6 Ways to Transfer WhatsApp From Android to iPhone [2026]

When switching from an Android to a new iPhone, one of the most serious things is transferring your WhatsApp chat to your new iPhone. Since Android and iPhone run different operating systems, transferring WhatsApp chat history is currently only available for moving from an iPhone to a new Samsung device. How can we transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone in one click?

Here you will get 6 efficient ways. You can migrate WhatsApp data from Android to iPhone without backup, or restore a Google Drive backup to iPhone. These methods are available to use on the latest iPhone 17. Also, you can learn the way to transfer WhatsApp without a PC. Keep reading and find an easy way for you.

How to Restore WhatsApp Backup from Android to iPhone

Method 1. Transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone via ‘Move to iOS’

With the official announcement of WhatsApp to support migrating WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone for free, users can use the Move to iOS App to transfer WhatsApp chat history, photos, videos, and voice messages from Android to iPhone freely with the same phone number. However, there are some limitations you need to be aware of.

What Do You Need Before Moving WhatsApp from Android to iPhone?

• Make sure that you are using Android OS Lollipop, SDK 21 or above, or an Android 5 or above device.
• Your Android phone has WhatsApp version 2.22.7.74 or above.
• You have an iPhone with iOS 15.5 or above.
• Your iPhone installed the WhatsApp iOS version 2.22.10.70 or above.
• iPhone must be brand new or reset to factory defaults.
• Both of your devices must be connected to a power source when transferring.
• Both your iPhone and Android phones are connected to the same Wi-Fi network.

Steps for migrating WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone

1. Install the Move to iOS app on your Android phone and open it.

2. Open your new iPhone and start the setup process. When the Apps & Data screen appears, choose Move Data from Android. (If your iPhone is not the new one, you must put it into factory reset, and set it up again.)

3. When the code is displayed on your iPhone, please enter it on your Android device > Tap Continue.

4. On the Transfer Data screen, choose WhatsApp and tap on the START button on your Android phone.

5. Please wait for WhatsApp to scan the data to transfer. And the WhatsApp account on your Android phone will be signed out.

Follow the on-screen instructions to return to the Move to iOS app and tap the Continue button to start transferring WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone. This will take a while, so please be patient.

When the transfer is complete, you need to install the latest version of WhatsApp on your iPhone > Log in to your WhatsApp account with the same phone number that used on your old device.

Method 2. Migrate WhatsApp from Android to iPhone 17 in One Click

If you find that the Move to iOS app fails or it seems that Move to iOS is taking forever to transfer, you can rely on WhatsApp transfer tools like AnyTrans to finish the job.

AnyTrans is a professional iPhone transfer and backup tool that allows you to transfer data from an Android device to a new Apple device, including WhatsApp data. It allows you to transfer WhatsApp without backup, or you can choose to transfer from Android to iPhone by restoring WhatsApp from Google Drive backup. What’s more, it enables you to back up all WhatsApp data safely and quickly.

Best of all, you only need 3 clicks on the AnyTrans icon to complete the entire data transfer process. So AnyTrans is recommended by our users and proves to be quite labor-saving to move WhatsApp from Android/iPhone to iPhone.

Step 1. Download AnyTrans on your computer > Connect your Android and iPhone to the computer via USB cables > Click on the “Social Messages Manager” mode.

Step 2. Click on WhatsApp to Device > Then tap on the “Transfer Now” option to go on.

Step 3. Select your Android to be the source phone and your new iPhone to be the target phone. Then you need to click on the “Next” button to back up your WhatsApp.

Step 4. After that, AnyTrans will start to migrate WhatsApp data to your iPhone.

For more details, you can also refer to the WhatsApp transferring guide.

Method 3. Transfer WhatsApp Data from Android to iPhone with Google Backup

If you have backed up WhatsApp data on Google Drive, then you can also transfer WhatsApp backup from Google Drive to an iPhone via AnyTrans. It helps users who change from Android to iPhone, or who can not restore WhatsApp from Google Drive.

Here are the steps:

1. Open AnyTrans and connect your new iPhone. Also, open AnyTrans and connect your new iPhone via USB cable > Go to Social Messages Manager > Move the mouse to Restore WhatsApp.

2. Choose Restore WhatsApp from Google Drive Backup.

3. Log in your to Google Account and View Backup History. Once you sign in to your Google account, you can view all your WhatsApp backup history. Choose one backup file and continue.

4. Access WhatsApp Files. Here you can directly restore attachments like WhatsApp photos, audio, etc. If you’d like to restore messages or calls, please keep reading below.

5. Get Authorization and Decrypt WhatsApp Messages. To get authorization, you need to follow the on-screen instructions to finish. Then, WhatsApp chats will be decrypted and you can choose to restore them. Also, you can transfer to a computer or print your chat history.

