How to Restore WhatsApp Backup from Android to iPhone

I was excited when I bought my dad a new iPhone, but the excitement was short-lived. He was not going to give up his WhatsApp data, not even for a new iPhone.

I searched the internet, and WhatsApp’s official site told me there is no way to transfer chats and media from an Android device to one running on iOS. However, I found a way of doing it – and I am going to share that with you in this post.

Where is Android WhatsApp Backup Stored?

The first obstacle that I had to overcome to restore my dad’s WhatsApp data from his Android phone to the new iPhone was to get my hands on the backup file. Only then could I figure out a way of uploading that data to the iPhone for the chats and media to appear in it. Here are my findings:

• WhatsApp data is stored locally on the phone and Google Drive Cloud Storage.
• You can only restore the backup file to another Android device and cannot use it any other way. You cannot even access the messages and media inside it.

Since everyone who uses WhatsApp knows how to backup WhatsApp data, I’ll touch on the topic briefly and then move to locate the backup file on the phone and in Google Drive.

Backing Up WhatsApp

To back up your WhatsApp data on an Android device:

1. Open WhatsApp and click on the three dots in the upper right-hand corner.
2. Click on settings and then on chats.
3. Go to chat backup.
4. Click on the green backup button, and the chats will be backed up.

Your phone will store the backup locally in the internal storage of your device and remotely in Google Drive cloud storage.

Locating WhatsApp Backup on Google Drive Cloud Storage

For locating WhatsApp backup on Google Drive, do the following:

1. Open www.drive.google.com on a computer.
2. Click on storage in the left-hand column.
3. Click on Backups just under your profile picture in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
4. Here you’ll see a list of your phone and WhatsApp backups stored on Google Drive.

Locating WhatsApp Backup on Phone’s Internal Storage

To locate the WhatsApp backup file on your phone, do the following:

1. Open the ‘My Files’ or any other file explorer app that you use.
2. Open Device Storage or SD Card, if your phone has one.
3. Locate the folder named WhatsApp.
4. Open it and go to the Databases folder.
5. Here you can find all the WhatsApp backup files. The older files are there with a date on them, and the latest backup file is without the date. This is the one that you need.

With the backup in your hand, the logical next step is to just go ahead and restore the backup to the iPhone and call it a day, but it is not that simple of a task.

Is it Possible to Directly Restore Android WhatsApp Backup to iPhone?

In simple words, it’s beyond the realm of possibility to restore an Android backup of WhatsApp to an iOS device. Here’s why:

• Android and iOS are vastly different, and WhatsApp data is stored by them in an entirely different way. You cannot just swap the data across these two platforms, owing to the differences in them.
• iPhone uses Apple’s iCloud Drive for storing backups, while Android relies on Google Drive. These two services are different in coding language and logic, and transferring data across these two is not possible in any way.
• WhatsApp is an end-to-end encrypted service, and this makes the backups even harder to transfer across operating systems.

The result of all that is, you need to use a third-party app to transfer data across these two platforms, and that’s exactly what I did for my dad’s WhatsApp data. Let’s see how.

Mobitrix WhatsApp Transfer – The One-Click WhatsApp Data Transfer Solution

There are several tools in the market that you can use to transfer WhatsApp data from an Android device to an iPhone, but not all of them deliver what they promise. I went back and forth with a bunch of them before my problem was solved by Mobitrix WhatsApp Transfer.

Now, why am I advocating this tool? Here’s why:

• The transfer process takes just one click.
• This tool works on your computer; hence there is no chance of privacy breach as all the data stays on your own computer and not any cloud server.
• There is no data limit for the transfer.
• All your data is transferred in such a way that you will not even be able to tell the difference.

How to Transfer WhatsApp Data from an Android Device to an iPhone Using Mobitrix?

The process is as easy as it can get. Here’s how you can do it:

Step 1 – Install Mobitrix

First of all, install Mobitrix WhatsApp Transfer on your computer. This is simple and will take a few minutes.

Step 2 – Connect the Devices

Now, connect the old Android phone and the new iPhone to the computer using USB cables. Once the devices are connected, both will be visible on the Mobitrix user interface.

Step 3 – Transfer

Set the Android device as the “Source” and the iPhone as the “Destination” device and hit the transfer button to transfer all your WhatsApp data to the iPhone.

NOTE: Keep the devices connected to the computer until the data transfer is complete. Failing to do so might result in the data not being transferred.

Using Mobitrix WhatsApp Transfer to migrate WhatsApp data from Android to iOS is that simple.

How to Transfer WhatsApp from Android to iPhone for Free via WhatsAppTrans Box

Mobitrix launched WhatsAppTrans Box to enable users to transfer their WhatsApp history between devices for free.

Advantages

• Facilitates the transfer of large sizes of data..
• It enables restoration of WhatsApp chat history into a new device
• Users can use the tool for free.
• It can be used to transfer your WhatsApp data between Android and iPhone

Disadvantages

• Does not support the transfer of data that is not within the last three months.
• You can use it to transfer WhatsApp data alone. Attachments, emojis, and videos will not be shared.

