A fourth network device (for example, a network device to which a candidate target cell belongs) receives a fourth message sent by a first network device, where the fourth message is used to request the fourth network device to perform handover preparation to allow a terminal device to hand over to the fourth network device. The fourth message may be a new message, for example, a conditional handover request message. Alternatively, an existing message, for example, a handover request message or another message, is reused. The fourth message may include context information of the terminal device. Specifically, the context information of the terminal device may include at least one of a radio resource management configuration (radio resource management-config, RRM-config), radio access capability information, a security parameter, and a radio bearer configuration of the terminal device, and a system information block (system information block 1, SIB 1) of a source cell.
The first network device may be a network device to which a serving cell belongs, and the serving cell is a cell that currently accessed by the terminal device, and the fourth network device may be the network device to which the candidate target cell belongs. Further, the fourth network device may alternatively be a network device to which a first target cell belongs. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.