6. Restore WhatsApp Backup to iPhone Successfully.

Also Read: How to Transfer Contacts from Android to iPhone >

Method 4. Transfer WhatsApp Chats from Android to iPhone Free Using Email

WhatsApp provides you with another option – Email to transfer WhatsApp chat from Android to iPhone without a PC. The email will send your entire chat history to your iPhone, but it won’t directly move the WhatsApp chats to your iPhone’s WhatsApp. With this method, you can choose to store WhatsApp messages with emails on an Android phone and iPhone.

To migrate WhatsApp from Android to iPhone without a PC:

1. Launch the WhatsApp app on your Android device.

2. Go to “Settings” and choose “Chats” settings.

3. Tap on the “Chat History” option to get to the chat history screen.

4. Tap on “Export chat” to export WhatsApp chats.

5. On the following screen, you will be asked to choose a contact whose chat history you want to export.

6. Select a contact and then choose Email (or Gmail, if you use it) to transfer the entire chat history to an email address.

7. Open the inbox of the email account to which you sent your chat history on your iPhone.

You will be able to view your WhatsApp data on your iPhone.

Method 5. How to Transfer WhatsApp Messages to New iPhone 17

PhoneTrans – Phone to Phone Transfer helps you to migrate WhatsApp messages and attachments from Android to a new iPhone, or from an old iPhone to a new iPhone. Whenever you change to a new iPhone or Android device, PhoneTrans will help you to merge data between phones. Except for WhatsApp data, you can move other apps with a click, including Line and Viber data. With PhoneTrans, you can easily bring WhatsApp data and apps to your new iPhone. Supports most Android models and the latest iPhone 17.

Download it and follow the steps below to transfer WhatsApp messages to your new iPhone.

Step 1. Launch PhoneTrans and go to App Transfer > Click on WhatsApp and Start Transfer.

Step 2. Connect your Android and iPhone > Tap on the Transfer button to continue.

Step 3. Follow the on-screen steps to finish some settings. After that, the WhatsApp transfer will start till the process finishes.

Method 6. Transfer WhatsApp Android to iPhone via Local Backup

As we said, transferring WhatsApp messages from Android to iOS is not officially supported. Why? This is because Android uses Google Drive to store WhatsApp backups, but WhatsApp backups on an iPhone are stored in iCloud. This makes it impossible to transfer across the platforms. So we have to rely on third-party apps like AnyTrans, which we mentioned in Part 1 to do this.

If you want to migrate WhatsApp Chats between the same Android or iOS systems, here are the steps you can try:

Below are the steps to transfer WhatsApp chat from Android to Android:

• Open WhatsApp on your Android phone.
• Go to Settings, and tap on “Chats”.
• Choose “Chat backup” to back up WhatsApp messages on your Android phone.
• WhatsApp chats will be backed up to Google Drive.
• Install WhatsApp on your new Android phone.
• Open WhatsApp and log in with the same WhatsApp account.
• Tap Continue will allow WhatsApp to access your Google Drive backup.
• Choose the WhatsApp backup you need.
• Click “Restore”.

Here are the steps for transferring WhatsApp chats with WhatsApp Backup on iPhone:

• On your old iPhone, open WhatsApp.
• Go to “Settings” and tap “Chat Settings”.
• Tap “Chat Backup” and tap “Back Up Now”.
• On your new iPhone, install and open WhatsApp.
• Log in to the same account.
• When you see the “Restore Chat History” option, tap on it to restore your WhatsApp chats.

Troubleshooting Common Errors in Your Android to iPhone WhatsApp Migration

Even with perfect preparation, you might encounter an issue. Here are solutions to the most common problems we’ve seen in our tests.

Issue 1: The Transfer Gets Stuck or Fails Mid-Process

This is almost always caused by an unstable network connection. The ‘Move to iOS’ app creates a direct Wi-Fi link between the phones, and certain Android features can interfere with it.

Solution:

• On your Android phone, temporarily disable your mobile data. More importantly, disable any “smart” Wi-Fi switching features.
• On a Samsung phone, go to Settings > Wi-Fi > (tap the three-dot menu) > Intelligent Wi-Fi and turn off “Switch to mobile data.”
• On a Google Pixel, go to Settings > Network & internet > Internet > Network preferences and turn off “Adaptive Connectivity.”

These features can cause the phone to drop the direct connection with the iPhone. After disabling them, you will have to restart the entire process.

Issue 2: My iPhone Never Shows the Code

The six- or ten-digit code is only generated on one specific screen during the initial iPhone setup.

Solution:

• You have already passed the correct setup screen. To get back to it and generate a code, you must factory reset your iPhone by navigating to Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Erase All Content and Settings.

Issue 3: My Chats Transferred, but Photos and Videos are Missing

This typically happens for two reasons: an incomplete transfer or insufficient storage space on the new iPhone.

