Quick Answer
If your phone is broken or lost and you need to restore your WhatsApp account, there are a few options:
- Restore from a recent local backup – If you have a recent backup of WhatsApp on your computer or external storage, you can use this to restore your chats and media.
- Transfer your SIM card – Put your SIM card into a new or temporary phone, install WhatsApp and verify your number to restore your account.
- Export chat history – If you enabled chat backup on Google Drive or iCloud, you can restore your chat history when you reinstall WhatsApp.
The fastest way is usually to restore from a local backup if available. Transferring your SIM or using cloud backup can work as well, but will take more time to restore all your messages.
Steps to Restore WhatsApp from Local Backup
Here are the detailed steps to restore your WhatsApp chats and data using a local backup:
- First, get a new replacement phone or temporarily borrow a phone from a friend.
- Make sure the phone is compatible with WhatsApp. WhatsApp supports Android phones running OS 4.0.3 and higher, and iPhones running iOS 10 and higher.
- Install WhatsApp from the app store on the new phone. When prompted, enter your phone number and verify it.
- On Android – Tap the 3 dots menu > Settings > Chats > Chat backup. On iPhone – Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Tap “Restore” and select the backup file stored on your computer or external SD card.
- Wait for WhatsApp to restore your chats, media, settings and groups from the local backup.
The major requirements are:
- You need to have enabled WhatsApp local backups in Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- You need the actual backup file, stored in WhatsApp/Databases on Android or in iCloud/iTunes on iPhone.
- The backup file needs to be recent, ideally no more than a few days old.
As long as you meet these requirements, restoring WhatsApp from a local backup is relatively quick and painless. All your chats, group messages, media files and settings will be restored.
Transferring Your SIM Card to Restore WhatsApp
If you don’t have a recent local WhatsApp backup available, another option is to move your SIM card to a new or temporarily borrowed phone. Here’s how it works:
- On your broken phone, make sure WhatsApp backup to Google Drive or iCloud is enabled in Settings.
- Get a replacement phone or temporarily use a friend’s phone.
- Insert your SIM card into the new phone.
- Install WhatsApp and when prompted, enter your phone number to send a verification code.
- Once verified, your WhatsApp account will be restored on the new phone.
The main requirements for this method:
- You need access to your original SIM card associated with your WhatsApp account.
- The replacement phone must be compatible with WhatsApp.
- You may need to factory reset the replacement phone before inserting your SIM.
The benefit of using your SIM is that it will automatically restore your account and basic profile info. The drawback is that only your recent chat history will be synced from the cloud backup, so you may lose older chat history and media.
Using Google Drive or iCloud Backup
If you don’t have your SIM card but did have WhatsApp backup enabled in the cloud, you can still restore most of your chats and profile. Here’s how:
- On your new phone, install WhatsApp and enter your phone number.
- When prompted, register your account with the same phone number as before.
- WhatsApp will detect a backup for your number exists in Google Drive or iCloud.
- Tap to restore chat history and files from the cloud backup.
The requirements for this method:
- You must have enabled WhatsApp cloud backup previously in Settings.
- Your Google/iCloud account must still have the WhatsApp backup for your number.
- The phone number you register with must match the number in the cloud backup.
Restoring from Google Drive or iCloud can work, but tends to be slower and may not get all your old chats and media files. It’s best used if SIM transfer is not an option.
WhatsApp Backup File Locations
Here is some additional detail on where WhatsApp stores backup files on different platforms:
Android:
- Local backups are stored in internal storage/sdcard0/WhatsApp/Databases.
- You can also find backups in external SD card storage if you selected that as backup location.
- Navigate to WhatsApp > Databases and look for the file msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12.
- This is your most recent database backup you can use to restore.
iPhone:
- Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Manage Storage > Backups > [your phone].
- This will show your iCloud backups for the phone which contain WhatsApp data.
- Alternatively you can connect to iTunes and find backups in Finder > Preferences > Devices.
Google Drive:
- Open Google Drive and look for the WhatsApp folder.
- This will contain subdirectories for media and database backups.
- Navigate to the Databases folder to find your most recent backup file to download and restore locally.
So in summary, look in the following places to find your WhatsApp backup files:
Platform | Backup File Location |
---|---|
Android | Internal storage or SD card > WhatsApp > Databases |
iPhone | iCloud > Backups > [Your Phone] |
Google Drive | WhatsApp > Databases |
Third-Party Apps for WhatsApp Backup & Restore
There are also various third-party apps you can use to backup and restore WhatsApp chats, if you need additional options beyond the official methods above. Here are some top apps:
Dr.Fone – WhatsApp Transfer
- Developed by Wondershare, Dr.Fone lets you backup and restore WhatsApp between devices.
- Supports transfer of WhatsApp between iPhone, Android, and even Nokia Symbian phones.
- Provides previews of your chats and media before restoring.
- Works with iTunes, iCloud and local file backups.
BackupTrans Android WhatsApp Transfer
- App specifically for transferring WhatsApp between Android phones.
- Allows you to directly migrate WhatsApp chats, contacts, photos, videos, audio and other files from one Android phone to another.
- Supports Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony, Motorola and other Android brands.
MobileTrans – WhatsApp Transfer
- Developed by Wondershare, MobileTrans focuses on WhatsApp transfer between mobile devices.
- Allows backup and restore between iPhone and Android, or Android and Android.
- Provides preview of WhatsApp data being transferred.
- Works between phones with different Operating System versions.
These apps provide added options for WhatsApp backup and restore across various devices. They are useful if you need to transfer chats between non-compatible phones.
Worst Case Scenario – Message Your Contacts
If all the above methods are unsuccessful due to an old Phone or lack of backup options, there is one last resort – manually messaging all your WhatsApp contacts.
To do this:
- On your new phone, sign up for WhatsApp with your number and rebuild your contact list.
- Manually message each contact or group and ask them to resend important media or information that you are missing.
- Mention that you have lost your chat history due to a device change.
- Most recent photos and critical information can usually be recovered this way.
- It is tedious but this approach can recover very recent data if all backups fail.
The main requirements for this method:
- You need to have access to your phone contacts in some form – either on the SIM card, a cloud backup, or your Google account.
- You will have to text/call each person individually and ask them to resend data.
- Works best for retrieving recent, important media and messages.
While very time consuming, manually messaging contacts can sometimes help recover very latest chats and media in a worst-case scenario. It is best used as a last resort when all backup methods fail.
Prevention Tips – Enabling Backups
To avoid a WhatsApp restore situation, make sure to regularly backup your chats and media. Here are some tips:
- Enable WhatsApp cloud backup in Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
- Connect WhatsApp to your Google Drive or iCloud account.
- Set backup frequency to Daily to ensure you have a recent backup.
- Periodically copy WhatsApp DB files from your phone’s local storage to your computer as an extra backup copy.
- When getting a new phone, always restore WhatsApp from backup during initial setup.
- Double check that all your chats, groups and media are being properly backed up.
Following these best practices helps ensure your WhatsApp data is always backed up in multiple locations. This makes it much easier to restore when switching devices or if your primary phone is damaged, lost or stolen.
Conclusion
There are several ways to restore your WhatsApp messages, groups, media and settings if your phone breaks – local data backup, SIM card transfer, cloud restore, third-party apps and manual contact outreach. The best options are local backup or SIM card transfer for fastest, full restore. Enabling backups regularly and copying local DB files to your computer helps protect against data loss if your phone has issues. With proper backups, you can feel confident restoring your WhatsApp no matter what happens to your mobile device.