How to move WhatsApp chat history from iPhone to Android

Image credits: Technologistan

WhatsApp announced a new chat migration feature that allows you to move your WhatsApp chat from your iPhone to your Android device and vice versa a few months ago.

This update, which is currently available on WhatsApp for iPhones, has been silently added to your WhatsApp settings, which you may be unaware of.

The new feature will allow you to move your WhatsApp chat history from your old iPhone to a new Android phone using a USB lightning C cable.

Unfortunately, this feature is not supported by all Android devices yet. Your device must be running an Android 12 OS with a USB C port since it requires a physical connection between the two devices.

In today’s guide, we will look at how we can easily transfer WhatsApp chat history from an iPhone to our Android device.

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WhatsApp chat Migration Requirements

An iPhone: your iPhone is running the latest os version. In our case, the iOS 15.

IOS 15 iPhone|| Image credits: Cnet

An Android phone: your android phone must be running the latest OS version. In our case the Andriod 12 OS.

Samsung A series running Android 12|| Image credits: SamMobile

Lightning USB C cable: you need a lightning USB c cable for the transfer. Since the transfer requires the physical connection of both devices.

USB lighting cable C|| Image credits: Apple Shop

Both phones must be running the latest WhatsApp version.

How to move WhatsApp chats from iPhone to Android

To start with the chat migration process, you first have to connect both phones physically with your USB C cable.
Open WhatsApp on your iPhone and go to Settings.
In the settings tab, tap on Chats.
On this panel, tap on Move chats to Android.
Tap on start to transfer to the same WhatsApp number; else, select transfer to a different phone number.
WhatsApp will start a chat backup process on your iPhone. Do not touch anything for the process to complete.
You will see transfer complete on your iPhone when completed
Follow the onscreen wizard on your Android device to complete the setup.

Limitations

The WhatsApp chat transfer requires a physical connection between those two(2) devices. Problems with the cable might adversely affect the chat migration process.
Chat transfer cannot be done remotely via cloud services.
This feature is only for newer Android phones. The smartphone should be running Android OS 12 and above and must have a USB lighting C port.

Can you also transfer WhatsApp chat from Android to iPhone?

The new WhatsApp chat migration functionality is available for all iPhone users who want to transfer their chats to Android. However, transferring from Android to iPhone is not yet available at the moment.

Meanwhile, owners of high-end Samsung devices(Galaxy devices) can move their WhatsApp chats to iPhones using the Samsung Smart Switch App. A custom app made by Samsung that helps users transfer data from old phones to new phones and vice versa.

WhatsApp, however, insists future updates will address this shortcoming.

Conclusions

Gone are the days when we have to wait several hours for WhatsApp to download Chats from cloud services to our new smartphone. Now transfers take a few minutes to complete.