Solution:

• First, check your iPhone’s storage (Settings > General > iPhone Storage). A large WhatsApp backup can easily be 10-20 GB or more. If you have plenty of space, the transfer was likely interrupted. The only reliable fix is to reset the iPhone and perform the entire transfer process again, ensuring both phones are plugged in and have a stable connection.

Why Your Google Drive WhatsApp Backup Won’t Restore on iPhone?

A common point of frustration is wondering, “Why can’t I just restore my backup from Google Drive?” The answer is a technical incompatibility between the two platforms.

On Android, WhatsApp backs up your chat data to Google Drive. On iPhone, it backs up to Apple’s iCloud. These cloud services are built differently, but more importantly, the end-to-end encryption protocols are not compatible. Think of it like a key made for a specific lock; the key that locks your backup on Google Drive cannot unlock it on iCloud.

Because of this encryption difference, there is no native way for WhatsApp on an iPhone to read a backup file created for Google Drive. This is why a direct device-to-device tool like ‘Move to iOS’ is necessary. It decrypts the data on the Android device and re-encrypts it in a format the iPhone can understand during the local transfer.

This official transfer method is continuously updated by Apple and WhatsApp. We re-verify these steps with each major iOS and Android release to ensure they remain accurate and reliable for users.

Will I Lose My WhatsApp Conversations if I Change Phones?

Absolutely not, with the methods that we provided above, you can transfer WhatsApp between Android and iPhone, between two Android phones or two iPhones. No matter whether you had a Google Drive or WhatsApp backup or not, no data will be erased during the process.

Besides, if you change phones with different numbers, the Change Number feature of WhatsApp allows you to keep your WhatsApp account information, including profile photo, name, about, individual chats, group chats, and settings. And, you can use the feature to inform your contacts about your new phone number:

• Go to the Settings of WhatsApp
• Click on Account.
• Choose Change Number and continue.
• Fill in your old number and new number.
• Send notifications to your contacts, then tap Done.

To transfer WhatsApp to a new phone with the same number, which is applicable for the same OS, you just need to download WhatsApp on your new phone and register the same phone number. WhatsApp account information will be updated automatically. You can restore all the WhatsApp conversations easily for the same OS.

Transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone FAQs

Thinking about switching to a new iPhone, but don’t want to lose your WhatsApp data? Here are the most frequently asked questions from users making the move:

Q1. Can I restore a WhatsApp backup from Android to iPhone directly?

No. Direct restoration from a cloud backup is impossible because Android’s Google Drive backups and iPhone’s iCloud backups use incompatible encryption. You must use a direct device-to-device transfer method.

Q2. Do I need to reset my iPhone to transfer WhatsApp?

Yes, if you use the official ‘Move to iOS’ method. This free tool only works during the initial iPhone setup process. If your phone is already set up, you must perform a factory reset to use it. Paid third-party tools are the primary alternative that do not require a reset.

Q3. What data will not be transferred to my iPhone?

Using the official ‘Move to iOS’ method, your WhatsApp call history and display name will not be transferred. Your messages, media (photos, videos, voice notes), settings, and profile picture will be moved.

Q4. Is the ‘Move to iOS’ app safe for my WhatsApp data?

Yes. It is Apple’s official application, and the transfer process is endorsed by WhatsApp. Your data is encrypted and moved over a private, direct Wi-Fi connection that the two phones create, not over the internet.

Q5. Are third-party WhatsApp transfer tools reliable?

Reliability varies. Well-reviewed, reputable tools can be effective, but they always carry a small risk and require payment. They are a viable solution primarily for users who cannot or will not factory reset their iPhone. Always research a tool’s reviews and security policies before using it.

Q6. How long does the WhatsApp transfer take?

The duration depends entirely on the size of your WhatsApp backup. A small backup of a few gigabytes may take 15-20 minutes. A large backup with years of photos and videos could take over an hour. Always ensure both devices are connected to power for the entire duration.

Q7 . How to transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone without PC?

Move to iOS allows you to transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone without a PC. This method requires restoring your iPhone to factory settings. Please remember to back up your data:

• Prepare your device: Update WhatsApp on your old Android and enter the initial “Hello” interface on your new iPhone.
• Start Move to iOS: Download and open Move to iOS on the Android, enter the verification code, and select the target data.
• Complete migration and verification: Wait for the process and restart the iPhone, and log in with the same phone number.

The Bottom Line

While switching phones, there is no direct way to migrate WhatsApp chat across the systems, but with the help of the above guide, you should be able to easily transfer WhatsApp data from Android to iPhone without a hitch. If you want a full-way data transfer and management tool when changing from Android to iPhone, AnyTrans is the better one to choose. It can transfer 21+ Android files to the iPhone, including WhatsApp chats, photos, contacts, videos, messages, etc.