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Transferring WhatsApp chats from iOS to Android




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Most of us use WhatsApp, storing years and years of our chat history. There can be fun moments or details that you need to refer years later. Many of us use WhatsApp for work and in these remote working times, maintaining the chat history backup is more important than ever. If you ever migrate from an iPhone to an Android device, you may need to transfer your data between them.

Previously, if an iPhone user turned on WhatsApp’s cloud backup feature, the chat archive was stored on Apple iCloud, while Android devices backed up data to Google Drive. This made it nearly impossible to transfer the chats between devices not running the same OS. Luckily, the new update now lets you migrate your data between these two platforms. This capability first launched on Samsung phones running Android 10 and it is now also available on new smartphones that launch with Android 12.

Things you need

A Type-C to Lightning cable. Yes, that it. If you are using an iPhone 11 or any newer model, there are chances you already have it. If not, Reliance Digital has many options, with some that are priced as low as Rs. 999*. Before you begin the migration process, there are a few things to remember. Make sure you are using a new Android device or an Android 12 phone that’s been restored to the factory settings. Your iPhone and Android device should run on the latest version of WhatsApp.

How to migrate from iPhone to Android

Step 1

Connect your Android device to iPhone using a Type-C to Lightning cable.

Step 2

Open WhatsApp on your Android device. A QR code will pop up on your Android phone’s screen.

Step 3

Scan the QR code from your iPhone by tapping on Settings > Chats > Move Chats to Android. Keep your phone unlocked during this process. Once the app prepares a backup, tap on Start Transfer.

Step 4

Your chats, photos, and other media will now start moving to your new Android device. Make sure you don’t use both devices during the transfer process.

Remember, WhatsApp will stop working on your older phone after transferring all the data. However, you can keep using it on both Android and iOS at once with WhatsApp’s Multi-Device Beta feature. It lets you have up to 4 additional secondary devices along with your primary phone running the same WhatsApp account simultaneously.

To activate this feature, follow these steps.

Step 1

Open WhatsApp Web on your secondary device’s internet browser. Request the webpage in the Desktop Mode.

Step 2

On your primary device, go to WhatsApp > Settings > Linked Devices.

Step 3

Tap on the Multi-Device Beta, then tap on Join Beta.

Step 4

In the Devices section, tap on the Link a Device button.

Step 5

Point your camera towards your secondary device to scan the QR code.

That’s it. Now, you can use WhatsApp on your both your phones without being connected to the same network. Since the feature is still in beta, the overall user experience isn’t as smooth as the primary device. Chats can sometimes take time to load, and downloading images and files take a bit longer. This should get better with future updates.

Currently, the chat migration feature is only available for Android 12 devices, which is a bummer if you want to use an older Android device. There is no official word from WhatsApp, but we might see this feature coming to older Android versions in the coming months. To know about such features and everything latest about technology, keep following us on www.reliancedigital.in.