WhatsApp has become one of the most widely used messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. Many people rely on WhatsApp to stay in touch with friends, family, coworkers, and more. With so much important communication happening on WhatsApp, it’s critical to back up your WhatsApp data regularly so you don’t lose your conversations, photos, videos, and other info.
How does WhatsApp backup work?
WhatsApp gives you two options for backing up your data – backup to Google Drive or backup locally to your device’s storage. Here’s an overview of how each method works:
Google Drive backup
- WhatsApp will automatically backup your data to your linked Google Drive account once a day when your phone is charging, on WiFi, and the screen is locked.
- Your chats, photos, videos, and other data get encrypted and stored in your Drive.
- You can also manually trigger a Google Drive backup at any time from WhatsApp’s Chats settings.
- Your backup will not count towards your Google Drive storage quota.
Local backup
- WhatsApp will automatically backup your data locally on your device’s storage once a day when your phone is charging, idle, and on WiFi.
- The backup file is not encrypted and is saved to your phone’s internal storage or SD card.
- You can also manually trigger a local backup from WhatsApp’s Chats settings.
- Your backups take up space on your device’s storage.
Backing up regularly, especially to Google Drive, is recommended to make sure you have a copy of your WhatsApp data.
Why would you need to restore a WhatsApp backup?
There are a few common scenarios where restoring your WhatsApp backup would be necessary:
- Getting a new phone – When you get a new Android phone, you’ll need to restore your WhatsApp backup during setup to transfer your chats and data.
- Reinstalling WhatsApp – If you uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp, restoring your backup brings back your info.
- Lost or damaged phone – If you lose your phone or it becomes damaged, restoring on a new device retrieves your chats.
- OS update – Major Android OS updates can sometimes wipe app data, so restoring afterwards gets your WhatsApp info back.
- Clearing data – If you manually clear WhatsApp’s data or do a factory reset, your backup has all your old data.
As long as you have a recent backup, you can use it to recover your WhatsApp content if needed.
How to restore WhatsApp backup on Android
Restoring your WhatsApp backup on Android is a straightforward process:
- Install WhatsApp on your Android device if not already installed.
- Open WhatsApp and agree to the Terms of Service.
- On the popup asking “Restore chats?”, tap RESTORE.
- Confirm your phone number, then tap NEXT.
- Select the backup source:
- Google Drive – Tap BACKUP FOUND if a backup exists. WhatsApp will download the backup.
- Local – Tap RESTORE if a local backup exists on your phone’s storage.
- Wait for the restore process to complete.
- Your chats and data will be restored. Verify everything looks correct.
As long as you have an active internet connection, the Google Drive restore process is automatic. For local backups, your backup file must be accessible on your device storage.
How to restore WhatsApp backup on iPhone
To restore a WhatsApp backup on an iPhone:
- Install WhatsApp from the App Store if not already installed.
- Open WhatsApp and agree to the Terms of Service.
- Tap Start when prompted.
- Make sure you’re using the same phone number as your backup.
- Tap Restore when prompted to restore your chats and media from iCloud.
- Log into iCloud and ensure WhatsApp backups are enabled in iCloud settings.
- Tap Restore to begin downloading your most recent iCloud WhatsApp backup.
- Wait for WhatsApp to finish restoring your chats, photos, videos and other data.
As long as you have iCloud backups enabled for WhatsApp, your chats and media will automatically restore when reinstalling WhatsApp on an iPhone. You can also manually back up or restore at any time from WhatsApp’s Chat Settings.
How to restore from Google Drive on a new phone
When setting up a new Android phone, here are the steps to restore your WhatsApp chats and media from a Google Drive backup:
- Once your new phone is booted up, install WhatsApp from the Play Store.
- Open WhatsApp and agree to the Terms of Service.
- On the “Restore chats” popup, tap RESTORE.
- Verify your phone number and tap NEXT.
- Tap BACKUP FOUND when you see the Google Drive backup available.
- Let WhatsApp download and restore your backup. This may take a few minutes.
- Your chats, photos, settings and other data will be restored. Verify everything looks correct.
As long as you have an active internet connection and your Google account linked, this will automatically pull your latest WhatsApp backup from Drive when setting up a new Android device.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp restore issues
In some cases, you may encounter issues trying to restore your WhatsApp data. Here are some troubleshooting tips:
Backup not found
- Make sure your backups are enabled in WhatsApp’s Chat Settings.
- Check that you have internet connectivity.
- Verify your Google account on your Android device or iCloud account on your iPhone is the same one associated with your WhatsApp backups.
- Double check your local backup exists on your old phone’s storage if restoring from local.
- Restart your device and try restoring again.
Restore stuck or frozen
- Force close and reopen WhatsApp.
- Clear WhatsApp’s cache and data then re-install.
- Restart your phone then attempt restore again.
- Try toggling your internet connection or switching between WiFi and mobile data.
Some data didn’t restore
- Media files may not transfer if you don’t have enough free storage space.
- Check the dates – backups older than a year may have partial data.
- Chats marked for deletion in WhatsApp may not get restored.
- Try deleting WhatsApp’s data and restoring again from backup.
If issues continue, contact WhatsApp support for further troubleshooting assistance.
How to restore from a third-party WhatsApp backup tool
In addition to WhatsApp’s built-in backup methods, there are also third-party apps that can back up and restore your WhatsApp data:
| Tool | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Dr.Fone – WhatsApp Transfer |
|
| WhatsApp+ |
|
| SMS Backup & Restore |
|
These tools provide additional backup and restore capabilities beyond WhatsApp’s built-in options. They allow saving backups to external locations, selective restores, and may offer better reliability in some use cases.
How to use Dr.Fone to restore WhatsApp backup
Dr.Fone is a popular WhatsApp backup solution for iOS and Android. Here are the key steps to restore WhatsApp chats on a new device using Dr.Fone:
- Download and install Dr.Fone on your computer.
- Connect your old phone to your computer via USB.
- Launch Dr.Fone and click WhatsApp Transfer.
- Select “Restore WhatsApp Messages” and click Next.
- Dr.Fone will detect your device. Select the WhatsApp backup to restore.
- Configure your new device to receive the restored backup.
- Check the data to restore and click Start.
- Dr.Fone will transfer your WhatsApp chats and media to your new phone.
Dr.Fone provides an easy way to selectively restore WhatsApp backups from one device to another, even across iOS and Android platforms.
Best practices for restoring WhatsApp backups
Follow these tips when restoring your WhatsApp chats to ensure a smooth process:
- Back up regularly to avoid losing recent chats.
- Note which Google/iCloud account is linked to your backups.
- Delete old chats and media to optimize backups.
- Ensure you have enough storage space for restores.
- Use a stable WiFi or cellular connection.
- Force close other apps during restore.
- Confirm backups completed successfully.
- Double check everything restored properly.
- Enable encryption for backup security.
Conclusion
Restoring your WhatsApp data from backup is crucial if you ever lose access to your chats and media. WhatsApp provides built-in backup and restore through Google Drive for Android users and iCloud for iPhone users. You can also use third-party backup tools for extra features and flexibility. With regular backups enabled, you can comfortably use WhatsApp knowing your conversations and info are protected if anything goes wrong with your phone.