You can transfer WhatsApp chats and data from your old iPhone or Android to your new Android device.
What you need
- Your old phone with WhatsApp backup enabled or your old phone
- Your new Android phone
- A stable internet connection
Important:
- This page has instructions on how to transfer WhatsApp chats and data to a new Android device. They may not work for other operating systems or devices.
- Your chats and data transfer is not guaranteed by WhatsApp that it’ll be transferred successfully. If you have any questions or concerns, contact WhatsApp support.
Transfer WhatsApp data from an Android device
To transfer data from an Android device to a new Android device:
Step 1: Back up your WhatsApp data to your Google Account
- On your old Android device, open WhatsApp.
- At the top right, tap More
.
- Tap Settings
Chats
- Tap Back up.
.
Chats Step 2: Install WhatsApp on your new device
Important: If you transferred apps from your old device to your new Android, WhatsApp should be installed on your new device.
If you don’t have WhatsApp installed:
- Go to the Play Store app
.
- Download WhatsApp.
- Sign in to WhatsApp with the same phone number as you used on your previous device.
Step 3: Restore your WhatsApp data from backup
When prompted to restore your data, you’ll be given two choices:
- To restore via WiFi, tap Transfer from old phone.
- To restore via Cloud, tap Restore from backup.
Tips:
- If you have multiple Google Accounts, make sure you're signed in to the same account on your devices.
- If you have an updated cloud backup, restore via Cloud is recommended.
Troubleshooting
Can't find a backup when trying to restore WhatsApp- Make sure you're signed in to the same Google Account on both your old and new devices.
- On your old device, make sure backup in WhatsApp is enabled and has run. Learn to back up data on your device.
- On your new device, close WhatsApp and setup again.
- On your old device, check when WhatsApp was last backed up.
- Set back up to no.
- If you want to restore again, on your new device, wipe app data for WhatsApp.
- Open WhatsApp.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
Tip: Any new messages received on your new device will be lost.
- On your old device, check when WhatsApp was last backed up.
- WhatsApp may take time to restore old images.
- If they don't appear after 24hrs, contact WhatsApp support.
- On your new device, check if WhatsApp is installed.
- Your device may not have WhatsApp installed by default.
- If WhatsApp isn't installed, go to the Play Store.
- Install WhatsApp.
Important: You can’t merge chat history created on a new phone with chat history previously created on your old phone. If you restore your old chat history, it replaces any new chat history you created on your new phone.
To retrieve your old message history:
- Uninstall WhatsApp on your new device.
- Re-install WhatsApp on your new device.
You can’t transfer your WhatsApp data to a new phone number. However, you can change your phone number on your old device to your new phone number before you transfer it to your new phone.
Tip: Other data migration apps aren't supported and can cause migration issues. WhatsApp doesn't delete your data during a transfer and your data won’t be lost if an error occurs.