After working around the clock searching for a way to migrate WhatsApp messages from Android to my brand-spankin' old iPhone X, coming across countless articles explaining that it was virtual impossible - especially without access to a Mac device, I thankfully came across a solution, and only felt it necessary to share.
I have tested this method using a Moto G Fast (Android 11), iPhone X (iOS 14.6), and Windows 10 PC.
- Media files and shared locations will not be imported/migrated. They will be shown instead as placeholders.
- If you've already started using WhatsApp on your iPhone, fret not, this will simply merge your old messages with any existing ones. They should not be overwritten.
- Messages from contacts that changed IDs (phone numbers) will not be linked.
The following applications will be utilized to complete the process:
- VMWare Player (build 16.1)
- VMWare Unlocker v3.0.3
- WhatsApp-Key-Database-Extractor
- watoi
- Torrenting software of your choice (for vmdk/iso download)
- Python 3.7
- Java
As described at https://github.com/residentsummer/watoi#prerequisites, we will need to take care of some prerequisites before the actual migration.
I would highly advise creating an iTunes backup of your device in the event that anything goes wrong down the line. Launch iTunes on Windows 10 and create a backup to This Computer (not iCloud). Once that's finished, continue below.
- Follow the installation and extraction instructions for WhatsApp-Key-Database-Extractor.
- After successful extraction, locate the
msgstore.dbfile and save in a memorable location.
- Follow a guide to install macOS in VMWare:
- For Intel-based processors: Full Guide
- For AMD-based processors, you will need to use AMD OSX kernel patches: Full Guide.
Note: If you run into boot errors, you need to edit your.vmxfile. Find itC:\Users\yourUsername\Documents\Virtual Machines\macOS 10.12, then search and edit the following lines to match:
virtualHW.version = "10"
firmware = "bios"
- Once you're all booted up to the macOS desktop, congratulations, you've completed the hardest step! Next, download Xcode 8.3.3, extract it, then move it to the /Applications folder.
- Open a Terminal window, run
sudo xcodebuild -license, and agree to the Xcode Terms of Use.- Note: If you come across an error at this point (along the lines of tool 'xcodebuild' requires Xcode...), you may need to first run
sudo xcode-select -s /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer, and try again.
- Note: If you come across an error at this point (along the lines of tool 'xcodebuild' requires Xcode...), you may need to first run
- Open iTunes on macOS and attempt to connect the iPhone to the VM via USB passthrough (image). You may need to update iTunes to version 12.7 or later.
- Drag & drop the
msgstore.dbfile from earlier into the Downloads folder within the VM. You will need this for the next step. - Continue with the step-by-step instructions for watoi.
At the time of writing, the most recent WhatsApp version is 2.21.11. The IPA for this version can be found at https://www.itsappleos.com/2021/01/downlaod-whatsapp-messenger-22111-ipa.html (direct download).
Simply download this file within the VM and after you've cloned watoi, move it to /Downloads/watoi along with the msgstore.db file.
I hope this guide proved itself useful, and I'd just like to acknowledge the efforts put in by those who made such a great feature possible without it being natively supported - including but not limited to:
- residentsummer - For watoi
- YuvrajRaghuvanshiS - For WhatsApp Key Database Extractor
- paolo-projects - For VMWare Unlocker
...and all the other contributors to these amazing projects!
Nice find, I will update the download link in the gist.