If you have upgraded your Samsung phone or you’re planning to do so, the first question that may come to your mind would be, ‘does Samsung Smart Switch transfer WhatsApp messages’. Isn’t it? One of the major reasons behind this is that most official and personal conversations are done on WhatsApp as it allows you to share multimedia and document files such as images, videos, PDFs, etc.
Well, the following sections give you a clear idea about the possibility of the process along with a couple of dos and don’ts that you must keep in mind when/if you plan to pick that route.
Does Samsung Smart Switch Transfer WhatsApp Messages?
A straightforward answer would be, YES, it does.
If you had asked the question, ‘does Samsung Smart Switch transfer WhatsApp messages’ a few years ago, the answer would have been NO because all the conversations that are done through the app are encrypted, and the previous versions of Smart Switch weren’t smart enough to read those chats. However, with the new release, the app now supports WhatsApp transfers, and that too without any hassle.
Now, if you’re planning to switch from an iPhone to Samsung, and ask, ‘does Samsung Smart Switch transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone’, the answer is again YES. Smart Switch does let you transfer your WhatsApp messages from your old iOS-based smartphone to Samsung, only Galaxy devices currently. Because it’s a cross-platform data exchange, a few additional prerequisites must be met before you can start the process. Check the next part.
How Does Samsung Smart Switch Transfer WhatsApp Messages?
The scope of this question is quite wide and so is the answer. If you wish to transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone or an old Android phone to Samsung, this section explains both procedures.
1. Transfer WhatsApp Messages from iPhone to Samsung
Because phones from different platforms are involved in this method, you must check and arrange the following before proceeding further:
Prerequisites
Before getting started, the following prerequisites must be met:
- The target Samsung smartphone must be new or reset to factory settings.
- The target Samsung smartphone must have the latest version of Smart Switch installed on it.
- The target Samsung smartphone must NOT have WhatsApp already installed on it.
- You must have access to a USB-C to Lightning Cable (usually ships with iPhones).
- The target Samsung smartphone must be at least 80% charged.
- iMessage on the source iPhone should be turned off (optional but important for hassle-free transfers).
- The SIM card associated with WhatsApp must be present in your new Samsung phone, and a different SIM in the iPhone.
Once all the above prerequisites are met, you can follow the step-by-step process given below to learn how Samsung uses Smart Switch to transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone.
Step 1: Set Up Hardware and Prepare Smart Switch
Use the USB-C to Lightning Cable to connect the source iPhone and the target Samsung smartphone. When the app selection box pops up on Samsung, tap Smart Switch. On the welcome window, tap Agree, and on the next screen, tap Allow.
When your iPhone prompts, tap Trust, and enter your passcode for verification.
After this, tap Next on your Samsung phone and wait while Smart Switch searches for the available data on iPhone to transfer.
Step 2: Choose WhatsApp to Transfer Messages
On the Select data to transfer screen, tap the All box to deselect everything, tap to select Apps, and then tap Transfer from the bottom-right corner of the screen.
On the next window, uncheck all the apps except WhatsApp Messenger and tap Install from the bottom.
Step 3: Authenticate and Finalize WhatsApp Message Transfer
When the QR code appears on the Samsung screen, instead of scanning the code, on your source iPhone, you can launch WhatsApp, go to Settings > Chats, and tap Move chats to Android. On the next window, tap Start.
After completion, from the bottom of the Data transfer results screen, tap Next, and tap Next on the other windows that come up as well. On the All set screen, tap Done from the bottom.
After this, open App Drawer on your Samsung phone, launch the newly installed WhatsApp, follow the on-screen instructions to set up the app, tap START on the Importing chat history screen, tap Allow on the confirmation box that pops up, and wait while all your WhatsApp messages are transferred from iPhone to Samsung.
2. Transfer WhatsApp Messages from Android to Samsung
The prerequisites that this method needs are not as complicated as those mentioned in the previous section. Nevertheless, you still need the following few things:
- The batteries of both phones must be at least 80% charged.
- You must have access to a USB-C to USB-C type cable. If your old Android phone doesn’t have a USB-C port, you may need an adapter to use the cable with it. Note: If you don’t have access to the cable, you can connect both your phones through a stable Wi-Fi connection. However, this approach could take more time, depending on the number of WhatsApp messages and media files there are to transfer.
- The latest version of the Samsung Smart Switch must be installed on your new Samsung phone.
- Make sure that both source and target phones are unlocked.
Once everything is set up, you can follow the steps given below to transfer WhatsApp messages from Android to Smartphone:
Step 1: Set Up Smart Switch
On the new phone, launch Smart Switch, tap Receive data when the app asks, and tap Galaxy/Android on the Select a source screen.
Step 2: Define Connection Type
On the Get connected screen, according to your connection type, tap Cable or Wireless (Cable is selected here for convenience). When the phone prompts, use the USB-C cable (and the adapter if need be) to connect your new Samsung phone to the old Android smartphone, and wait while the two phones recognize each other and establish a connection.
Step 3: Start WhatsApp Message Transfer
When the Select data to transfer screen appears on your new phone, you can follow the process explained from Step 2 and onwards in the previous section to successfully transfer WhatsApp messages from your old Android to Samsung.
Pros and Cons of using Samsung Smart Switch to Transfer WhatsApp
While most people use Samsung Smart Switch for data transfers from an old Android or iPhone to a new Samsung smartphone, the method has some pros and cons which are listed below:
Pros
- Being a proprietary program, Smart Switch is fully compatible with Samsung smartphones.
- Smart Switch offers a free data transfer solution.
- New Samsung phones have Smart Switch already installed on them so you don’t have to manually get the app from Play Store.
- It will not transfer all your WhatsApp media to your gallery which will save space on your Samsung phone, but you can re-download it to your phone if you want.
Cons
- You can only transfer WhatsApp to a new Samsung phone or a Samsung phone that has been factory reset.
- Although Smart Switch claims to offer a hassle-free solution, several prerequisites must be met before you can even start transferring the messages.
- A lot of steps are involved in the process which might be daunting for users with little or no technical knowledge.
- While transferring WhatsApp messages from an iPhone to Samsung, you must connect the two phones directly through a USB-C to Lightning Cable.
How To Transfer WhatsApp Between Android and iPhone Regardless of Phone Brands
Smart Switch is a proprietary app and a good solution, alright. However, unless you have a moderate understanding of smartphones, you may get baffled by the steps involved in the transfer process. This is where an efficient third-party solution called Tenoshare iCareFone Transfer comes into play.
Although the app requires you to connect both source and target phones to a computer, the entire transfer procedure is extremely simple and universal regardless of the brand and/or platform of the smartphone.
Some advantages that Tenoshare iCareFone Transfer has over Smart Switch are:
- Supports both WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business.
- Supports WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business transfer between different Android phones and iPhone.
- Doesn’t require the target device to be new or factory reset.
- Allows you to obtain and then restore your WhatsApp messages from Google Drive to your iPhone.
- Offers one-click backup and restore of WhatsApp and WhatsApp Business messages and media files.
- Allows selective WhatsApp data transfer, leaving behind anything that is not important or unnecessary.
- Enables you to export WhatsApp data to your PC for offline for viewing or printing.
Conclusion
So, now that you know how Samsung Smart Switch transfers WhatsApp messages, it would be easier for you to pick the right and most convenient approach. However, the method you choose depends on the time you can spare for the process, and whether or not you want to use a third-party tool that offers more features than merely transferring your chats and media files.
