Currently, WhatsApp allows users to keep their account information, including profile photos, names, personal chats, group chats, and settings, when switching from an iPhone to a different operating system such as Android. But it does not allow to transfer chat history. However, chat history is very important for most users, especially those who use it for business conversations. If you’re switching from iPhone to Android, WhatsApp users can use the steps outlined below to back up and transfer their chats.
How to transfer your chat backup on WhatsApp from iPhone to Android
When switching from iPhone to Android, there is no native option to transfer chat history within the app. This is mainly because WhatsApp for iOS stores the backup on iCloud for iPhone users, whereas WhatsApp for Android has the backup on Google Drive.
However, users can export their entire chat history via Mail and then restore it on their new device. Each chat needs to be exported individually and hence is a cumbersome process. But this is what guarantees the restoration of the chat. It is recommended that you choose which chats are important and export only those chats and leave those that are not important.
Here are the steps to transfer WhatsApp chat history from iPhone to Android.
Open the WhatsApp app on your iPhone and swipe left on the chat you want to export.
Tap More in the menu that appears. Select the Export Chat option.
Select the Mail option from the Share menu. The mailbox will appear with the chat file already attached.
Enter the email address you’ll have access to on your Android phone. Tap Send.
Get it on your Android phone and open the email. Download the chat file attached in the mail. This process should be done for each chat that you need to transfer from your iPhone to Android. You are likely to get multiple emails depending on the number of chats you want to export.
If you have already installed WhatsApp on your Android phone, delete it and install it again. Finish the setup process and when the restore option appears, select the Restore option to complete the setup. Click on Next.
All your exported chats should be visible on your Android phone.