How to Transfer GB WhatsApp Chats to a New Phone
Getting a new phone does not necessarily mean losing your old GB WhatsApp chats. If you still have access to your old Android phone, you can create a local backup and move the relevant GB WhatsApp files to the new device.
The process mainly involves three things: creating a fresh backup, copying the GB WhatsApp folder, and placing it in the correct location on your new phone.
Before You Start
Keep your old phone until you have confirmed that your chats are working on the new one.
Before transferring anything:
- Charge both phones.
- Make sure GB WhatsApp is working normally on the old phone.
- Create a fresh chat backup.
- Make sure the new phone has enough free storage.
- Do not uninstall GB WhatsApp from the old phone yet.
If you are unsure where your existing backup is stored, check our guide on Where Is GB WhatsApp Backup Stored? first.
Step 1: Create a Backup on Your Old Phone
Open GB WhatsApp on your old phone and go to:
Settings → Chats → Chat Backup
Tap the backup option and wait until the process finishes.
The exact wording can vary between GB WhatsApp versions, but you should find the backup option under the Chats settings.
Once the backup is complete, leave the old phone alone. You will need its files for the next step.
Step 2: Find the GB WhatsApp Folder
Open the file manager on your old Android phone.
On newer Android devices, a commonly used location is:
Internal Storage/Android/media/com.gbwhatsapp/GBWhatsApp/
Inside the GBWhatsApp folder, you may see directories such as:
Databases
Media
Backups
The Databases folder contains the local chat backup files, while Media contains items such as photos, videos, audio, and documents.
Some older GB WhatsApp installations use a different location:
Internal Storage/GBWhatsApp/
with the backup files under:
Internal Storage/GBWhatsApp/Databases/
Because the folder structure can vary by GB WhatsApp build and Android version, don’t worry if you don’t see the first path. Search your internal storage for GBWhatsApp or files beginning with msgstore.
Step 3: Copy the GB WhatsApp Files
The easiest approach is to copy the entire GBWhatsApp folder rather than moving only one database file.
You can transfer it using:
- A USB cable
- A computer
- An SD card
- Another file-transfer method
If you only copy the database, your chats may come back without all of your old media. Copying the Media folder as well gives GB WhatsApp access to your photos, videos, voice messages, and documents.
If storage is limited, at minimum make sure you have a copy of the Databases folder before continuing.
Step 4: Move the Files to the New Phone
Install the same or a compatible GB WhatsApp version on your new Android phone.
Before completing the setup, place the copied files in the corresponding GB WhatsApp location on the new phone.
For newer Android installations, this may be:
Android/media/com.gbwhatsapp/GBWhatsApp/
If the new installation creates this folder automatically, use the existing folder instead of creating another GBWhatsApp directory somewhere else.
If your previous installation used the older root-level structure, you may see:
Internal Storage/GBWhatsApp/
The important thing is to match the folder structure used by the GB WhatsApp installation on the new phone.
Step 5: Restore Your Chats
Open GB WhatsApp and verify the same phone number you used on the old phone.
If the local backup is in the expected location, the app may detect it during setup and show a restore option.
Tap Restore and wait for the process to finish.
After the chats are restored, give the app some time to load your media. Large collections of photos and videos may take longer to appear.
Check a few old conversations before deleting anything from your old phone.
What If GB WhatsApp Does Not Find the Backup?
The most common problem is that the backup exists but is in the wrong folder.
First, check the Databases folder and look for files with names similar to:
msgstore.db.crypt14
or dated versions such as:
msgstore-2026-09-20-1.db.crypt14
The exact file name and encryption extension can vary by version.
Then check whether your GBWhatsApp folder is located under:
Android/media/com.gbwhatsapp/
or directly in:
Internal Storage/GBWhatsApp/
You should also make sure that the phone number used during setup matches the number associated with the backup.
If the new phone still cannot detect it, do not delete the original files. Keep the old phone and the copied backup intact while you troubleshoot the folder location.
Will My Photos and Videos Transfer Too?
They can, but copying the chat database alone is not enough.
Your messages are stored in the database, while media is kept separately inside the GBWhatsApp media folders. If you want to keep old photos, videos, voice notes, and documents, copy the Media folder as well.
After restoration, open several older chats and check that their attachments are still available.
Can I Transfer GB WhatsApp Without the Old Phone?
It depends on whether you already have a usable backup.
If you have a copy of the GB WhatsApp backup folder on a computer, SD card, or another storage location, you may still be able to move it to the new phone.
If you have neither the old phone nor a backup, there may be no local chat database available to restore.
For this reason, it is better to create and copy your backup before wiping or trading in your old phone.
Moving to a New Phone Without Losing Your Chats
The safest order is simple: backup first, copy the files, restore on the new phone, then check your chats and media.
Do not erase the old phone immediately after copying the files. Make sure recent and older conversations, photos, videos, and documents are available on the new device first.
If you’re also updating GB WhatsApp during the move, see How to Update GB WhatsApp Without Losing Data for additional precautions.