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I can't grasp the process of transferring WhatsApp to a new iPhone.

I can't grasp the process of transferring WhatsApp to a new iPhone.

M
Mirko4332
Member
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70
02-14-2026, 01:18 AM
#1
I think I did this before, yet can't recall what steps exactly, to make sure 100% of whatever I had in the old device, was kept intact.
Here's the situation:
The old iPhone is the 7 Plus,
The new iPhone is the 15 Plus, not configured yet.
I asked iTunes to do a local/full (and encrypted) backup of the 7 Plus, so all apps, docs, photos, etc. were preserved.
I have 2 phone numbers, one using regular WhatsApp, the other uses "Business".
What I want:
1) To turn the 15 Plus into the MAIN DEVICE, instead of simply connecting as additional.
2) To connect the 7 Plus as the additional device.
3) Preserve everything from the old phone. For the 2 numbers.
What I did so far:
- Connected the 7 PLUS into my PC and asked iTunes to do a full copy into my SSD;
- Purchased the 50 GB iCloud plan, and asked both numbers (in each WhatsApp) to save into iCloud. Which I did for both, unencrypted.
Once all of that was done, in theory this is what is left:
- a) Wipe the new iPhone 15+ and restore from the local iTunes backup (PC). It's not "restore from iCloud". This will make sure most apps are already logged in the new device, and will retain the former settings.
- b) While I didn't restore anything from iCloud once I used the 15 PLUS for the 1st time (bought recently), logged into the same Apple ID used for the 7 PLUS.
- c) Register the two numbers for each app (Regular and Business) from the new device (15), sending a SMS to both numbers and getting the codes, which will disconnect both from the 7 PLUS. But, since I did step a), everything will be restored, as planned.
- d) Now connect the 7 Plus as the additional device.
I also need to do this:
- Cancel the 50 GB iCloud plan, the idea was instead to save everything from time to time, from both smartphones, as a local iTunes backup. I am not sure if this will become a problem, because if I combine both numbers, even if there's no video saved, they are using more than 5 GB from iCloud (and the free plan is limited to 5 GB).
So, am I missing something? Of course I can't do tests to answer my own questions, because if there's some issue, I may end up losing stuff:
https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsapp/commen...phone_ios/
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M
Mirko4332
02-14-2026, 01:18 AM #1

I think I did this before, yet can't recall what steps exactly, to make sure 100% of whatever I had in the old device, was kept intact.
Here's the situation:
The old iPhone is the 7 Plus,
The new iPhone is the 15 Plus, not configured yet.
I asked iTunes to do a local/full (and encrypted) backup of the 7 Plus, so all apps, docs, photos, etc. were preserved.
I have 2 phone numbers, one using regular WhatsApp, the other uses "Business".
What I want:
1) To turn the 15 Plus into the MAIN DEVICE, instead of simply connecting as additional.
2) To connect the 7 Plus as the additional device.
3) Preserve everything from the old phone. For the 2 numbers.
What I did so far:
- Connected the 7 PLUS into my PC and asked iTunes to do a full copy into my SSD;
- Purchased the 50 GB iCloud plan, and asked both numbers (in each WhatsApp) to save into iCloud. Which I did for both, unencrypted.
Once all of that was done, in theory this is what is left:
- a) Wipe the new iPhone 15+ and restore from the local iTunes backup (PC). It's not "restore from iCloud". This will make sure most apps are already logged in the new device, and will retain the former settings.
- b) While I didn't restore anything from iCloud once I used the 15 PLUS for the 1st time (bought recently), logged into the same Apple ID used for the 7 PLUS.
- c) Register the two numbers for each app (Regular and Business) from the new device (15), sending a SMS to both numbers and getting the codes, which will disconnect both from the 7 PLUS. But, since I did step a), everything will be restored, as planned.
- d) Now connect the 7 Plus as the additional device.
I also need to do this:
- Cancel the 50 GB iCloud plan, the idea was instead to save everything from time to time, from both smartphones, as a local iTunes backup. I am not sure if this will become a problem, because if I combine both numbers, even if there's no video saved, they are using more than 5 GB from iCloud (and the free plan is limited to 5 GB).
So, am I missing something? Of course I can't do tests to answer my own questions, because if there's some issue, I may end up losing stuff:
https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsapp/commen...phone_ios/

