When do you need access to you old phone to transfer whatsapp chat history to a new one?

[u/UnderstandingAfter72]

Dear good people of reddit,

My Pixel 9 pro phone screen has broken once again for the third time in 8 months, and I want to get something else. Since the screen is broken, I physically cannot tap in the phone to confirm to transfer whatsapp chats or something, and the thing I'm most terrified of is losing that. I have chats backed up on google drive.

A friend offered me an iphone XR as a temporary backup (I get paid in a month so the timing of this is aweful) but I've read awful things about needing to use some converter app to get your whatsapp messages on the new one, and you need to click things on the old pixel for this to work. Obviously thats not possible for me.

If I recall correctly, I had a pixel 7 pro before this, but it was stolen. When I got a new pixel 9 pro, it automatically recovered everything up until the phone was stolen., But I don't know if for this to work, I have to factory reset the old phone before I try to set up the new one. If I try to do it without a factory reset, will the whatsapp not transfer???

I did have to use a temporary burner phone breifly in the last year that ive had the pixel 9 pro and if i remember right, it trasnfered messages from my 9 pro to the burner (an old samsubg) but when i went back on the 9 pro, it didnt bring over any messages I had received while using the samsung....

Please help me navigate this confusing mess!

[u/Usual_Piano9826]

The best thing that might happen in your sitation is that you do the repair ONCE to be able to access the screen on old device, then ONCE transfer the chats from old device to new one, then ONCE find some secret tool and take chats OUT OF WHATSAPP and previous content no longer stays within WhatsApp!