Transferring WhatsApp chats from one mobile phone to another can be very difficult. An easier way is on the way

• Unlike current methods, this new system will be operating system independent and will make migration easier.

• It is in development and will likely take some time to appear.

Transferring WhatsApp chat history from one phone to another can be a little tricky, especially if you depend on Google Drive backup or are going to do it from Android phone to iPhone or vice versa. For an application that is distributed almost everywhere in the world, this is still an overly complex and limited process. Luckily, it looks like all that is about to change.

WhatsApp chat migration odyssey. When we change mobile phones, there are four options: switch from Android to Android, switch from iOS to iOS, switch from Android to iOS or switch from iOS to Android. We may add more options if we add HarmonyOS, but we’ll stick with the basics. Well, each option has its own chat transmission system:

• From Android to Android: This is done using a Google Drive backup and involves having space in your Google account and waiting for the entire copy to be uploaded and downloaded, which can be a lot depending on the number of media files we’ve included.
• iOS – iOS: Same as Android – Android, but uses iCloud instead of Google Drive. Again, this requires you to have iCloud space and wait for a copy to be uploaded and downloaded.
• Android to iOS: Only works with Android 5.0 or later and iOS 15.5 or later, is done through the Transfer to iOS app, and requires the iPhone to be new from the factory or reset before proceeding.
• From iOS to Android: This system is relatively new and only works on phones running Android 12 or higher, Samsung devices, and Google Pixel phones. You need to use the latest version of Samsung Smart Switch or Google data recovery tool and connect your old iPhone and new Android mobile phone via USB, which will be USB-C to USB-C if it is iPhone 15 or USB-C. to Lightning, if earlier. And if that weren’t enough, if the transfer is to a Google Pixel or non-Samsung mobile phone running Android 12, it must be new from the factory or previously refurbished.

Everything is very simple.

A big problem. There is no universal method to transfer WhatsApp chats from one mobile phone to another that is operating system independent, simple and straightforward. In Telegram this is done through the cloud, as in all social networks. However, WhatsApp is more complicated due to end-to-end encryption. We win on safety, but lose on versatility.

Solution: in the oven. As reported by WaBetaInfo, in the latest beta version of WhatsApp (2.24.9.19), Meta is working on a QR code-based chat transfer feature that aims to become universal. When transferring chats from one mobile phone to another, WhatsApp will show a QR code on the new mobile phone, which we will have to scan from the old one. This will start transferring chats without using applications, partitions, third-party tools or cables.

How exactly does it work? It’s not clear, but it wouldn’t be unreasonable to think about transferring over a local network, as if it were AirDrop. Moreover, we’ve known for a while that WhatsApp is working on a file transfer feature similar to AirDrop, so the possibilities are there. In fact, a similar system can already be used to transfer chats from one Android mobile phone to another.

In that sense, it’s truly a more versatile system since it doesn’t require a copy of Google Drive/iCloud, cables, or an operating system above a certain version. It’s a question of time.

Cover image | Hataka

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