Since 2021, WhatsApp has been devoting efforts to allow users to transfer their chats between different operating systems, a widely requested feature. At first, yes, the function was limited to specific devices, or to users belonging to the beta program. Now, however, the messaging platform has opened this proposal for “all” users. I put it in quotes because with Android there is still a limitation that I will indicate later.
In the case of Android to iOS, there are several points that you must take into account before making the transfer. For example, the version of the operating system or the application itself. It is also required that the phone number be the same and that your iPhone is new or refurbished. You must follow the following instructions to the letter so that the process does not have any problem:
- Have Android OS Lollipop, SDK 21 or later installed on the device, or Android 5 or later.
- Have iOS 15.5 or later installed on the iPhone.
- You must have the Move to iOS app installed on your Android phone.
- You must have WhatsApp for iOS version 2.22.10.70 or later installed on the iPhone.
- You must have WhatsApp Android version 2.22.7.74 or later installed on your Android phone.
- On the iPhone, you must use the same phone number that you used on the old one.
- In order to connect with the Move to iOS app and migrate data from your Android phone, your iPhone must be new from the factory or reset to factory settings.
- Both devices must be connected to a power source.
- Both devices must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network, or you must connect the Android device to the iPhone’s Wi-Fi hotspot.
How to transfer your chats from Android to iOS
The migration process is relatively simple. It’s all done from the Move to iOS app, which you can download for free at Google Play Store. Once installed, follow these steps:
- Follow the initial prompts in the “Move to iOS” app to pair the two devices. At a certain point, it will ask you to enter a code that will appear on the iPhone.
- In the section transfer datachoose WhatsApp.
- press Begin on Android and wait for the WhatsApp preparation process to finish. The service will log you out of this device.
- At the end of the above process, press Following to return to “Move to iOS”.
- press Continue to start transferring your chats from Android to iOS. You have to wait a few minutes until the app confirms that the migration has finished.
- On your iPhone (new or fully restored), install the latest version of WhatsApp from the App Store.
- Once installed, open it and log in with the exact same number you had on Android.
- WhatsApp will identify that you have a pending transfer process, just press Continue to end.
From WhatsApp they also clarify that chats transferred to your iPhone will not be stored in the cloud until you back up to iCloud. Either manually or until the terminal does it automatically. On the other hand, they ensure that they do not have access to the transferred data, so you can rest easy on the privacy issue.
How is the process from iOS to Android? As there are countless devices with their own versions of Android depending on the manufacturer, the latter must provide a secure data transfer tool. At the moment, WhatsApp only mentions Samsung SmartSwitch, with which you can migrate your data from an iPhone to a smartphone of the South Korean brand. Similar tools from other brands are not described, nor is it described whether WhatsApp intends to create a universal transfer solution.