WhatsApp has made it pretty easy to migrate your chats from one Android phone to another, but it’s a different story when switching from an iPhone whose backups are stored on iCloud to an Android whose backups are stored on Google Drive. But, if you are upgrading from an iPhone to one of Samsung’s new Galaxy smartphones, migrating your chats has become a whole lot easier so join us after the break for our step-by-step guide.
Before we get started, it’s not a perfect solution in that your WhatsApp call history and display name will not be carried over to the Samsung device and neither is it possible to transfer peer-to-peer payment messages.
Another thing to note is that it’s only possible to migrate your WhatsApp chats from an iPhone to a Samsung smartphone, and only during the initial setup of your Galaxy handset. If you’ve already set up your Samsung smartphone you’ll need to perform a full factory reset in order to migrate your chats over.
What you need:
- Samsung SmartSwitch app version 3.7.22.1 or greater installed on your new device
- WhatsApp iOS version 2.21.160.17 or greater on your iPhone
- WhatsApp Android version 2.21.16.20 or greater on your new Samsung Galaxy device
- USB-C to Lightning cable (or equivalent adapters)
- Use the same phone number on the new device as the old device.
- Your new Android device must be factory new or have been reset to factory settings
Because your chat data will be passed via a cable between the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy handset, your data is secure and won’t be seen by WhatsApp unless you’ve previously backed it up to the cloud).
How to migrate from iPhone to Samsung
- Turn on your Samsung and connect by cable to your iPhone when prompted.
- Follow the Samsung Smart Switch experience.
- When prompted, scan the QR code displayed on the new device using the iPhone’s camera.
- Tap Start on your iPhone and wait for the process to complete.
- Continue setting up your new Samsung.
- When you reach the home screen, open WhatsApp and log in using the same phone number used on your old device.
- Tap Import when prompted, and allow the process to complete.
- Finish activating your new device and you’ll see your chats waiting for you.
Note: Your iPhone will still have your data unless you factory reset it or delete WhatsApp from the device.
