Back up your chats before you switch phones
WhatsApp stores your message history on your phone, not in the cloud by default. If you move to a new phone without backing up first, you will lose every conversation, photo, and voice message. The backup process takes a few minutes and works differently depending on whether you use an iPhone or Android phone.
Start the backup on your old phone while you still have it in your hands. Open WhatsApp, tap Settings (the gear icon at the bottom right on Android, or the three dots at the bottom right on iPhone), then look for Chats or Chat Backup. On Android, you will see options to back up to Google Drive. On iPhone, the backup goes to iCloud. Tap the backup option and let it finish — this usually takes five to ten minutes depending on how many messages you have.
Key Takeaways
- Back up your chats on your old phone before switching, using Google Drive on Android or iCloud on iPhone.
- Use the same phone number and the same backup account (Google or iCloud) on your new phone, or WhatsApp cannot find your old messages.
- Reinstall WhatsApp on your new phone, verify your number with the code WhatsApp texts you, and the app will ask whether to restore your backup.
- The restore process can take several minutes if you have thousands of messages; do not close the app or switch phones during this time.
Set up WhatsApp on your new phone with the same number
WhatsApp ties your account to your phone number, not to a username or email. When you move to a new phone, you must use the same phone number you had on the old phone. If you are switching to a new number, you will lose access to your old chats — there is no way around this.
On your new phone, read WhatsApp from the Google Play Store (Android) or the App Store (iPhone). Open the app and enter your phone number when prompted. WhatsApp will text you a six-digit verification code. Enter that code into the app. Do not close WhatsApp or turn off your phone while this verification is happening.
Restore your backup during the setup process
After you verify your number, WhatsApp checks whether a backup exists for that number. If you backed up on your old phone using Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iPhone), the app will ask whether you want to restore your chats. Tap Restore and wait for the process to finish. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to half an hour if you have years of conversations.
During the restore, your phone may feel slow or the screen may go dark — this is normal. Do not force-close the app, restart your phone, or switch to another app. Let it run. Once the restore finishes, you will see all your old conversations in the chat list, and your contact photos and group memberships will be back in place.
Make sure your backup account is linked on the new phone
If WhatsApp does not offer to restore your backup, the most common reason is that your backup account is not signed in on the new phone. On Android, open Settings on your phone (not WhatsApp settings — your phone's main settings), go to Google, and check that you are signed in with the same Google account you used for the backup. On iPhone, go to Settings > iCloud and make sure you are signed in with the same Apple ID.
Once you confirm the account is linked, uninstall WhatsApp completely from your new phone. Reinstall it from the app store, enter your phone number again, and verify with the code. This time, WhatsApp should find your backup and offer to restore it.
What happens to your media files
Photos, videos, and voice messages are included in your backup, but they take up a lot of space. If your new phone has limited storage, the restore may take longer or fail partway through. You can free up space by deleting old photos and videos from your new phone before you restore, or by waiting until after the restore is complete and then deleting them from WhatsApp.
WhatsApp also stores media in your phone's photo library by default. After the restore finishes, check your Photos or Gallery app — you may see duplicate copies of images that came through WhatsApp. You can delete these duplicates to save space, but WhatsApp will keep its own copies in the app.
Verify your chats came through correctly
After the restore finishes, scroll through a few of your most important conversations to make sure the messages are all there. Check a group chat, a one-on-one conversation, and a chat with media (photos or videos) to confirm everything transferred. If you see gaps in the conversation history or missing media, the restore may have been interrupted — try the process again from the beginning.
Your contact list in WhatsApp is separate from your phone's contacts. If someone is not showing up in WhatsApp even though they were in your old phone, make sure their number is saved in your phone's Contacts app. WhatsApp pulls names from there.
Troubleshooting if the restore does not work
If you have tried the steps above and WhatsApp still will not restore your backup, check that you are using the exact same phone number you had on your old phone, including the country code. WhatsApp is very strict about this — even a missing digit will prevent a match.
On Android, also check that your Google account has enough storage space in Google Drive. If your Drive is full, the backup cannot restore. Go to Google One or Google Drive on your computer and delete old files to make room. On iPhone, check your iCloud storage the same way — go to Settings > iCloud > Manage Storage and delete files you no longer need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I restore my WhatsApp chats if I switch from iPhone to Android or Android to iPhone?
No. WhatsApp backups are not compatible between operating systems. If you move from iPhone to Android, you will not be able to restore your old chats. You can still use WhatsApp on your new phone with the same number, but your message history will start fresh. Some third-party tools claim to convert backups between systems, but they are not supported by WhatsApp and may not work.
What if I do not have my old phone anymore?
If your old phone is lost, stolen, or broken, you cannot create a new backup from it. However, if you backed up before the phone was lost, that backup still exists in Google Drive or iCloud. Set up WhatsApp on your new phone with the same number, and the app will find and restore the backup automatically.
Will my WhatsApp backup use up my Google Drive or iCloud storage?
Yes. WhatsApp backups count toward your total storage limit. On Android, a backup with years of messages and photos can use several gigabytes. On iPhone, iCloud backups work the same way. If you are running low on storage, you can delete old backups manually from Google Drive or iCloud settings to free up space.
Do I need to tell my contacts that I have a new phone?
No. Because you are using the same phone number, your contacts will not notice any change. They will see the same number in their chat list, and all your old conversations will still be there. You do not need to re-add anyone or send a message announcing the switch.
Can I back up WhatsApp to my computer instead of the cloud?
WhatsApp does not have a built-in option to back up to a computer. Your only options are Google Drive on Android and iCloud on iPhone. If you want a copy of your chats on your computer, you can take screenshots or use third-party backup tools, but these are not official WhatsApp features and may not work reliably.