WhatsApp has become an integral part of our daily communication. It allows us to stay in touch with friends, family, colleagues, clients and many others through messages, calls, videos, and more. With WhatsApp, you can share photos, videos, documents, voice messages, and so much more.
However, just like with any app that contains important data, there may come a time when you need to recover your WhatsApp backup for various reasons. Your phone may have crashed, been stolen or lost, you may have accidentally deleted the backup, or you want to transfer your backup to a new phone.
The good news is that it is possible to recover your WhatsApp backup and restore your chat history, media, and other data. Here is a comprehensive guide on how you can recover and restore your WhatsApp backup on both Android and iOS devices.
How WhatsApp Backup Works
Before looking at how to recover your WhatsApp backup, it helps to first understand how WhatsApp backup works.
WhatsApp gives you the ability to backup your chats to Google Drive (Android) or iCloud (iOS). Backing up your chats is important to avoid losing your chat history if you lose your phone or switch to a new device.
When you enable chat backups, WhatsApp will regularly backup your chats to the cloud. Each backup contains your chat history, photos, videos and other media you have exchanged on WhatsApp.
Some key things to note about WhatsApp backup:
- Backups occur daily at a scheduled time, when your phone is connected to power and internet.
- The backup includes your chats, photos, videos and other media files.
- Your call history and display name are not part of the backup.
- Media files larger than 100MB are not backed up.
- End-to-end encrypted chats cannot be backed up.
- You can customize WhatsApp to do a daily, weekly or monthly backup.
- Each account can have only one backup associated with it.
Knowing how WhatsApp backup works enables you to better understand how to recover your backup when needed.
How to Recover WhatsApp Backup on Android
If you have lost your WhatsApp chats on your Android device, here are the steps to recover and restore your WhatsApp backup from Google Drive:
1. Check Google Drive for Backup
The first thing is to check your Google Drive storage to confirm if there is a WhatsApp backup available:
- Open the Google Drive app on your Android device.
- Look for a folder named WhatsApp Backup.
- Check the date of the latest backup available.
If there is no backup folder, then you likely did not have WhatsApp backup enabled.
2. Enable Backup in WhatsApp
If you find a backup in Google Drive, enable WhatsApp backup so that the app can restore from it:
- Open WhatsApp and tap on the 3-dot menu icon.
- Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap on Backup to Google Drive and select a backup frequency.
3. Restore WhatsApp Backup
With the backup enabled, you can now restore your backup:
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp if needed.
- When prompted, tap on Restore to restore your chats and media from the backup.
- WhatsApp will now restore your chats, photos, videos and other data.
Be patient as the restoration process can take time depending on the size of your backup. Once completed, you will have your WhatsApp chats and media restored.
4. Move Backup to New Phone
If you need to transfer your WhatsApp backup to a new Android device:
- Copy the WhatsApp backup folder from Google Drive to your computer.
- Install WhatsApp on your new device.
- Enable backups. This will create a new backup folder on Drive.
- Delete this empty folder.
- Upload your old backup folder from your computer to Drive.
- WhatsApp will now detect the backup and let you restore it.
How to Recover WhatsApp Backup on iPhone
Here are the steps to take if you need to recover and restore your WhatsApp backup from iCloud to your iPhone:
1. Check iCloud for Backup
Start by checking iCloud to confirm there is a WhatsApp backup present:
- Go to Settings > Your Name > iCloud.
- Look for WhatsApp under Apps Using iCloud.
- Check the date of the latest WhatsApp backup.
If there’s no WhatsApp backup listed, you did not have iCloud backup enabled.
2. Enable iCloud Backup
If a WhatsApp backup exists, enable iCloud backup for WhatsApp:
- Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap on Backup to iCloud and select a backup frequency.
3. Restore Backup
With iCloud backup for WhatsApp enabled, you can now restore:
- Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp if required.
- When asked, tap on Restore to restore chats and media from iCloud.
- WhatsApp will retrieve and restore your backup data.
The restoration process takes time depending on your backup size. Once finished, your chats and media will be restored.
4. Move Backup to New iPhone
To transfer your WhatsApp backup from one iPhone to another:
- Connect your old iPhone and backup to your computer using iTunes.
- Restore this backup to your new iPhone using iTunes.
- Download WhatsApp on the new device. It will detect and restore the backup.
Third-Party Tools for WhatsApp Backup Recovery
Aside from the built-in WhatsApp recovery process, there are also some third-party tools that can help recover lost or deleted WhatsApp backups:
- Dr.Fone – WhatsApp Recovery: This is one of the most popular tools used to recover WhatsApp data on both Android and iOS devices. It can restore WhatsApp chats, photos, videos, voice messages, attachments and more.
