How to Transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone Using iTunes

If you wonder how to transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone using iTunes, you may need this guide to get detailed instructions. The guide also offers you other two ways to finish the transfer task.

Demi by Demi Updated November 20, 2023
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Can I transfer WhatsApp chats from iTunes backup?

Bought a new iPhone, and I wanted to migrate WhatsAppp to the new iPhone. I have backed up the old iPhone through iTunes. Can I restore the backup on new iPhone to get all chat history and media? Thanks.

- Question from Apple Community

Can you transfer WhatsApp chats through iTunes?

WhatsApp has become one of the popular chat apps to receive and send lots of data, including text, voice messages, audio, videos, and so on among your family and friend. Thus, when you get a new iPhone, you may not want to lose WhatsApp data.

It is a wise choice to backup and restore WhatsApp to new iPhone. When it comes to backup iPhone files to PC, iTunes may be the first choice for you. So, is it possible to transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone using iTunes?

iTunes WhatsApp backup

You may firstly need to know what iTunes backup includes. Actually, you can easily backup the whole data including all local files of apps like WhatsApp. Now, without further ado, follow this guide to know how to transfer WhatsApp history from iPhone to iPhone with iTunes.

Transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone using iTunes

Here are detailed steps to transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone to iPhone using iTunes. Make sure you have downloaded and installed the latest version of iTunes on your computer, and let’s get started.

Step 1. Launch iTunes on your computer > Connect your previous iPhone to PC with USB > Tap Trust on your iPhone to let your computer access iPhone data.

Step 2. Click the phone icon in the upper left corner of iTunes > Click Summary > Optionally, check Encrypt iPhone backup to protect your privacy > Tap Back Up Now.

click Back Up Now

Step 3. Disconnect your previous iPhone and plug in your new iPhone to PC > Click Summary > Click Restore Backup > Choose the backup you just created to restore.

iPhone restore backup

📌 Warm tip:
Chances are that you will receive an error message, saying iTunes could not restore iPhone from backup because of an error occur. You can try a third party tool to know how to restore iTunes backup to new iPhone without iTunes.

Alternative ways to transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone without iTunes

You may have noticed that iTunes only allows you to backup all data on one iPhone and restore it to the other iPhone, which can be workable only if you got a new iPhone.

If you want to transfer only WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone, the two methods below can be better solutions than iTunes.

Way 1. With FoneTool

Instead of wasting time backing up source iPhone and restoring backup files to another iPhone, FoneTool, the professional transfer software, helps you transfer only WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone within a click.

Don’t need to worry about losing data. FoneTool will switch all WhatsApp data from iPhone to iPhone, including but not limited to chat histories, photos, videos, and attachments. Free download FoneTool to your computer, and clone WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone in one-click.

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Step 1. Launch FoneTool > Connect your two iPhones to computer via USB > You need to tap Trust on iPhone to let the two iPhones be recognized.

Step 2. On the homepage of FoneTool, choose WhatsApp Manager from the left pane > Make sure your two iPhones are in right place > Tap Transfer Now.

transfer now

Step 3. When a window prompts, click Confirm to continue > If asked, enter your passcode on iPhone > Click OK to start the transfer.

passcode required

When the transfer task completes, your target iPhone will be restarted automatically, and you will find that all the contents in WhatsApp have been copied from the source iPhone to the target iPhone.

Way 2. With WhatsApp iCloud backup

If you are using the same phone number or email address as your WhatsApp account and iCloud account, you can enable in-app iCloud backup in WhatsApp on your source iPhone, and then restore only the WhatsApp backup on your target iPhone.

✍ To enable iCloud backup in WhatsApp, you need to make sure that:
• you have enough iCloud space to save WhatsApp data, which should be at least twice as big as WhatsApp data,
• the operating system on two iPhones should be iOS 12 or newer,
• two iPhones should be connected to Wi-Fi during the transfer process.

How to backup WhatsApp on source iPhone
Step 1. Go to Settings on your iPhone > Tap [your name] > iCloud > Turn on the switches next to iCloud Drive and WhatsApp if they are disabled.

iCloud Drive

Step 2. Open WhatsApp on your iPhone > Go to its Settings > Chats > Click Chat Backup. Tap Back Up Now to backup WhatsApp chats.

iCloud WhatsApp backup

How to restore WhatsApp on target iPhone
On your target iPhone, download and install WhatsApp app > Verify your account > Tap Restore Chat History > Follow the onscreen instructions to restore WhatsApp backup to your target iPhone.

WhatsApp restore backup

Summary

That’s all for how to transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone using iTunes. If you feel that iTunes is not the most ideal tool to transfer WhatsApp, you can try restore WhatsApp iCloud backup to your target iPhone. Besides, FoneTool helps you directly transfer WhatsApp from iPhone to iPhone without backup. Is this guide helpful? Please share it with others.

 

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