How to Stop Spam Calls and Texts on iPhone and Android
You cannot make spam stop arriving, but you can make it stop ringing. On an iPhone the two switches that matter are Silence Unknown Callers and Filter
Editorial Team · 2026-09-23
How to Move WhatsApp From Android to iPhone With the Chats
By Editorial Team · published 2026-09-23 · updated 2026-09-23
Add ScoredApps as a preferred source on Google
There is exactly one official way to carry your WhatsApp history from Android to an iPhone, and it only works during the iPhone's first setup: Apple's Move to iOS app, with the same phone number on both devices. That single condition is what catches most people out, because an iPhone you have already set up has to be erased first. Your Google Drive backup will not help here either, since an iPhone cannot read it. Below is the order that works, what actually arrives on the new phone, and what to do when the transfer stalls halfway.
Before you start
Four conditions decide whether this works at all. Both phones need the same phone number, the iPhone has to be new or freshly erased, both devices should be plugged into power and on the same Wi-Fi network, and you need enough free space on the iPhone for everything coming across.
The condition people miss is the backup. On Android, WhatsApp stores its chat backup in Google Drive, and an iPhone cannot restore from it — the two platforms use different backup formats. Copying your Google Drive backup to iCloud does nothing. The transfer described here moves the data device to device instead, which is why both phones have to be in your hands at the same time.
According to WhatsApp's official help, the move carries your account information, profile photo, individual chats, group chats, chat history, media and settings. Your call history and display name do not come across.
Step 1. Get the iPhone to the transfer screen
If the iPhone is still in its box, switch it on and follow setup until you reach the screen offering to move data from an Android device.
If the iPhone is already set up, you have to start it over: open "Settings" → "General" → "Transfer or Reset iPhone" → "Erase All Content and Settings". There is no way around this. Anything already on that iPhone should be backed up first, because the erase is complete.
On the Android phone, install Move to iOS from Google Play before you begin.
Step 2. Pair the phones and hand WhatsApp over
On the iPhone, choose the option to move data from Android. It shows a code. Open Move to iOS on the Android phone, accept the terms, and type that code in.
The Android phone then shows a list of what it can transfer. Select WhatsApp and tap "Start". WhatsApp closes and spends a few minutes preparing an export — on a chat history of several years this is the slow part, and the screen looks frozen while it works. When it finishes, tap "Next" to go back to Move to iOS and let the rest of the transfer run.
Leave both phones alone until the progress bar on the iPhone fills. Move to iOS creates its own temporary Wi-Fi network, so wandering out of range of the Android phone breaks the transfer.
Step 3. Sign in on the iPhone and import
Finish iPhone setup, then install WhatsApp from the App Store. Open it, verify the same phone number, and when it offers to import the transferred data, tap "Start".
The import runs once. Do not close WhatsApp while it is going — on a large history it can take another few minutes after the phones have already disconnected. When it finishes, your chats are on the iPhone and the Android phone is signed out of that number.
If it does not work
The iPhone never shows the Android option. It is already past setup. Erase it and start again, or the transfer is not available at all.
The code is rejected or the phones will not pair. Turn off mobile data on the Android phone, keep both devices within a metre of each other, and try again. Move to iOS pairs over its own network, and a busy 2.4 GHz band is the usual culprit.
WhatsApp says there is nothing to transfer. The number on the iPhone is different from the number on the Android phone. WhatsApp ties the export to the account, not to the device.
Media is missing after the import. Give it time and keep the app open — pictures and voice notes finish landing after the text does. If they are still missing an hour later, the transfer was interrupted and the only fix is to erase the iPhone and run it once more from the Android phone, which still holds the original chats until you sign in elsewhere.
Bottom line
Move to iOS during first setup is the only official route, and it is reliable if you meet its conditions: same number, erased iPhone, both phones on power, patience while the export runs. Everything else sold as a WhatsApp transfer is a third-party tool working around those rules. Keep the Android phone untouched until you have opened the chats on the iPhone and scrolled back a year — that is your undo button, and it disappears the moment you sign in on the new device.