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K
KayTYC
Junior Member
Find
29
02-14-2026, 01:18 AM
#2
Before I forget once more, here’s the approach I discovered:
*This method works only when moving from an iPhone to another iPhone, without any Android in between*:
*I haven’t tried the Android side yet, but it seems to require installing the “Move to iOS” app on the Android device and completing the transfer while the iPhone is reset to factory settings and ready for restoration.
1) I already had a complete backup of my previous iPhone on my PC, just in case. This backup needed to be encrypted using iTunes. Besides iTunes, there’s also 3uTools for backing up just photos and videos (I didn’t use it this time).
2) I signed up for the 50 GB iCloud plan (which costs about $1 USD per month), since the free 5 GB isn’t sufficient. This plan can be shared among multiple devices under “Family Sharing,” eliminating the need to log into the same Apple ID on every device. Each iPhone’s backups, photos, and documents stay distinct. Only the purchased storage space is shared.
3) I performed a full iCloud backup of my old iPhone.
4) I backed up each WhatsApp account (both regular and Business, using different SIM numbers) to iCloud independently. I used the “Chat Backup” feature but didn’t turn on end-to-end encryption for these backups.
5) My new iPhone was brand new (factory reset), so instead of restoring from iCloud, I restored using the local backup stored on my SSD.
*Note: Between the iCloud device backup and the WhatsApp backups, you’ll usually surpass 5 GB, even if video saving is turned off in WhatsApp. Continuing with the free plan becomes nearly impossible, no matter how much storage your iPhone has (256 GB or more doesn’t matter here).
6) After the restore, I initiated the transfer from iPhone to iPhone in regular WhatsApp on the old iPhone (7 Plus). I placed the new iPhone (15 Plus) nearby, connected to the same Wi-Fi, reinstalled WhatsApp on the new device, and entered the old phone’s WhatsApp number. At that stage, the old phone recognized it and started the direct transfer, also asking for Local Network Access.
*The process took roughly 10 minutes, and both devices had to remain side by side.*
7) For WhatsApp Business, there’s a limitation:
*You can’t perform step #6 — the Business version doesn’t support a direct “iPhone to iPhone” transfer. You’re limited to restoring from iCloud. This worked for me after logging out of WhatsApp Business on the old iPhone and installing it fresh on the new one, using the Business number.*
*Best practice:*
*Always create a full backup of the old device plus individual WhatsApp backups (for both regular and Business accounts) on both your PC and iCloud. I’ve learned that enabling encryption on a WhatsApp backup can cause restoration problems, so I left it off.*
*On Android (at least with a Xiaomi Redmi Note 14), there’s no direct transfer to iOS option — only Android-to-Android. I managed to transfer from an older Xiaomi Mi 9 SE completely, but that included all apps, not just WhatsApp. My WhatsApp backups are stored in Google Drive, and I’ve also disabled encryption there.*
*The only security measures I maintain on my WhatsApp accounts are a two-step PIN and an email address for PIN recovery.*
*For users with multiple devices, following these steps will allow you to set the new iPhone as your primary device and keep the old one as a linked secondary device — similar to linking WhatsApp on a PC or iPad, which now has its own standalone version.*
*Initially, my aim was to make the 15 Plus my main device and retain the 7 Plus as a secondary one until I eventually sell it.*
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K
KayTYC
02-14-2026, 01:18 AM #2

Before I forget once more, here’s the approach I discovered:
*This method works only when moving from an iPhone to another iPhone, without any Android in between*:
*I haven’t tried the Android side yet, but it seems to require installing the “Move to iOS” app on the Android device and completing the transfer while the iPhone is reset to factory settings and ready for restoration.
1) I already had a complete backup of my previous iPhone on my PC, just in case. This backup needed to be encrypted using iTunes. Besides iTunes, there’s also 3uTools for backing up just photos and videos (I didn’t use it this time).
2) I signed up for the 50 GB iCloud plan (which costs about $1 USD per month), since the free 5 GB isn’t sufficient. This plan can be shared among multiple devices under “Family Sharing,” eliminating the need to log into the same Apple ID on every device. Each iPhone’s backups, photos, and documents stay distinct. Only the purchased storage space is shared.
3) I performed a full iCloud backup of my old iPhone.
4) I backed up each WhatsApp account (both regular and Business, using different SIM numbers) to iCloud independently. I used the “Chat Backup” feature but didn’t turn on end-to-end encryption for these backups.
5) My new iPhone was brand new (factory reset), so instead of restoring from iCloud, I restored using the local backup stored on my SSD.
*Note: Between the iCloud device backup and the WhatsApp backups, you’ll usually surpass 5 GB, even if video saving is turned off in WhatsApp. Continuing with the free plan becomes nearly impossible, no matter how much storage your iPhone has (256 GB or more doesn’t matter here).
6) After the restore, I initiated the transfer from iPhone to iPhone in regular WhatsApp on the old iPhone (7 Plus). I placed the new iPhone (15 Plus) nearby, connected to the same Wi-Fi, reinstalled WhatsApp on the new device, and entered the old phone’s WhatsApp number. At that stage, the old phone recognized it and started the direct transfer, also asking for Local Network Access.
*The process took roughly 10 minutes, and both devices had to remain side by side.*
7) For WhatsApp Business, there’s a limitation:
*You can’t perform step #6 — the Business version doesn’t support a direct “iPhone to iPhone” transfer. You’re limited to restoring from iCloud. This worked for me after logging out of WhatsApp Business on the old iPhone and installing it fresh on the new one, using the Business number.*
*Best practice:*
*Always create a full backup of the old device plus individual WhatsApp backups (for both regular and Business accounts) on both your PC and iCloud. I’ve learned that enabling encryption on a WhatsApp backup can cause restoration problems, so I left it off.*
*On Android (at least with a Xiaomi Redmi Note 14), there’s no direct transfer to iOS option — only Android-to-Android. I managed to transfer from an older Xiaomi Mi 9 SE completely, but that included all apps, not just WhatsApp. My WhatsApp backups are stored in Google Drive, and I’ve also disabled encryption there.*
*The only security measures I maintain on my WhatsApp accounts are a two-step PIN and an email address for PIN recovery.*
*For users with multiple devices, following these steps will allow you to set the new iPhone as your primary device and keep the old one as a linked secondary device — similar to linking WhatsApp on a PC or iPad, which now has its own standalone version.*
*Initially, my aim was to make the 15 Plus my main device and retain the 7 Plus as a secondary one until I eventually sell it.*

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