WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows you to backup your chat history and media either locally on your device or to Google Drive. This comes in handy if you ever need to restore your chats after switching phones or reinstalling WhatsApp.
While Google Drive backup is enabled by default, local backup provides a quick and convenient way to restore your WhatsApp data if you don’t use Google Drive. In this guide, we’ll explore how to backup WhatsApp locally, restore chats from a local backup, and tackle common backup issues.
Backing Up WhatsApp Locally
WhatsApp stores your chat history, media, and settings data in a database file on your phone. To create a local backup of this data, you need to manually enable local backups in WhatsApp’s settings.
Here are the steps to enable local WhatsApp backups on Android and iOS devices:
On Android
- Open WhatsApp and tap the 3-dot menu in the top-right corner.
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- Tap “Backup to Google Drive” and select the “Back up to this device” option.
Once enabled, WhatsApp will automatically backup your data locally on a daily basis when the app is open and your phone is charging. You can also manually trigger a backup anytime from WhatsApp’s chat backup settings.
On iPhone
- Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.
- Tap Chats > Chat Backup.
- Toggle the “Auto Backup” switch ON.
This will enable daily local backups when your iPhone is plugged in, connected to WiFi, and the screen is locked. You can also initiate a manual backup here.
That’s it! WhatsApp will now automatically save a copy of your chats and media to a database file on your device’s internal storage. Local WhatsApp backups do not count against your phone’s storage limit.
Restoring Chats from Local Backup
If you ever need to restore your WhatsApp data after installing the app on a new device or reinstalling it on the same phone, you can use the local backup file. Here are the steps to restore chats and media from a WhatsApp local backup:
On Android
- Install WhatsApp on your device and verify your number.
- On the Restore Chat History page, tap “Restore” to restore from local backup.
- WhatsApp will load the latest local backup file and restore your chats.
On iPhone
- Install WhatsApp and verify your phone number.
- On the Restore Chat History page, tap “Restore” to load your local backup.
- Confirm to restore your chats and media from the local WhatsApp backup.
That’s all there is to it! Your chat history, media files, and settings will be restored from the local backup on your device storage. The restore process is quite fast compared to Google Drive.
Troubleshooting Local WhatsApp Backups
While local WhatsApp backups provide a quick way to restore your chats, you may encounter backup issues like failure to create backup or restoring from an old backup. Here are some tips to troubleshoot common backup problems:
Failed to Create Backup
- Ensure backup is enabled in WhatsApp’s Chat Backup settings.
- Check for free storage space on your phone.
- Connect phone to stable WiFi and charge to trigger auto backup.
- Manually backup chats from WhatsApp’s Chat Backup settings.
Restored Old Backup
- WhatsApp restores most recent local backup available.
- Backup your chats manually after making important changes.
- Check backup date in WhatsApp’s Chat Backup settings.
- Delete old backups and create a fresh backup if needed.
You can also move local WhatsApp backups between Android devices to restore chats on a new phone. On iPhone, local backups are device-specific and cannot be transferred.
If you face frequent backup issues or want to retain chat history for long term, consider backing up your WhatsApp data to Google Drive as well.
Google Drive Backup vs Local Backup
While local backup provides a quick and easy way to restore your WhatsApp chats, Google Drive backup has some advantages:
| Google Drive Backup | Local Backup |
|---|---|
| Backups saved remotely to Google Drive | Backups saved locally on device storage |
| Accessible even if you lose your phone | Only accessible on the same phone |
| Free unlimited storage for WhatsApp backups | Limited by device storage capacity |
| Manually backup anytime | Auto daily backups when conditions met |
| Can take time to restore chats | Fast restore from local storage |
So while local backup provides faster restores, Google Drive gives you the flexibility of remote backups accessible from any device. Using both together gives you a failsafe in case you ever lose your phone or local data gets corrupted.
Key Takeaways
Here are some key points to recap on backing up and restoring WhatsApp chats locally:
- Enable ‘Back up to this device’ in WhatsApp’s Chat Backup settings for local backups.
- WhatsApp saves a local backup file to your phone’s storage.
- Local backups happen daily when app open, phone charging and WiFi connected.
- You can also manually backup anytime from WhatsApp’s Chat Backup screen.
- To restore, install WhatsApp on new device and tap ‘Restore’ to load local backup.
- Local backups provide fast restores but are limited to your phone’s storage.
- For remote access and unlimited storage, also backup WhatsApp chats to Google Drive.
Conclusion
Backing up and restoring WhatsApp chats locally is a quick and simple process that avoids the need for Google Drive. It provides a fast way to restore your messages, media, and settings when reinstalling WhatsApp or getting a new phone.
However, local WhatsApp backups have limited capacity and only work on the same device. For unlimited storage and remote access across devices, it’s recommended to also backup your WhatsApp data to Google Drive.
Using both local and Google Drive backup together gives you a robust restore mechanism in case you ever lose your device or backups get corrupted. This ensures you have multiple fallback options to retrieve your valuable WhatsApp chat history.