How to move your WhatsApp data from Android to iOS

If you’ve ever moved from using an Android phone to using an iPhone, you’d know that one of the main things you were definitely going to lose is all your WhatsApp chats and media. But that’s no longer going to be the case. Meta, the parent company for WhatsApp has finally rolled out support for migrating data from Android phones to iOS devices using an app called ‘Move to iOS’. Android users moving to iPhones will need to download the ‘Move to iOS’ app on their Android devices and this can be used to “securely transfer the things they care about most, including contacts, messages, photos, videos, email accounts, calendars, and now WhatsApp message history”.

“We're adding to WhatsApp the ability to securely switch between phones and transfer your chat history, photos, videos, and voice messages between Android and iPhone while maintaining end-to-end encryption. This is a top requested feature. We launched the ability switch from iPhone-->Android last year, and now adding Android-->iPhone as well,” said Mark Zuckerberg, Founder & CEO, Meta.

Now, one thing to keep in mind is that when it comes to WhatsApp messages history migration, there are some things that will be moved, and some that won’t. You can transfer your “account information, profile photo, individual chats, group chats, chat history, media, and settings” but you cannot transfer your call history or your display name, or your peer-to-peer payment messages.

Starting off, what do you need to have on your Android and iOS device to ensure a transfer:

• Android OS Lollipop, SDK 21 or above, or Android 5 or above installed on your Android device.
• iOS 15.5 or above is installed on the iPhone.
• ‘Move to iOS’ app installed on your Android phone.
• Have WhatsApp iOS version 2.22.10.70 or above on your new device (iOS).
• WhatsApp Android version 2.22.7.74 or above on your old device.
• You have to use the same phone number as your old phone on your new device. So that means you have to shift SIM cards to port your eSIM before this transfer can happen.
• Your iPhone must be ‘factory new’ or you need to ‘reset to factory settings’ before you pair it with the ‘Move to iOS’ app and move data from your Android phone.
• Both your Android and iOS devices must be connected to a power source.
• Both of your devices need to be connected to the same Wi-Fi network or you’ll need to connect your Android device to your iPhone’s hotspot.

How to migrate from Android to iPhone

1. Open the ‘Move to iOS’ app on your Android phone and follow the on-screen prompts.
2. You will next see the code displayed on your iPhone. When prompted, you need to enter this code on your Android phone.
3. Tap ‘Continue’ and follow the on-screen prompts.
4. Select ‘WhatsApp’ on the ‘Transfer Data’ screen.
5. Tap ‘START’ on your Android phone, and wait for WhatsApp to prepare the data for export. Next, you’ll be signed out from your Android phone once the data is prepared.
6. Tap ‘NEXT’ to return to the ‘Move to iOS’ app.
7. Tap ‘CONTINUE’ to transfer the data from your Android phone to your iPhone. You need to wait for ‘Move to iOS’ to confirm the transfer is complete.
8. Next, install the latest version of WhatsApp from the App Store.
9. Open WhatsApp on the iPhone and log in using the same phone number used on your old device.
10. Tap ‘Start’ when prompted, and allow the process to complete.
11.  Finish activating your new device and you’ll see your chats on the app.

WhatsApp explained in its blog that the transferred data does not go to cloud storage unless you create/set up your iCloud backup. The company added that it cannot see this transferred data and your data will remain on your Android phone unless you delete WhatsApp and wipe your phone.

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