WhatsApp is the most popular messaging app in the world, with over 2 billion active users. One of the key features of WhatsApp is the ability to back up your chat history and media to the cloud. This allows you to restore your chats if you ever lose your phone or switch to a new device.
By default, WhatsApp backs up your data over your WiFi connection. However, you also have the option to back up using your cellular data plan. This can be useful if you don’t always have access to WiFi or have an unlimited cellular data plan.
Backing up over cellular data allows you to back up your WhatsApp content frequently and automatically, even when you don’t have access to WiFi. But there are some important things to consider before enabling this feature.
What is WhatsApp backup?
WhatsApp backup is a copy of your chat history, photos, videos and other media shared on WhatsApp that is stored remotely. There are two types of WhatsApp backups:
– Local backup: This stores your backup on your device’s internal storage.
– Google Drive backup: This stores your backup on Google’s cloud servers. This is encrypted end-to-end, meaning WhatsApp and Google cannot read your backups.
Backups allow you to restore your WhatsApp data when you get a new device, reinstall WhatsApp after deleting it, or switch between platforms (iOS to Android or vice versa).
The backup contains:
– Your chat history and conversations
– Photos, videos and other media files you shared or received on WhatsApp
– Your contacts and contact info
– Voice messages
– WhatsApp settings like privacy settings and notification preferences
WhatsApp backups do not contain your call history or peer-to-peer payment messages and information.
How does WhatsApp backup work?
Here is an overview of how WhatsApp backup works:
1. Select backup frequency: You can configure WhatsApp to backup your data daily, weekly, monthly or never. More frequent backups mean more up-to-date backups.
2. Connect to the internet: WhatsApp needs an internet connection to back up your data to the cloud. This can be over WiFi or mobile data.
3. Upload new/changed data: WhatsApp identifies new conversations, media files and data since the last backup and uploads the changes to your remote backup.
4. Encrypt data: Before uploading your backup, WhatsApp encrypts all your data using end-to-end encryption. This ensures your chats and media remain private.
5. Store backup remotely: Your encrypted backup is then stored remotely on Google Drive (for Android users) or iCloud (for iOS users).
6. Restore data: If you need to restore your backup, WhatsApp downloads your encrypted backup and decrypts it locally on your device to restore your chats and media.
WhatsApp cellular data backup
By default, WhatsApp backs up your data over WiFi to avoid cellular data charges. However, you have the option to enable backup using cellular data too. Here’s how it works:
– When WiFi is unavailable, WhatsApp will back up your data using your mobile plan’s cellular data instead.
– Your chat history, new messages, media files and updates will back up over 3G, 4G or 5G cellular networks.
– You can limit cellular backup to only when you’re roaming if you wish. This avoids roaming charges for backups.
– The backup frequency remains the same – daily, weekly etc. It just uses cellular data instead of WiFi whenever WiFi is not available.
– Your carrier/network may charge you based on cellular data usage for backups.
Enabling WhatsApp backups over cellular data is useful when you don’t always have WiFi access. It allows frequent automatic backups so you always have an up-to-date backup available.
Should you use WhatsApp cellular backup?
Here are some pros and cons to consider before enabling WhatsApp backup over cellular data:
### Pros:
– Always up-to-date backup: Backs up frequently even without WiFi.
– Convenience: Don’t need to wait for WiFi to back up your latest chats.
– Flexibility: Keep backups current even when you don’t have WiFi access.
– Automatic: Happens in background without any action needed.
### Cons:
– Cellular data charges: Can use up your monthly data allowance.
– Slower than WiFi: Cellular networks have lower bandwidth than WiFi.
– Costs if roaming: Potentially expensive roaming charges if backup occurs while roaming.
– Battery drain: Constant cellular backup may drain battery faster.
– Large media files: Backing up videos, images and other media can consume lots of data.
So in summary, WhatsApp cellular backup can be very useful for frequent automatic backups when WiFi is not available. But the potential for high data usage and roaming charges should be considered before enabling it. Evaluate your data plan costs and WiFi availability to decide if it’s suitable for you.
How to enable WhatsApp cellular data backup
Enabling WhatsApp backup over cellular data is easy. Just follow these steps:
### On Android:
1. Open WhatsApp and tap the 3-dot Menu button.
2. Select Settings.
3. Tap Chats > Chat backup.
4. Tap Backup over to access backup settings.
5. Enable the setting for Backup over mobile data.
6. You can also enable backup while roaming if desired.
7. Tap Back up over WiFi if you want cellular backup only when WiFi is unavailable.
8. Select the backup frequency (daily, weekly etc).
9. Tap OK to confirm settings.
Cellular backup is now enabled. WhatsApp will now use cellular data for backups whenever WiFi is unavailable.
### On iPhone:
1. Open WhatsApp and go to Settings.
2. Select Chats.
3. Tap Chat Backup.
4. Enable the setting for Backup over cellular.
5. You can choose to back up only when roaming if desired.
6. Select your backup frequency.
7. Tap OK to confirm.
That’s it! WhatsApp will now back up chats over cellular data when WiFi is not available. The backup frequency remains unchanged.
How much data does WhatsApp backup use?
The amount of data WhatsApp backups consume depends on:
– **Backup frequency** – Daily backups use more data than weekly backups.
– **Media content** – Videos and images use much more data than plain text.
– **Conversation activity** – More active chats since the last backup increase backup size.
