Backup WhatsApp Messages to Computer or Transfer Them to a New Phone

WhatsApp Messenger (simply WhatsApp) is a cross-platform freeware launched in February 2009. This messaging app allows users to send instant voice and text messages without paying a dime.

Also, WhatsApp lets users share media content as well as make video and voice calls. And to make the whole experience even better, users can backup WhatsApp on computers and mobile phones via iCloud and Google Drive. But do you know how to do this? Fret not because this post will teach you to export WhatsApp chat history quickly and easily.

Part 1: How to backup WhatsApp on computers and mobile phones

In this section, you’ll learn several methods to backup WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone and vice-versa. You’ll also know how to do the same from mobile phone to PC. Let’s get started!

Method 1: Backup WhatsApp to a computer (iPhone & Android)

The process to backup WhatsApp messages to a PC on Android or iPhone can be complicated. But with third-party software like MobileTrans, you can generate a full backup of all WhatsApp data on PC.

Users can quickly and easily transfer WhatsApp videos, songs, text messages, photos, contacts, and other data from iPhone/Android to Windows/Mac computers. Apart from that, MobileTrans also helps you recover accidentally deleted WhatsApp data. And most importantly, it supports more than 18 file formats, letting users transfer almost anything.

Follow these simple steps to backup WhatsApp to computers quickly:

Step 1. Download and install MobileTrans on your Mac/Win computer before using a USB cable to connect your phone to the PC. Then, run the software before logging into your MobileTrans account.

Step 2. Next, click the Backup & Restore tab and then hit the Backup app data tab.

Step 3. Click the WhatsApp tab and then click from the available options and then apply the on-screen instructions to enable USB debugging on your phone.

Step 4. Once USB debugging is successful, you’ll see all your WhatsApp data listed on the screen.

Step 5. Finally, click Start to begin transferring your WhatsApp data from mobile phone to PC.

Pro tip: To view all your imported WhatsApp data on PC, click View it. You’ll be surprised that this method exports even the most recent status updates and starred messages.

Method 2: Transfer WhatsApp messages from Android to Android

Interestingly, WhatsApp comes with all the tools you need to transfer messages from one Android phone to another. In other words, you don’t need third-party help to transfer WhatsApp data from Android to Android. Just set up a Google Drive account and use it to back up your WhatsApp messages and media. You can then use the same account to restore this backup on your new Android phone. Follow me:

Step 1. Launch WhatsApp and then tap the Menu icon at the top-right corner.

Step 2. Click Settings and then tap Chats.

Step 3. From there, click Chat backup and then choose a Google Drive account under the Google Account section.

Step 4. Do you also want to include videos in your backup? If so, enable the Include videos to toggle. Note, however, that videos will occupy significant storage space apart from making the backup process slower.

Step 5. Finally, tap BACK UP to start transferring WhatsApp from Android to Google Drive. Use your Google Drive account to create a WhatsApp backup and restore the messages in your new phone. That was easy, right?

Method 3: Transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone to Android

Switching from iOS to Android can be a bit of an overkill for some iPhone users. That’s because you need to be a techie to import most of your iPhone data, including WhatsApp chats, to Android. It even gets worse since iPhone WhatsApp backs up data on iCloud, whereas Android WhatsApp saves data on Google Drive. Which begs the question; how do you transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone to Android? Again, the process is pretty quick.

But before we begin the steps, it’s important to remember that this process is reserved for Samsung users only. Also, you need to ensure that WhatsApp isn’t installed on your Android phone. Another thing, get a USB-C to Lightning cable and install Samsung SmartSwitch on your new device.

Here are the steps:

Step 1. Plugin the lightning connector on your two phones.

Step 2. Click SmartSwitch on your Samsung Galaxy phone and then connect the app to your iPhone.

Step 3. SmartSwitch will begin searching for data to transfer. If successful, click Apps and then tap Transfer. You’ll see WhatsApp Messenger among the apps you can move from iPhone to Samsung Galaxy. Select it!

Step 4. Click Install on the SmartSwitch app, and a QR scanner will launch. On your iPhone WhatsApp, click Settings, tap Chat, and then press Move Chats to Android.

Step 5. Now wrap up the process by clicking Start. You’ll have to wait for a while to complete the process.

Pro tip: After installing WhatsApp on Samsung via SmartSwitch, ensure you use the same WhatsApp number initially used on your iPhone.

Method 4: Transfer WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone

As noted initially, transferring WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone isn’t officially supported. But still, you can share your WhatsApp data between these two mobile operating systems using email. The only limitation with this process is that users can only transfer a single chat at once. Here are the steps:

Step 1. Fire up WhatsApp on your phone and then tap Settings.

Step 2. Click Chats and choose Chat History.

Step 3. Tap Export chat and then click a contact whose history you want to transfer.

Step 4. Lastly, choose Gmail, then send the chat history to your email address. You can also export to services like Yahoo Mail and Outlook.

Part 2: Bonus tip: How to backup and transfer your starred messages in WhatsApp

WhatsApp comes with multiple features, including starred messages. For the purposes of this article, a starred message is bookmarked or saved. In other words, you can “star” a message in a chat if it contains relevant information that you don’t want to lose. This way, accessing the message in a dedicated section becomes a breeze.

Unfortunately, there is no dedicated way to backup starred messages on Google Drive or iCloud. But still, you can export them to email or other WhatsApp contacts without breaking a sweat. Let’s see how to do it below:

Step 1. Run WhatsApp, then tap the Menu icon.

Step 2. Click Starred messaged, and you’ll see all your bookmarked messages and the contacts.

Step 3. Tap and hold down the message you want to export and then tap the Share button.

Step 4. Choose the destination app and export the WhatsApp chat.

Check here to head to our in-depth transfer WhatsApp starred messages guide.

Limitation: This method doesn’t apply to text messages. Put simply, you can only export starred media files like photos and videos.

Conclusion

See, learning how to backup WhatsApp on computers and mobile phones isn’t as complicated as you first thought. The thing is to enable the backup feature on WhatsApp, and you can rest easy knowing that your data is safe. And, of course, use Wondershare MobileTrans to import all WhatsApp data on your new PC or phone quickly and easily. It can’t be any easier!

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Axel Nash

staff Editor