How do I move WhatsApp to a new phone without losing my chats?
Same platform to same platform is a backup-and-restore, and the only thing that matters is taking a fresh backup before you verify on the new phone.
- Difficulty
- beginner
- Time
- 40 min
- Read
- 4 min
- Safety
- caution
Short answer
On the old phone, open the app's chat backup setting and run a backup manually, then check the timestamp says just now. On the new phone, install WhatsApp, verify the same number, and accept the restore prompt when it appears during setup. That prompt appears once — skip it and the only way back is to uninstall, reinstall and verify again. Keep both phones on wi-fi and charged throughout.
Do this first
WhatsApp is different from most apps because the chat history lives on your phone rather than on a server. That is a deliberate privacy design and it has one practical consequence: moving phones is a file transfer, and if the file is missing at the moment you need it, no amount of support can help. Everything below is about making sure the file is current.
Safety
Step by step
- Take a manual backup on the old phone.Inside the app, in the settings area under chats and then chat backup, there is a button to back up now. Run it and wait. Then read the last-backup timestamp — it must say today, ideally minutes ago. An automatic nightly backup from before this morning's conversations is not good enough.
- Decide about videos before backing up.Including videos makes the backup much larger and much slower, and it consumes your cloud allowance. Excluding them means the chats restore with the videos missing. If any videos in there matter, save them to your photo library first and then exclude them from the backup.
- Check you have cloud space for it.The backup goes to your iCloud or Google account and is often several gigabytes. If the account is full the backup silently fails and you will not notice until the restore has nothing to offer. Check the account storage figure before starting.
- Use the built-in transfer tool if both phones are to hand.Both platforms now offer a direct phone-to-phone chat transfer that scans a code and moves the history over the local network without touching cloud storage. It is faster and avoids the cloud-space problem entirely. Use it if the old phone still works.
- Install and verify on the new phone.Install WhatsApp from the store, enter the same phone number, and enter the code sent by text. If you have a two-step verification PIN set, you will need it here — this is where people get stuck, so find that PIN before you begin.
- Accept the restore when it is offered.Immediately after verification, the app checks for a backup and offers to restore it. Say yes and let it run to completion on wi-fi with the phone plugged in. It may take a long time on a large backup. Do not skip past this screen.
- Let media finish downloading afterwards.The messages restore first and the media follows in the background, sometimes for hours. Chats will show blank placeholders until it finishes. Leave the phone on wi-fi and do not judge whether the restore worked until it settles.
- Only then remove the app from the old phone.Check a handful of old conversations, including one with attachments and one group. When you are satisfied, you can uninstall from the old phone. It has already been signed out — nothing further is needed to protect the account.
If it doesn't work
No backup found on the new phone
Cause: Signed into a different cloud account, a different number entered, or the backup never completed — Fix: Confirm the new phone is signed into exactly the same iCloud or Google account the backup was made under, and that the number you verified is identical including country code. If the old phone still works, take a fresh backup and reinstall on the new phone to trigger the restore prompt again.
Skipped the restore prompt by accident
Cause: It is offered once, during setup — Fix: Uninstall WhatsApp from the new phone, reinstall it, and verify the number again. The restore prompt reappears. Chats sent in the interim will be lost, so do it straight away.
Restore stalls at a percentage and does not move
Cause: A large backup on a slow or interrupted connection, or insufficient free space — Fix: Keep it on wi-fi, plugged in, screen on, and give it hours rather than minutes. If it fails repeatedly, check free space is comfortably larger than the backup and try again on a different network.
Chats restored but every image is a grey placeholder
Cause: Media is still downloading, or videos were excluded from the backup — Fix: Wait on wi-fi. If placeholders persist for days, the media was not in the backup — recover it from the old phone if you still have it, by saving the items to the photo library there.
Questions people ask
Do I need the old phone at all?
Not if the cloud backup is current and you can receive a text to the number. But if the backup is stale or missing, the old phone is the only place the history exists — which is why you never wipe it until the new one is verified and checked.
What if my number is changing too?
Use the app's change-number feature on the old phone before you move. It migrates the account, chats and groups to the new number properly. Verifying a new number on a new phone starts a blank account instead.
Are backups encrypted?
WhatsApp offers end-to-end encrypted backups protected by a password or a long key. If you turn that on, keep the password somewhere permanent — nobody, including WhatsApp, can decrypt the backup without it, so losing it means losing the history.
Will my groups come back?
Yes. Group membership lives on the server rather than in the backup, so you rejoin your groups automatically on verification even if the history restore fails. The messages inside them are the part that depends on the backup.