– **Devices switched** – Backing restoring on a new device uses more data.
As a guide, here is an estimate of how much data WhatsApp backups typically use:
| Backup frequency | Data usage estimate |
|---|---|
| Daily | 25-50 MB daily |
| Weekly | 100-200 MB weekly |
| Monthly | Up to 500 MB monthly |
Note that this is just a rough estimate. Actual usage depends on your chat activity, number of media files exchanged, and other factors. New device and restore operations use much more data.
How to reduce WhatsApp backup data usage
If you are concerned about your cellular data usage for WhatsApp backups, here are some tips to reduce data consumption:
– **Backup less frequently** – Change from daily to weekly backups.
– **Only back up over WiFi** – Disable cellular backup and stick to WiFi only.
– **Limit media auto-download** – Media won’t back up if auto-download is off.
– **Delete old chats/media** – Your backup size is smaller with less old content.
– **Use WiFi for new device** – When you get a new phone, use WiFi to restore your backup.
– **Limit roaming backups** – Only allow backups on cellular when not roaming.
– **Use local backups** – Store your backups locally on your phone storage rather than the cloud.
– **Lower backup image quality** – On Android you can lower backup image quality to save data.
Prioritizing WiFi for backups, limiting media downloads, and deleting old content you no longer need can help reduce your cellular data usage significantly.
WhatsApp backup and roaming charges
One key cost to watch out for with WhatsApp cellular backups is the potential for roaming charges if backups occur while you’re traveling internationally.
By default, WhatsApp will back up using cellular data even while roaming on international networks abroad. This can result in expensive roaming fees, especially if backing up large amounts of media.
To avoid roaming charges for WhatsApp backups while traveling:
– **Disable roaming backups** – In backup settings, disable backup while roaming.
– **Use WiFi only** – Switch backup to WiFi only mode until you return home.
– **Disable auto-downloads** – Don’t auto-download content while roaming.
– **Manually back up** – Manually trigger a backup only when on WiFi or local cellular networks.
– **Suspend account** – You can temporarily suspend your WhatsApp account to pause backups.
– **Local backups** – Switch to local-only backups until you return from travel.
Following these tips will ensure your WhatsApp data is not backed up unintentionally while roaming and avoid expensive roaming fees for backups.
What happens if you run out of cellular data?
If you completely run out of cellular data, your WhatsApp backups will pause until you are connected to WiFi or purchase more data for your cellular plan.
Some key points about what happens when cellular data is exhausted:
– Backups stop – No backups happen until cellular data is restored.
– Notifications – WhatsApp may send you notifications warning your backup has not run recently.
– Chat history remains intact – You won’t lose any chat history content. It just won’t back up.
– Media not saved – Any new media or messages sent/received won’t back up.
– Backup runs when data restored – Once cellular data is available again, your pending backups will run automatically.
So while it can be inconvenient to miss backups due to depleted data, your WhatsApp content is not lost and backups will resume normally once data access is restored. The only risk is potentially losing recent messages or media sent while data was unavailable.
Should you buy extra data for WhatsApp backup?
If you find you are frequently running out of cellular data and missing WhatsApp backups as a result, purchasing an expanded data allowance from your wireless carrier is an option.
Here are some factors to consider:
– **Cost vs frequency** – Evaluate the cost of extra data against how often you actually need the backups when WiFi is unavailable.
– **Large media needs** – If you frequently exchange a lot of media like videos, extra data makes sense.
– **Travel requirements** – Getting extra data can be useful for frequent travelers without WiFi access.
– **Data rollover options** – Some carriers allow rollover of unused data to future months.
– **WiFi availability** – Consider how often you truly don’t have WiFi available before paying for cellular data.
– **Alternative frequency options** – Could less frequent backups like weekly be sufficient rather than daily?
The overall recommendation would be to only pay for expanded cellular data if you will utilize the extra data regularly. Analyze your specific usage needs and WiFi availability before subscribing. Often, adjusting backup frequency and settings is a free way to reduce usage.
WhatsApp backup troubleshooting tips
If you are having issues with your WhatsApp backups over cellular data, here are some troubleshooting steps to try:
– **Check cellular data settings** – Confirm cellular backup is enabled in WhatsApp backup settings.
– **Review backup frequency** – Make sure your expected backup frequency (daily, weekly etc) is actually selected.
– **Check backup data usage** – View your data usage in Settings to confirm backups occurring over cellular.
– **Retry over WiFi** – Manually initiate a fresh backup over WiFi to rule out corruption issues.
– **Restart your phone** – Rebooting your device can help clear up any software glitches.
– **Update WhatsApp** – Ensure you’re on the latest version of WhatsApp from your app store.
– **Reset WhatsApp** – As a last resort, try resetting the app to default settings to troubleshoot.
– **Contact WhatsApp support** – If you can’t resolve a persistent backup issue, contact WhatsApp directly for help.
Following basic troubleshooting steps and verifying your settings can help identify and fix most backup problems. Be sure to also check your wireless account to confirm cellular data availability.
Conclusion
WhatsApp backup over cellular data provides convenient frequent backups when WiFi is unavailable. But it’s important to evaluate your specific usage patterns and data plan costs. For most users, limiting media auto-downloads, sticking to WiFi for backups where possible, and adjusting backup frequency can help minimize cellular data consumption while keeping your backups current. Monitor your data usage regularly and tweak your settings as needed to balance keeping backups updated with controlling your cellular data costs.