The steps for using this tool are:

Step 1: Get the Toolkit of WhatsAppTrans Box installed.

Step 2: Then, extract the data from the Android phone by using the following steps.

1. Use the local storage of Android to back up the data.


Backup your WhatsApp data into your phone storage

2. After ensuring your Android is connected to the PC, execute the command [copywhatsapptopc] so that your data can be copied to the PC.
3. 3. Terminate the connection to the PC and install an Emulator on your Android. Search for a suitable emulator on the internet, Bignox emulator can be installed. After the emulator is installed, set ROOT permission..


Set ROOT permission after installing the simulator - Setting



Set ROOT permission after installing the simulator

4. Using the official WhatsApp site, install WhatsApp on the emulator.

Note: Please DO NOT login to the installed WhatsApp immediately after its installed.



Directory of Emulator



Welcome to WhatsApp in Emulator

5. Transfer the folder of WhatsApp on the PC back to the emulator by simply running the [copywhatsapptoandroid] command.
6. To restore the data on the emulator, log in to WhatsApp on the emulator.
7. Get the databases of WhatsApp from the emulator by executing the [pullwhatsapptopc] to transfer the databases to your computer.

Note: The database path is mapped as /data/data/com.whatsapp/databases/.

Step 3: How to transfer WhatsApp data from Android to iPhone?

whatsappandroid2iphone.exe will enable you to transfer the backup your Android to your iPhone.

However, if you wish to transfer data within the recent three months, it will not be possible.

• Execute [whatsappandroid2iphone].

Step 4: How to restore WhatsApp data from Android to iPhone?

1. Ensure that you have installed a new WhatsApp on your iPhone.
2. After logging into it, connect the iPhone to the computer and run [restorewhatsappdata].

This will enable you to see your WhatsApp chats on your iPhone.

Mobitrix WhatsAppTrans Box is suitable for transferring data that is within the recent three months.

But if you wish to use an easy way to transfer all your data, including videos and emojis, then Mobitrix WhatsApp Transfer software is the recommended one.

For users good at using computers, then you can also try the free Mobitrix WhatsAppTrans tool (method below).

How to use Mobitrix WhatsApp Trans (free tool) to transfer your WhatsApp messages from an Android to an iPhone

Mobitrix WhatsApp Trans among all WhatsApp Transfer tools is the only one that can support WhatsApp migration of chat history for free. You only need to follow the instructions below to use it.

Before using the tool note the following:

• The tool, Mobitrix WhatsAppTrans, is freely available for use.
• The tool is recommended to only users who have good computer skills and knowledge.
• Using the tool comes with some risks such as possible data loss thus, it doesn’t guarantee 100% success.
• Mobitrix WhatsAppTrans can transfer at the same time messages of multiple contacts but you won’t be in a position to check messages on WhatsApp from your iPhone.
• Mobitrix WhatsAppTrans is highly rated, trusted, and recommended by various professional websites for use as the chat history is available on your iPhone’s “Files”

To use the tool, you will first need to export your WhatsApp data from your android device. The steps below will guide you.

Step 1: From Github, click 'Download'.

Here, you need to download the customized version of the WhatsApp(.apk) or if using the other version WhatsApp Business(.apk) depending on your preferences.

But first, verify that you have the WhatsApp directory on your Android’s file manager, if the directory doesn’t exist, DO NOT use this method, look for another one from the article.

Step 2: Create a local backup of your WhatsApp to an Android phone, ensure that the backup is successfully created else you will lose all your data. Once you’ve created the backup, uninstall WhatsApp and install the downloaded and customized version from Step 1. Open it and follow the prompts to set it up, if prompted, allow storage permissions. And allow it to restore your backup.

Step 3: From your Android phone, navigate to the folder “WhatsApp” from the file manager. Create a file “data.flg” inside the folder. Once created, open the newly customized WhatsApp, after some seconds go back to the “WhatsApp” folder, a file “ok.flg” and a folder “chatpath” should have been created indicating that the WhatsApp history of the Android phone has been successfully exported. You now need to download ExportAndroidWhatsapp.exe, which is a data export tool for WhatsApp.

Step 4: Connect via a USB cable, your Android device to your computer then copy and paste the folder, "WhatsApp", to your computer.

Step 5: From your PC, open the terminal for CMD and run this command:

ExportAndroidWhatsApp.exe WhatsApp path

If successful, a “.txt” file will be created in your “WhatsApp” folder containing all your chat history.

Step 6: On your PC, download the updated version of iTunes then connect your iPhone device to the PC.

Step 7: Import media files and images from the folder, “Media”, which is inside the “WhatsApp folder”, using the file management feature to your iPhone. It’s recommended to import the media files into your “Photos” directory on your iPhone as this will enable you to check and view all WhatsApp photos, videos, images, and audios from your iPhone.

Step 8: If you also need to import the “txt” files, import them into your iPhones’ “Photos” directory as from there you can view them. Moreover, you can share the “txt” files with your other accounts or relatives to act as permanent storage or backup.

Using this method is only recommended to people who have good computer skills. If you do not have a good computer background, the article recommends you use the earlier stated Mobitrix WhatsApp Transfer software as it is much easier to use.