The present disclosure relates to handover methods. In one example method, a first network node determines that a terminal device needs handover. The handover is from a second network node to a third network node. The first network node sends a user equipment context setup request message to the third network node. The user equipment context setup request message is used to instruct the third network node to establish a radio link for the terminal device. The first network node sends a handover command to the terminal device. The handover command is used to instruct the terminal device to perform the handover.