code appears on the Android screen.
5. Scan that QR code with the iPhone camera. WhatsApp on iOS opens the Move chats to Android screen.
6. Tap Start on the iPhone to begin preparing the data.
7. Disconnect the cable only after the Android setup assistant confirms the transfer is complete.
8. Open WhatsApp on the Android phone, verify the phone number, and tap Import when prompted.

What breaks

No WhatsApp migration route carries everything across. Read this table before migrating a business account.

Voice notes and media, specifically

Voice notes and media are the most common source of data loss in a phone migration.

WhatsApp saves storage on older phones by offloading older media from local storage and keeping a low-resolution thumbnail in the thread. Scroll back three years and the image looks blurry until you tap it to download the full asset from Meta's servers.

Meta does not keep that media on its delivery servers indefinitely. Once a file ages out, the only copy left is whatever the phone kept. When an old voice note was cleared from device storage to free up space, the migration tool copies the reference and nothing behind it.

Opening that thread on the new phone shows the voice note audio bar, and tapping play returns an error saying the audio file is no longer on local storage. When that voice note held a spoken agreement on price or delivery terms, the record is gone.

Changing the phone number at the same time

When an employee gets a new phone and a new phone number together, do not register the new number on the new phone first. That creates an empty account and leaves the conversation history on the previous device under the previous number.

Change the phone number inside WhatsApp on the old handset before any migration step.

1. Insert the new SIM card into a working second phone to receive the verification SMS, or activate the new eSIM.
2. Open WhatsApp on the old phone with the old SIM still active.
3. Tap Settings, then Account, then Change Number, then Next.
4. Enter the old phone number in the top field and the new phone number in the bottom field.
5. Tap Next. Choose whether to notify your contacts about the change.
6. Enter the six-digit SMS code sent to the new number.
7. WhatsApp re-keys the existing local database to the new phone number.
8. Run a fresh manual backup to iCloud or Google Drive.
9. Move the SIM to the new phone and follow the migration steps above.

The business risk

In a company that runs commercial work over messaging, one salesperson's handset is often the only copy of a client relationship.

Take an account manager at a software agency handling a client launch. Eight months of scope changes, approvals, redirect lists, invoices, and one recorded decision to move a launch date from 5 June to 12 June sit in a single WhatsApp thread on one iPhone. The agency has no second copy.

Drop that handset on the street, have it stolen during travel, or lose the employee to a competitor, and the agency loses the context behind the whole engagement in an afternoon. When the employee leaves and the company does not control the SIM card, the agency has no legal or practical route to make WhatsApp or Meta extract those messages.

Friendly handovers fail too. A salesperson upgrades from an iPhone 12 to an iPhone 16, skips the iCloud step because their personal storage quota is full, and taps past the restore prompt. The old phone goes in as a trade-in or gets factory reset, and the customer commitments go with it.

Relying on a local phone database for business continuity exposes the company to silent data loss at every hardware upgrade. Our WhatsApp integration page covers how a direct connection keeps company records outside the handset.

A handover procedure

When an employee gets a new company phone or leaves the organisation, run this checklist.

1. Verify SIM ownership. Confirm the phone number sits on a corporate mobile plan owned by the company rather than a personal contract.
2. Audit cloud storage capacity. Check the free space on the connected Google Drive or iCloud account against the size of the WhatsApp database and its media.
3. Force a manual backup. Do not rely on the overnight schedule. Open WhatsApp Settings, tap Chats, tap Chat Backup, and tap Back Up Now. Wait for the timestamp to confirm.
4. Export the important accounts by hand. For the top client relationships, follow the steps to export individual chat histories as text and media. Store those files on company storage.
5. Verify the new handset before wiping the old one. Complete number registration and the restore on the new device. Open three key client threads and check that messages, documents, and voice notes from more than two years ago load and play.
6. Retain the old device for fourteen days. Keep the old phone powered off in an office safe for two weeks before a remote wipe, so there is a recovery window if recent media turns out to be missing.

The bulk export documentation and the pricing plans cover how central archiving changes this checklist.

Keeping the archive instead of migrating files

Moving WhatsApp history between phones is slow, sensitive to format differences between the two operating systems, and dependent on cloud storage quotas. One interrupted cable connection or one full iCloud drive removes years of commercial records.

CommunicationOS keeps the archive outside the handset. Conversations across WhatsApp and the other 18 supported networks stay indexed and searchable, so what happens to one employee's phone does not decide what the business remembers.