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How to transfer all your WhatsApp chats and media from old iPhone to new iPhone or Android phone

2025 January 29
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In this step-by-step tutorial, we’ll walk you through the easiest and fastest way to transfer all your chats, photos, videos, and other files from WhatsApp from your old iPhone to a new iPhone or Android phone.

If you use WhatsApp and have recently purchased a new iPhone, you’ll probably want to transfer your chats from your old iPhone to the new one.

While you can back up your existing WhatsApp chats to iCloud and restore them on the new iPhone, this process is more time-consuming. It involves uploading several gigabytes of data to iCloud and then downloading that data onto your new phone. Secondly, it requires ample free iCloud space, and unless you pay for iCloud+, chances are your WhatsApp chat backup size with videos included will exceed the 5 GB cloud space Apple offers with every Apple Account.

So, we recommend using WhatsApp’s direct device-to-device transfer instead of cloud transfer. This method is fast, effortless, and wireless. We’ll share the exact steps with you.

Note that this method also transfers WhatsApp chats from an iPhone to an Android phone (not vice versa), but we’ll be using two iPhones for this tutorial. Also, this direct chat transfer feature is currently unavailable for the WhatsApp Business app.

Before you begin

Here are some things to know and follow before you start transferring WhatsApp chats, photos, and videos from one phone to another.

  • Have both phones near each other.
  • You won’t be able to use both phones while the transfer happens. Depending on how many WhatsApp chats and media you have, it could take anywhere between a few minutes to an hour or more. Tip: You can delete unneeded individual chats and clear group chats on your old iPhone to reduce the transfer time.
  • Both phones must be connected to the Internet via Wi-Fi or Personal Hotspot.
  • WhatsApp on both phones must have permission on the local network. We’ll show you how to do that below.
  • Update the WhatsApp app on your old iPhone.
  • Download WhatsApp on your new phone, but DO NOT register or even try registering with any phone number yet. You’ll have to do that later, as explained below. If you downloaded the app a while back, just delete and redownload it to get a fresh, updated version.
  • You’ll have to use the same mobile number for WhatsApp on your new phone as the old one. You cannot move chats from a WhatsApp account with a different number.
  • Plug both devices in for charging if their batteries are low.
  • Important: Even if the transfer fails, pauses, or faces other issues, you must not delete WhatsApp on your old iPhone or reset the device altogether. Remember that you can restart this process, but if you delete WhatsApp from your old iPhone, all its data will be gone forever unless you have a WhatsApp iCloud backup.

With all that out of the way, let’s dive into the actual process.

Transfer all your WhatsApp chats and media from the old iPhone to a new iPhone

1) Open the Settings app on both iPhones, tap Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock, and set it to Never. This will ensure the phones don’t lock automatically and pause the transfer.

2) Next, tap Apps from the bottom of the Settings app on your old iPhone and select WhatsApp. Now, enable the switch for Local Network and Camera. If you don’t see the “Local Network” or “Camera” options here, remember to hit Allow when WhatsApp asks you during the steps below.

WhatsApp allowed local network and camera permissions on iPhone

Note: Local Network permission is called “Nearby devices” on Android phones.

3) Open WhatsApp on your old iPhone and tap Settings > Chats > Transfer chats to iPhone.

Tap Transfer chats to iPhone in WhatsApp

Tap Start > Ok, and it will open the camera scanner. You have to use this to scan the QR code on your new phone in Step 5 below. So, stay on this screen.

Code scanner on chat history screen in WhatsApp on iPhone

4) Now, open WhatsApp on your new phone and tap Agree & Continue. Select your country, enter the WhatsApp number that you use on your old phone, and tap Next > Yes.

WhatsApp will send a six-digit code via SMS. Enter that code here to finish the verification. If this code is sent to WhatsApp on your old phone (where the scanner is open), see the code quickly from the notification banner and enter it on your new iPhone.

Note: If you have set up two-factor authentication for WhatsApp, you’ll have to enter that here.

Enter phone number in WhatsApp on iPhone

Shortly after, you’ll see a screen asking you to Transfer Chat history from old phone. Tap Continue and hit Allow to grant WhatsApp on this new phone with the required local network permission.

Transfer Chat history from old phone screen in WhatsApp on new iPhone

5) Use WhatsApp on your old phone (step 3 above) to scan the QR code you see on your new phone.

Scanning WhatsApp QR code on iPhone to transfer chats

6) Soon, WhatsApp will start transferring all your chats from your old iPhone to the new one. While the transfer happens, make sure to:

  • Keep both phones near each other.
  • Keep them unlocked.
  • And don’t leave the WhatsApp app.

Transferring WhatsApp chats and media from old iPhone to new iPhone

I had 6 GB of WhatsApp chats & media, and it took less than 5 minutes to transfer.

7) When the process ends, you’ll see “Complete setup on new phone” on your old phone. Tap Done here and set this old phone aside.

Your new iPhone will show a “Transfer completed” screen. Tap Next here and finish registering your account on your new iPhone. It involves allowing WhatsApp to access your contacts, typing your name for WhatsApp, and adding a backup recovery email address (if prompted). WhatsApp will also nudge you to create a passkey, which you can go ahead with or ignore by tapping Not now.

WhatsApp chat transfer completed on iPhone

8) Finally, once you’re inside WhatsApp on your new iPhone, you’ll see all your chats, photos, videos, PDFs, and files there. Even your WhatsApp call history and unread message count are moved over.

You can now delete the WhatsApp app on your old iPhone or erase the device altogether.

Also see: 15 things to do before selling, giving away, or trading your iPhone or iPad

If the transfer fails

If the transfer fails randomly, go through the points mentioned under the “Before you begin” section above. After that, restart both phones and try the transfer process again.

Now, chances are you’ll be logged out of WhatsApp on your old iPhone. You can simply log back in with your phone number, and it should retain all your past chats. However, as mentioned earlier, deleting the app and downloading it again will result in losing all old chats—so avoid doing that.

Note: WhatsApp may temporarily block you from signing up on the new device and transferring chats if you retry the process multiple times in a short period. If this happens, wait a few hours and try again.

If you encounter issues transferring your WhatsApp chats, feel free to reach out to us via social media or the comments section below.

Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/01/29/how-to-transfer-whatsapp-chats-old-iphone-to-new/

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