WhatsApp is a globally recognized communication tool, essential for connecting with friends, relatives, and colleagues. If removed from the app, knowing how to restore WhatsApp conversations is crucial.
Rest assured, we will show you how to recover your WhatsApp messages, including those lost from automatic backups.
Additionally, we will explain how to restore WhatsApp backups and, if your device is Android, how to recover deleted messages.
Method to Restore WhatsApp Backup
Recovering backups on WhatsApp is a straightforward process, although it varies slightly between Android and iPhone devices. Here are the steps for both:
For Android:
Android users with backup enabled on Google Drive They can easily restore WhatsApp messages. When reinstalling the app, it will ask about recovery from Google Drive.
Reinstall WhatsApp on Android if necessary.
How to Recover Deleted Messages on WhatsApp
During the initial setup, verify your phone number associated with WhatsApp. The app will identify a backup on Google Drive. Choose "Restore" to bring back conversations and media. Wait for the restoration to complete, which may vary depending on the size of the backup and your internet connection. After the restoration, your old conversations and media will be available on WhatsApp.
For iPhone:
Recovering WhatsApp conversations on iPhones requires using an iCloud backup. Check the date of the last backup in “WhatsApp Settings” > “Chats” > “Chat Backup”.
Check if there's a WhatsApp backup in iCloud by going to “Settings” > [your name] > “iCloud” > “Manage Storage” > “Backups”. Reinstall WhatsApp on your iPhone if necessary. During the initial setup, verify your phone number linked to WhatsApp. WhatsApp will detect a backup in iCloud. Choose “Restore Chat History”. Wait for the restoration process to finish, which may vary depending on the backup size and internet speed. Once the restoration is complete, your old conversations and media will be in WhatsApp. Remember that restoring replaces your current WhatsApp conversations and media with those from the backup. Therefore, it's recommended to make a recent backup before restoring to preserve your current messages.
How to Force Stop and Restore WhatsApp to Recover Recent Conversations
Forcibly stopping and restoring WhatsApp can be useful in specific situations, such as problems with the app or to restore more recent conversations without an old backup.
It's important to note that this method is not foolproof and may result in the loss of unsaved messages. Therefore, make a backup before proceeding. The steps for Android and iPhone devices are as follows:
Locate and select WhatsApp from the list of apps. Click "Force stop" or "Quit" to completely close WhatsApp. Reopen WhatsApp. A message will indicate the presence of a local backup. Choose "Restore" to recover your recent conversations.
Procedure for Restoring Recent Conversations:
- Open the file manager on your smartphone.
- Go to your internal storage and find the WhatsApp folder.
- Inside the folder, access “Databases”.
- Select the most recent file and rename it to “msgstore.db.crypt12”.
- Thus, the backup file will be ready for restoration.
You still need to disable backups in Google Drive: Open the Google Drive app. Go to “Backups” and disable WhatsApp backups.
To finalize the process:
- Close all running WhatsApp processes.
- Uninstall the WhatsApp app.
- Reinstall it from the app store.
After following these steps, your most recent conversations will be restored on WhatsApp. It is essential to follow all instructions correctly for successful recovery.