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Move WhatsApp from Android to iPhone, free

WhatsApp's own route (Move to iOS) only works while you set up a new or freshly reset iPhone. wakit merges your Android history into the iPhone you already have, through an ordinary iPhone backup. There's no paid app and nothing leaves your computer.

Download for Mac Windows Linux pipx install wakit

What you need

Steps

Prefer clicking? Run wakit gui (or double-click the app): the same steps are under Guides, with file pickers and Dry run / Apply buttons. Every command is a dry run until you add --apply.

  1. Copy WhatsApp off the Android phone

    wakit disables WhatsApp while it copies, so the database can't change halfway through.

    $ wakit device pull --out phone/
$ wakit device pull-media --out phone-media/

  2. Make a fresh, full, unencrypted iPhone backup, then copy it

    Make the backup right before you start, because the restore at the end brings the iPhone back to it. Keep the original untouched: it's your undo.

    $ wakit ios-backup backup --out ~/Backups
$ cp -cR ~/Backups/<device-id> ~/Backups/edit/

  3. Check both sides

    doctor confirms wakit knows both databases' layouts before anything is written.

    $ wakit doctor --path phone/msgstore.db
$ wakit doctor --path ~/Backups/edit/<device-id>

  4. Merge Android into the iPhone backup

    Do a dry run first. Messages the iPhone already has are matched and skipped. Add --apply once the counts look right.

    $ wakit to-ios --db phone/msgstore.db --backup ~/Backups/edit/<device-id> --media phone-media/
$ wakit to-ios --db phone/msgstore.db --backup ~/Backups/edit/<device-id> --media phone-media/ --apply

  5. Restore the edited backup

    Turn Find My off, set Auto-Lock to Never and keep the iPhone unlocked until it reboots. Then open WhatsApp, verify your number and skip any iCloud restore.

    $ wakit ios-backup restore --backup ~/Backups/edit/<device-id> --yes
A restore replaces everything on the iPhone with the backup's contents. Use a backup made just before, and never restore one cut down to WhatsApp only. wakit refuses those.

What carries over

Text, photos, videos, voice notes, stickers, documents, contact cards, locations, replies, stars, and group senders. Reactions, polls and system notices don't carry over.

Questions

Is this the same as Move to iOS?

No. Move to iOS needs a new or erased iPhone and moves everything in one go. wakit adds the Android history to the iPhone's existing WhatsApp, keeping what's already there and skipping duplicates.

Do I need to jailbreak the iPhone?

No. wakit edits a normal unencrypted backup made by Finder, iTunes, 3uTools or wakit itself, and restores it.

Will I lose anything on the iPhone?

A restore brings the whole iPhone back to the moment of the backup. Anything added after that backup is lost, so make it right before. Keep the original backup as your undo.

What happens to WhatsApp on the Android phone?

Once you verify your number on the iPhone, the Android phone is logged out. Its copy of the chats stays where it is.

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