Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Restore your last backup
• Method 2 of 3: Restore a less recent backup on Android
• Method 3 of 3: Restore a less recent backup on iOS
• Tips

If you accidentally deleted or lost your WhatsApp chat history, you can restore it. WhatsApp automatically saves your chats from the last seven days by making a backup every night at 2am, which is simply stored on your own phone. You can also set your phone to copy your chats to the cloud. If you only want to restore deleted chats from the most recent backup and you had already copied your information to the cloud, the easiest way is to uninstall and reinstall the app. However, because your device stores the nightly backups for up to seven days, you can also go back to a specific day in the last week.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Restore your last backup

1. Make sure your lost data is backed up. Create right now no new backup, because it will overwrite the most recent version of your backup, so you will also lose the deleted messages in the backup.
   • Open WhatsApp and tap Settings.
   • Tap Chats and Backup Chats.
   • Look at the Last backup date and time. If the backup in question should include the messages you want to restore, continue with this method. If not, try one of the other methods.
2. Delete WhatsApp from your phone. Before you can recover deleted messages, you must first delete the entire app.
3. Go to the app store on your phone and download WhatsApp again.
4. Launch the app from the home screen.
5. Agree to the terms. Then enter your mobile phone number.
6. Recover your messages. The next screen will let you know that a backup copy of your messages has been found for your phone. Click on "Restore" and wait for the restore process to complete.
   • By default, WhatsApp makes a backup of all your message threads every day at 2 AM. The last backup made will be loaded.

Method 2 of 3: Restore a less recent backup on Android

1. Open the App Drawer. By default, backup files from the last seven days are on your phone, while Google Drive only keeps the most recent.
2. Tap File Manager.
3. Type sdcard.
4. Tap WhatsApp.
5. Tap Databases. If your data is not on your SD card, it could also be in your phone's internal memory.
6. Rename the backup you want to restore. Rename msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 to msgstore.db.crypt12.
   • Older backups can also be on a different protocol such as crypt9 or crypt10.
7. Uninstall WhatsApp.
8. Reinstall WhatsApp.
9. Tap Restore.

Method 3 of 3: Restore a less recent backup on iOS

1. Download File manager from the App Store.
2. Install it on your phone.
3. Open File Manager.
4. Type sdcard.
5. Tap WhatsApp.
6. Tap Databases. If your data is not on your SD card, it could also be in your phone's internal memory.
7. Rename the backup you want to restore. Rename msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 to msgstore.db.crypt12.
   • Older backups can also be on a different protocol such as crypt9 or crypt10.
8. Uninstall WhatsApp.
9. Reinstall WhatsApp.
10. Tap Restore.

Tips

• The option to fully restore a deleted chat history is only a feature on the Blackberry 10.
• It may take a while for your first backup to complete. To prevent your phone from turning off in the middle of the backup, it is a good idea to connect the phone to a power source.
• Do not make a manual backup after a message has been accidentally deleted. This will replace the old backup file (containing the thread you want to restore) with a new one.