WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows you to send messages, make voice and video calls, share photos and videos, and more. One great feature of WhatsApp is that it regularly backs up your messages and media to your phone’s internal storage or Google Drive. This makes it easy to restore your chats if you ever switch to a new Android phone.
Transferring your WhatsApp data from an old Android device to a new one can be accomplished in a few simple steps. In this guide, we will walk you through everything you need to know to seamlessly move your WhatsApp backup from one Android phone to another.
Requirements
Before beginning the transfer process, make sure you have the following:
- The old Android phone with the WhatsApp account and backup you want to transfer
- The new Android phone where you want to restore the WhatsApp backup
- A USB cable to connect the two phones
- Google Drive backup enabled in WhatsApp on the old phone
- A Google account added to both phones
- An active internet connection on both phones
Back Up WhatsApp Data on Old Phone
The first step is to ensure your WhatsApp chats and media are fully backed up on your old Android device before transferring to the new phone.
Here are the steps to back up WhatsApp on your old phone:
- Open WhatsApp and tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat backup
- Tap Back Up to Google Drive and select a backup frequency (daily, weekly, etc)
- Tap Account and select the Google account you want to back up to
- Make sure Drive backup is toggled on, then tap Back Up to manually start a backup
- Wait for WhatsApp to complete the backup process to Google Drive
This will ensure your latest WhatsApp data is saved to Google Drive and ready to transfer.
Transfer WhatsApp Backup to New Phone
Once your WhatsApp backup is completed on the old device, you can move on to restoring it on your new Android phone using these steps:
- Install WhatsApp on the new phone but don’t open it
- On the new phone, open Settings > Accounts > Add account
- Tap Google and log in using the same Google account used for the WhatsApp backup
- Open WhatsApp and go through the setup prompts until asked to restore chats
- Tap Restore to retrieve your backed up chats and media from Google Drive
- Wait for WhatsApp to download and restore your backup to the new phone
That’s it! WhatsApp will automatically fetch your latest chat history, photos, videos and other data from Google Drive and set up your account on the new Android phone.
Alternative Method: Local Data Transfer
If you did not have Google Drive backup enabled on your old Android device, you can still transfer WhatsApp to a new phone using local data transfer:
- On the old phone, open WhatsApp > three-dot menu > Settings > Chats > Chat backup
- Tap Back up to create a local backup file on the old phone’s storage
- Connect both phones using a USB cable and enable USB file transfer mode
- On the old phone, locate WhatsApp > Databases and find the latest .crypt backup file
- Copy this .crypt file over to the new phone’s internal storage or SD card
- On the new phone, install WhatsApp but don’t open it yet
- Locate the transferred .crypt backup file and copy it to WhatsApp > Databases on the new phone
- Now open WhatsApp on the new device and restore chats when prompted
- Select Restore to restore chats and media from the local .crypt backup file
This method will transfer your WhatsApp data using only a USB cable without Google Drive backup. Just make sure you create the local backup on the old phone before moving it to the new device.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp Backup Transfer
Here are some common issues faced when transferring WhatsApp backup from one Android to another and how to fix them:
Backup Not Found Error
- Make sure backup is completed on the old phone before restoring on the new device
- On new phone, use the same Google account that was used for backup on the old device
- Check internet connection on both phones and try again
- Manually trigger backup on old phone again before restoring
Can’t Restore Chats Error
- Confirm the backup file is copied to the new phone’s WhatsApp/Databases folder
- Make sure WhatsApp versions are same on both old and new phone
- Delete WhatsApp data on new phone using App settings and try restoring again
Restored Chats Are Missing
- Old phone may not have backed up most recent chats before transfer
- Trigger another manual backup on old phone and re-transfer to new phone
- Check date of last backup versus missed chats – may be new unsaved chats
Media Not Restoring
- Open WhatsApp on new phone and give it time to download all media from backup
- Connect to WiFi or strong mobile data for faster media restore
- Check backup settings to ensure media backup was enabled on old phone
If issues persist, contact WhatsApp support for further troubleshooting assistance.
Conclusion
Migrating your WhatsApp data to a new Android phone is quick and painless if you follow the right backup and restore steps. Always remember to fully back up your chats and media on the old device first before moving to the new phone. Maintaining the same Google account across both devices simplifies the transfer process. With Google Drive or local data backup options, you can seamlessly transfer years of WhatsApp chat history to continue your conversations on a new Android phone without missing a beat.