How to Move WhatsApp Business to a New Phone Without Losing Chats

To move WhatsApp Business to a new phone of the same type, back up your chats on the old phone (Google Account on Android, iCloud on iPhone), install WhatsApp Business on the new phone, verify the same number and tap Restore. That’s the route WhatsApp supports for the Business app.

The quicker options you may have read about don’t apply here. WhatsApp says its phone-to-phone chat transfer, and moving chats between Android and iPhone, aren’t currently possible on the WhatsApp Business app. This guide walks through the backup route step by step, what to do if you’re switching platforms, and what to check once you’re set up.

Which route applies to you

Start by finding your situation. WhatsApp’s options are different for the Business app and for personal WhatsApp:

WhatsApp is also testing WhatsApp cloud storage as a backup option alongside Google and iCloud. It says the feature may not be available to you yet, so the steps below use Google and iCloud.

Before you start: a short checklist

1. Update WhatsApp Business on the old phone, and install the latest version on the new one.
2. Have your SIM or number ready for the verification code on the new phone.
3. Know your two-step verification PIN, if you set one. See WhatsApp two-step verification PIN.
4. Check storage. Your cloud account needs room for the backup, and the new phone needs more free space than the backup’s size.
5. Write down your setup. Make a note of your quick replies, labels, greeting and away messages and catalogue items, so you can check them afterwards.
6. Plug both phones in and use Wi-Fi. Backups and restores can be large.

Android to Android: back up and restore

On the old phone

1. Open WhatsApp Business and go to Settings › Chats › Chat backup.
2. Under Google Account, choose the account to back up to, or tap Add account.
3. Turn on Include videos in chats if you want videos back. WhatsApp only restores videos if this was on.
4. Tap Back up and wait until it finishes. The screen shows the time and size of your last backup.

On the new phone

1. Sign in to the same Google Account on the phone.
2. Install WhatsApp Business and verify the same phone number.
3. Tap Restore when prompted. Don’t tap Skip if you want your old chats.
4. Keep WhatsApp open until your chats appear. Photos, videos and documents then restore in the background.

If you set up an end-to-end encrypted backup, you’ll need its password, passkey or 64-digit key. WhatsApp says it’s the only way into that backup.

iPhone to iPhone: back up and restore

On the old iPhone

1. In iPhone Settings, tap your name › iCloud › iCloud Drive, turn on Sync this iPhone, and make sure WhatsApp is on under the apps syncing to iCloud Drive.
2. Open WhatsApp Business and go to Settings › Chats › Chat backup.
3. Turn Include videos in chats on or off, then tap Back up now and wait for it to finish.

On the new iPhone

1. Sign in with the same Apple ID, and check iCloud Drive is on with WhatsApp allowed.
2. Install WhatsApp Business, then verify your phone number and Apple ID.
3. Tap Restore Chat History.
4. Keep WhatsApp open until your chats appear. If you close it too soon, it may start restoring messages again.
5. Let the media finish. If you tap Skip media restore, WhatsApp says you can’t restore that media later.

Switching between Android and iPhone

This is where the Business app differs most from personal WhatsApp. WhatsApp’s Help Center says moving chats from Android to iPhone, or from iPhone to Android, isn’t currently possible on the WhatsApp Business app. It also says backups made on Android can’t be restored on an iPhone, or the other way round.

So if you switch platform, you can still verify your number in WhatsApp Business on the new phone, but your chat history won’t come with it. Plan for that:

1. Export the chats you need on the old phone, one at a time, with media if you want it. See how to export WhatsApp Business chats.
2. Save important files separately, such as invoices, signed documents or photos customers sent.
3. Keep the old phone for a while as a read-only record, without wiping it.
4. Verify the number on the new phone and set up your profile and tools again.

After the move: what to check

Once chats are back, take ten minutes to check the parts of WhatsApp Business your customers notice. WhatsApp doesn’t spell out how each business tool behaves after a restore, so check rather than assume:

• Business profile: name, hours, address and website. See your WhatsApp Business profile.
• Catalogue: products, prices and photos. See WhatsApp catalogue.
• Labels on your chats. See WhatsApp Business labels.
• Quick replies, greeting and away messages. Compare them with your notes. See WhatsApp Business quick replies.
• Linked devices. WhatsApp lets you link up to four, such as WhatsApp Web on a shop computer. Open Linked devices on the new phone and link again any that are missing.
• Backups. Turn on automatic backups on the new phone, daily or weekly.

Linked devices stay connected only if you open WhatsApp on your main phone at least every 14 days, so keep using the new phone as your main one. Wipe the old phone only once you’re sure nothing is missing.

If your number uses coexistence with the API

With coexistence, the same number works in the WhatsApp Business app and on the Cloud API through a provider. Moving it to a new phone means verifying the number again there, and Meta lists re-registering on a new device as a reason it disconnects the number from the Cloud API. So plan to connect it again straight after the move:

• Don’t leave the main phone idle. If it’s inactive for about 14 days, Meta disconnects the number from the API. Move in one go rather than over weeks.
• Connect again right after the move, then send a test message from another phone and make sure it reaches your inbox.

In Automate AI, the inbox only holds messages from the day you connected; past app chats were never imported, so a phone change doesn’t affect what’s in the inbox. After the move, connect it again from Connect WhatsApp › WhatsApp Business App number › Use my app number. More in WhatsApp coexistence and coexistence not working.

If your number is on the WhatsApp Business API

An API-only number doesn’t live on a phone. Messages go through Meta’s Cloud API to your platform, so a new handset needs no transfer: sign in to your platform on the new device and carry on. In Automate AI that means logging in to the web app, or the installable web app on your phone, and your team inbox is exactly as you left it.

Changing the number itself is a different job. See can you change your WhatsApp API number?. If you’re still on the Business app and outgrowing one phone, WhatsApp Business app limitations covers when the API makes sense.