How to Transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone

Before you begin

• Keep your Android phone and its WhatsApp data available. Use the latest WhatsApp releases on supported operating systems; the migration page lists iOS 15.5 or later, but current app support also applies.
• Install Apple’s Move to iOS app on Android. Keep both phones powered, with enough space on the iPhone for the content you select.
• Use the same WhatsApp number. If changing numbers, use WhatsApp’s change-number process on the old phone first.
• This guide covers WhatsApp Messenger. WhatsApp’s cited migration page excludes WhatsApp Business.

Choose the route before setting up your iPhone

Apple also documents an app-free setup transfer for compatible newer devices. Its general data list does not establish a WhatsApp chat-import workflow. This guide therefore uses the WhatsApp-specific Move to iOS instructions, rather than treating every phone-copy option as equivalent.

Move your chats, then complete the import

1. During iPhone setup, choose the option to copy data from Android using the app. Pair Move to iOS on Android with the code shown on the iPhone.
2. Select WhatsApp in the data selection screen. Start preparation in WhatsApp on Android, then return to Move to iOS and continue copying. Select WhatsApp itself, not a folder in Files.
3. Leave the phones connected and undisturbed until the iPhone finishes. A completed Android screen alone is not the finish line.
4. Finish setup and install WhatsApp on the iPhone. Verify the original number and accept the prompt to import the prepared history. Let that process finish.

What success looks like

Open several older and newer conversations, including a group, and try opening photos or voice messages that matter to you. Seeing your groups without their previous messages is not evidence of a complete history transfer. Keep the old phone until you are satisfied with the result.

WhatsApp lists chats and media among supported content, but excludes WhatsApp call history and some other data, including Channel media. Consult its current list for exceptions. Create a new WhatsApp backup on the iPhone after checking the import; moving locally does not itself create one.

If the history is missing

Record which stage failed: pairing, copying, or WhatsApp import. Use the troubleshooting guide below before repeating the process. Do not wipe the source phone to fix a destination problem.

Erasing the iPhone removes its local content and settings. Separately preserve anything created there first; an old iPhone backup is not a way to combine that history with the Android import.