- iMyFone iBypasser: Works to recover WhatsApp backup from iCloud on iPhone and iPad. Can also help if you forgot your iOS lock screen passcode.
- FonePaw Android Data Recovery: Helps recover deleted WhatsApp backup files from Android devices.
- Tenorshare UltData: Claims to recover WhatsApp backup files from both Android and iOS devices.
These third-party tools provide additional options to restore your WhatsApp backup if you are unable to retrieve it directly using the app’s built-in process.
Tips to Prevent Losing WhatsApp Chats
Prevention is better than cure. Use these tips to avoid ever losing your WhatsApp chats and media:
- Enable auto backup: Regularly back up your WhatsApp chats to the cloud.
- Create local backup: Occasionally create a manual backup locally on your device storage.
- Export important chats: Export crucial conversations as text files or PDF files.
- Avoid rooting/jailbreaking: Rooted or jailbroken devices can lead to data loss.
- Update cautiously: Backup before updating WhatsApp or your phone’s OS.
- Avoid deleting chats: Do not delete chats frequently as it increases risk.
Following these tips will help minimize the chances of you permanently losing your WhatsApp chats and backup.
Can You Recover Permanently Deleted WhatsApp Messages?
What if you have permanently deleted a WhatsApp message or chat that you now need to recover?
Unfortunately, if you manually delete WhatsApp messages or chats, they cannot be retrieved using WhatsApp’s built-in backup.
When you permanently delete WhatsApp chats or messages, they are removed from your phone and also from your Google Drive or iCloud backup.
This prevents you from being able to use WhatsApp’s restore feature to get back permanently deleted messages and chats.
However, there are a couple of options that may work to recover permanently deleted WhatsApp data:
- Use data recovery software: Software like Dr.Fone, iMyFone or FonePaw can scan your phone and find recoverable WhatsApp data.
- Retrieve from Google Photos: Media files like photos or videos sent on WhatsApp may still be available in your Google Photos storage.
- Extract files from local backup: You may be able to extract deleted files from a manual local backup using third-party tools.
But there is no guarantee that you will be able to recover permanently deleted WhatsApp messages with these methods.
The best approach is being careful about deleting WhatsApp chats and having regular backups to avoid data loss.
Can WhatsApp Restore Deleted Messages Without Backup?
Is it possible to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages even if you did not have any backups enabled?
Unfortunately, without an available backup, there is no direct method to recover deleted WhatsApp messages.
WhatsApp does not store copies of your chats on its servers. Your chat history only exists on your phone and in your Google Drive or iCloud backup.
So if you do not have a backup, your only option is to try using data recovery apps or tools to extract WhatsApp data remnants from your phone storage.
However, without a backup this is unlikely to recover more than fragments of your deleted chats and media.
Having a backup is crucial for protecting your WhatsApp chats and ensuring you have a way to recover deleted and lost data.
Lost Phone Without WhatsApp Backup
Losing your phone can be devastating, especially if you did not have WhatsApp backup enabled.
So what can you do if you lose your phone and have no backup to restore from?
- Use WhatsApp Web – If you enabled WhatsApp Web before, you can still access those chats.
- Try finding signal – Enable Find My Device or Find My iPhone to locate your device if possible.
- Contact your phone carrier – They may be able to track or remotely wipe the phone.
- Report phone stolen to police – If you suspect it is stolen, report the phone’s IMEI as stolen.
- Remove WhatsApp account – Log in to WhatsApp online and delete your account to protect privacy.
- Accept loss – If all else fails, accept the chats are lost and move on.
Losing your phone without a proper backup is an important lesson about the importance of backups. Make sure to enable WhatsApp backup on any new phone.
WhatsApp Backup Size Limit
WhatsApp limits how much chat data can be backed up at once:
- Android: Your backup size limit is determined by your Google Drive storage plan.
- iPhone: WhatsApp backups are limited to your available iCloud storage space.
Here are the default iCloud storage limits for WhatsApp backup:
| iCloud Storage Plan | WhatsApp Backup Limit |
|---|---|
| Free 5GB plan | Unlimited until you reach max iCloud storage |
| 50GB plan | Up to 50GB |
| 200GB plan | Up to 200GB |
| 2TB plan | Up to 2TB |
If you reach the backup limit, WhatsApp will start deleting older backups to make space for new backups. To increase your backup size limit, you need to upgrade your Google Drive or iCloud storage plan.
Conclusion
Losing your WhatsApp backup can be frustrating but in most cases, you can recover and restore your chats and media. Follow the right steps above to retrieve your WhatsApp backup from Google Drive or iCloud and get back your valuable chats.
Remember to frequently backup your chats and enable auto backup to avoid ever losing your WhatsApp data. With proper backups, you have the peace of mind that your WhatsApp chats are always protected.