How to Transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone without Official Ways

I want to swicth from a Samsung Galaxy S9 to an Apple iPhone 13 Pro. But how do I transfer WhatsApp messages from Android to iOS now that iOS does not support Google Drive backup? Any ideas?

When switching an Android to a new iPhone, one of the most serious things is to transfer 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. Then, is there any way to move my WhatsApp from Android to iPhone?

Here you will get 6 efficient ways to transfer WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone. You can transfer WhatsApp messages to a new phone without backup, or restore Google Drive backup. Also, you can learn the way to transfer WhatsApp without PC. Keep reading and find an easy way for you.

Transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone via Move to iOS

With the official announcement of WhatsApp to support the migration of WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone, users now can use the Move to iOS App to transfer WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone freely with the same phone number. However, there are some limitations you need to be aware of.

• Users must make sure that they are using Android OS Lollipop, SDK 21 or above, or Android 5 or above device with WhatsApp Android version 2.22.7.74 or above.
• Users use an iPhone with iOS 15.5 or above that 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.

Step by Step instructions for migrating WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone

1. Install the Move to iOS app on your Android phone and open it.
2. When the code is displayed on your iPhone, enter it on your Android device > Tap Continue.
3. On the Transfer Data screen, choose WhatsApp and tap on the START button on your Android phone.
4. Please wait for WhatsApp to scan the data to transfer. And the WhatsApp account on your Android phone will be signed out.
5. Follow the on-screen instruction 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.
6. 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.
7. When your finish activating your new iPhone, you will see the WhatsApp chats appears on your iPhone.

Transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone without Backup

If you find the Move to iOS app fails to transfer WhatsApp chats to your iPhone from an Android device, you can rely on WhatsApp transfer tools like AnyTrans to finish the job.

AnyTrans is a professional data transfer and backup tool, which allows you to transfer data from an Android device to a new Apple device (iPhone 13 series supported), including WhatsApp data. And, it provides you to transfer WhatsApp without Android 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.

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 > Click on the “Next” button to transfer WhatsApp messages to your new iPhone.

Step 4. Then follow the pop-up instructions in AnyTrans to continue: Backup your WhatsApp on your Android > Install the enhanced version WhatsApp on your Android > Allow access to the Phone Storage in WhatsApp.

Step 5. Log in your WhatsApp on your Android and Tap the Restore button (this will restore the backup you just made to the current enhanced version of WhatsApp) > Then click Next in AnyTrans.

Step 6. AnyTrans will start to transfer WhatsApp data to your iPhone.

For more details, you can also refer to the guide page for transferring WhatsApp from Android to iPhone >

Now download AnyTrans on your computer to transfer WhatsApp messages to your new phone:

Transfer WhatsApp Data from Android to iPhone Using Google Drive

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

Here are the steps:

1. Open AnyTrans and Connect 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.
   

   Choose Restore WhatsApp from Google Drive Backup

3. Log in 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.
   

   Select a WhatsApp Google Drive Backup

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.
   

   Preview WhatsApp Backup Files

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. Also, you can transfer to a computer or print your chat history.
   

   Restore WhatsApp Messages from Google Drive to iPhone

6. Restore WhatsApp Backup to iPhone Successfully.
   

   Restore WhatsApp Backup from Google Drive to iPhone Finished

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

Transfer WhatsApp Chats from Android to iPhone Free Using Email

WhatsApp provides you with another option – Email to transfer WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone without 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 transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone without 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 you sent your chat history to your iPhone.
8. You will be able to view your WhatsApp data on your iPhone.

How Transfer WhatsApp Messages to New iPhone 13/12

PhoneTrans – Phone to Phone Transfer, helps you to transfer WhatsApp messages and attachments from Android to a new iPhone, or an old iPhone to a new iPhone. Whenever you changed 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 the most Android models and the latest iPhone 13, 12, etc.

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 Transfer button to continue.

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

[Video Tutorial] How to transfer WhatsApp chats from Android to iPhone with ease:

Can I Transfer WhatsApp Android to iPhone via WhatsApp 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 the 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 we mentioned in Part 1 to do this.

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

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

1. Open WhatsApp on your Android phone.
2. Go to Setting, tap on “Chats”.
3. Choose “Chat backup” to backup WhatsApp messages on your Android phone.
4. WhatsApp chats will be backed up to Google Drive.
5. Install WhatsApp on your new Android phone.
6. Open WhatsApp and log in with the same WhatsApp account.
7. Tap Continue will allow WhatsApp to access your Google Drive backup.
8. Choose the WhatsApp backup you need.
9. Click “Restore”.

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

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

For more details, you can move to How to Transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone >

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 you had a Google Drive 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 provides you to keep 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:

1. Go to Settings of WhatsApp
2. Click on Account.
3. Choose Change Number and continue.
4. Fill in your old number and new number.
5. Send notifications to your contacts, then tap Done.

To transfer WhatsApp to new phone with the same number, which is applied 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. And you can restore all the WhatsApp conversations easily for the same OS.

Further Reading: How to Use Two WhatsApp in One Mobile [For Android and iPhone] >

The Bottom Line

While switching phones, there is no direct way to transfer 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 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.