Google announced that WhatsApp’s chat history migration feature to bring your messages from iPhones to Android is now available on “all Pixel phones” and that it’ll “become available on new smartphones that launch with Android 12.” The feature was already available for Samsung phones but will make the experience of switching from iOS to Android easier, as you won’t have to give up your messaging history.
The process should be relatively simple, as long as you’ve got WhatsApp up to date on both your iPhone and Android phone, and you’ve got a USB-C to Lightning cable handy. Google says that while setting up your Android phone, you’ll be prompted to scan a QR code with your iPhone, which will let you start the transfer process.
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Check out our how-to for more detailed instructions (they’re written for Samsung, but the process should be similar) and to read into the few caveats with the transfer. Google says that your iPhone won’t receive any WhatsApp messages while your messages are moving, so you shouldn’t lose anything in the switch.
Google says that phone OEMs can add support for the feature when updating their phones to Android 12, so it’s possible those with existing phones will gain access to it at some point. The company says that it’s working with phone makers to ensure that phones that ship with Android 12 support the transfers out of the box.
Updated October 26th, 8:34PM ET: Added information from Google about support for the feature on existing phones.
