WhatsApp has become one of the most popular messaging apps, with over 2 billion users worldwide. It allows you to easily communicate with friends, family and coworkers through text, voice messages, video calls and more.
One of WhatsApp’s key features is the ability to back up your chat history to cloud storage like Google Drive or iCloud. This lets you restore your chats if you ever lose your phone or switch to a new device. However, sometimes the backup process doesn’t complete and gets stuck.
There are a few common reasons why your WhatsApp backup may be getting stuck:
- Insufficient storage space
- Network connectivity issues
- Large backup size
- Corrupted backup file
- Issues with Google Drive or iCloud
In this comprehensive guide, we will dive into each of these issues and show you how to troubleshoot a stuck WhatsApp backup on both Android and iOS devices.
Checking Basic Settings
Before digging into specific issues, there are some basic settings you should check on your WhatsApp backup:
- Make sure WhatsApp backup is actually enabled in WhatsApp settings. Go to WhatsApp > Settings > Chats > Chat Backup and confirm backup is toggled on.
- Check that you have an active internet connection on your device.
- Verify that your Google Drive or iCloud account is successfully linked in WhatsApp settings and that you have enough storage space available.
- Consider switching from WiFi to mobile data or vice versa to rule out any network issues.
- Force close and restart the WhatsApp app to clear out any software glitches.
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version from your device’s app store.
Taking these basic steps can fix simple problems that may be interrupting the backup process.
Insufficient Storage Space
One very common roadblock for WhatsApp backups is not having enough free storage space available on Google Drive or iCloud.
WhatsApp will notify you if you run out of space, but sometimes the backup gets stuck even if you still have a little storage left. This is because the backup requires contiguous free space to complete.
Here are a few tips to clear up storage space for your backup:
- Delete old files and photos from Google Drive or iCloud.
- Upgrade to a paid Google One or iCloud storage plan to get more space.
- Temporarily reduce the number of chat backups saved in WhatsApp settings to the most recent one.
- Export the chat history using the Email chat feature and then delete some old chats in WhatsApp.
- Clear the Google Drive or iCloud trash folder which often contains large forgotten files.
Freeing up an extra few GBs of space is typically enough to get your WhatsApp backup rolling again.
Network Connectivity Issues
Since WhatsApp backups are saved to the cloud, you need a stable internet connection for the process to complete properly. Problems like weak WiFi signals, mobile data disruptions or using a VPN can disrupt the backup.
Here are some tips for troubleshooting network issues:
- Check the signal strength of your WiFi or mobile data. Move closer to the router or switch to mobile data if WiFi is poor.
- Disable any VPN connections on your device which may be slowing down speeds.
- Toggle between WiFi and mobile data to see if one provides a more stable connection.
- Reset your router if you face frequent WiFi disconnections. Also try changing the wireless channel on the router for less interference.
- Schedule WhatsApp backups for nighttime when internet usage is lower.
- Enable Airplane Mode for a few minutes to reset all connections before trying the backup again.
A quick speed test can confirm if your network has any bottlenecks. A minimum speed of 1 Mbps is recommended for WhatsApp backups.
Large Backup Size
As you use WhatsApp over months and years, the chat history keeps accumulating. This increases the size of your backup file which can reach hundreds of megabytes or even a few gigabytes.
Large backups take longer to upload to the cloud and are more prone to getting stuck midway. Here are some tips to reduce the size:
- Delete old chats and media that you no longer need.
- Limit the number of chat backups saved in WhatsApp settings.
- Export chat history using Email chat and delete older chats.
- Change the auto-download rules for media in WhatsApp settings.
- Switch on the Low Data Usage setting in WhatsApp.
- Clear application cache and data before taking the backup.
Reducing the backup size to under 10-20 MB can prevent it from getting stuck frequently.
Corrupted Backup File
In some cases, the backup file itself may be corrupted or damaged which interrupts the upload process. This can happen if the previous backup was interrupted abruptly.
To fix a corrupted backup file:
- Delete the existing backup in WhatsApp settings and force a fresh backup.
- Update WhatsApp to the latest version which often resolves file corruption issues.
- Try taking the backup on another device where the file is not corrupted.
- Contact WhatsApp support if the issue persists after above steps.
Avoid force closing the WhatsApp app while a backup is in progress as it risks corrupting the backup file.
Issues with Google Drive or iCloud
Since WhatsApp relies on Google Drive or iCloud to store your chats, any issues with these cloud services can also interrupt backups.
Some common problems to check for:
- Verify Google Drive or iCloud has enough storage space available.
- Check for service outages with Google Drive or iCloud.
- Force close and relaunch the Google Drive or iCloud app on your device.
- Ensure you have a stable internet connection.
- Double check that your Google or Apple account is properly configured in WhatsApp.
- Look for app updates for Google Drive, iCloud or WhatsApp.
Restarting your device can help clear out any glitches relating to cloud services. You can also try taking the backup over mobile data instead of WiFi to isolate the issue.
Manual Workarounds
If all above troubleshooting tips fail to fix your stuck WhatsApp backup, there are a few manual workarounds you can try:
On Android:
- Close WhatsApp and clear app data from phone settings.
- Uninstall WhatsApp updates and revert to the original version.
- Disable battery optimizations for WhatsApp in phone settings.
- Create a fresh Google account to link WhatsApp.
On iPhone:
- Turn off iCloud Drive or disable WhatsApp access to iCloud.
- Log out and log back into your iCloud account.
- Toggle off WiFi and Cellular Data for WhatsApp.
- Delete and reinstall WhatsApp if issues continue.
These methods essentially reset the backup process and forces WhatsApp to start a fresh upload. Be sure to copy your chat history or export chats before resetting WhatsApp.
Conclusion
Stuck WhatsApp backups can be frustrating but are usually fixable. The most common issues involve insufficient storage, poor network connections, large backups and corrupted files.
Follow the step-by-step troubleshooting guide outlined above to identify and resolve the underlying problem:
- Check basic settings like internet connectivity.
- Free up storage space on Google Drive or iCloud.
- Switch between WiFi and mobile data.
- Reduce the size of your backup.
- Force a fresh backup to avoid corrupted files.
- Restart your device and apps to clear out glitches.
With some patience and tweaking, you should be able to get your WhatsApp backup rolling again in no time. Reach out to WhatsApp support if problems persist.