How to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages

The way to restore a chat history is the same as transferring WhatsApp messages from a phone to another, by restoring a WhatsApp backup.

Of course, the backups must have been properly setup first.

To restore WhatsApp messages, or to transfer WhatsApp messages to a new phone, simply perform the following steps, depending on the exact situation.

How to recover deleted WhatsApp messages

• Backup WhatsApp,

• Restore previous WhatsApp backup from Google Drive,

• Optional: Export the chat that has been deleted,

• Optional: Restore latest WhatsApp backup.

See below detailed guides to backup and restore.

How to transfer WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone

If keeping the same SIM, also works from Android to Android, or iPhone to iPhone, and for how to transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone to Android.

• Backup WhatsApp on old phone,

• Put SIM in new phone,

• Connect the new phone to the Google Cloud account,

• Restore WhatsApp backup from Google Drive on new phone.

See below detailed guides to backup and restore.

How to transfer WhatsApp messages from iPhone to Android

If changing SIM, also works from Android to Android, or iPhone to iPhone, and for how to transfer WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone.

• Backup WhatsApp on old phone,

• Put SIM in old phone,

• Do a Settings > Account > Change number on old phone with new SIM,

• Put SIM in new phone,

• Connect the new phone to the Google Cloud account,

• Restore WhatsApp backup from Google Drive on new phone.

See below detailed guides to backup and restore.

WhatsApp backup

In the WhatsApp app, tap the top right icon > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.

Here, make sure that a proper backup to your Google Drive has been setup, as the backup will then be uploaded automatically, if set up that way – it can also be set to never backup, on demand only, daily, weekly or monthly.

You can also select if the backup should happen only when the phone has a working Wi-Fi connection or can also happen on cellular network, in which case it might use up a lot of bandwidth.

The backup can be done on any Drive account that has been previously setup on the phone.

How to restore WhatsApp chat

In order to perform a WhatsApp deleted chat recovery, it is necessary to have the cloud account on which the backup has been done properly setup first.

Then, uninstall the WhatsApp app from the store, or from the phone apps list, and reinstall the app.

First step will be to enter WhatsApp and agree again with the terms of service and privacy policy.

Then, the phone number must be confirmed – make sure it is the same phone number as the one that has been used when performing the backup to restore.

The backup found on the cloud will be offered for download, as it will come from the cloud on which it has been hosted.

Another solution to avoid using the cloud and restore a WhatsApp backup on the phone, is to use a file manager app, and put the WhatsApp database backup on the sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases folder, renaming it to msgstore.db.crypt12 before installing WhatsApp again, in which case the local backup will be used to restore WhatsApp messages instead of the Google Drive.

The first step of the message restore will be to download the backup archive from the cloud, which might take some time depending on the file size and connection speed.

Then, the backup file will be used to restore the messages on the phone WhatsApp installation.

After the operation is done, WhatsApp will tell how many messages have been restored, as it will restore messages in priority, while the medias will be restored later in background.

After that operation, WhatsApp will initialize its interface, the last waiting screen.

And the WhatsApp interface should now be back with the conversations list, showing the latest messages in the chat overview, and a progress bar with media restoration status, which exact time will depend on both phone performance and backup size.

WhatsApp
Google Drive
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