I am a member of many WhatsApp groups and often delete messages and attachments to maintain my sanity and reclaim storage space. I’m not a fan of forwarding messages that add little value to my life. While deleting messages is easy, what happens when you mistakenly delete something useful?
WhatsApp recently announced that backups made on Google Drive will not count towards your storage limit. Before you get excited, note that your WhatsApp Backup in Google Drive will not be encrypted. While some worry about the privacy of their data, others may not be aware of this yet.
So how to restore WhatsApp messages when you don’t have a backup in Google Drive? Let’s find out together.
1. Recover WhatsApp Messages on Android
Not many people know that WhatsApp creates a local backup of your data every day at 2:00 AM (set by default). Note that the local backup will be a day old depending on when you decide to restore it. If for any reason you have to reset your phone to factory settings or WhatsApp starts working, follow this procedure.
You need to uninstall WhatsApp first. Then go to the Play Store and install it again. Once you do that, WhatsApp will take you through a verification process where you will receive a 6-digit code. Enter it and continue.
Once the verification is done, WhatsApp will automatically find the backup on your phone. You will be asked to restore messages and files from an existing backup. More importantly, you will be able to tell when the backup was created and its size. In my case, it was 10 minutes ago because I did it manually — check the screenshot below. I don’t want to lose precious data.
You can tap Restore to start the process.
Once the backup is restored, you will be notified of the number of messages restored. Click Next to continue. You can now add your name and set a photo as your profile picture.
2. Recover WhatsApp Messages on Android Using File Explorer
As mentioned earlier, WhatsApp creates a local backup every day. The above method will restore the most recent backup by default. If you want to rollback to another version, you’ll need a file browser. I recommend Solid Explorer over ES File Explorer, but you can use any.
Launch file explorer. Browse through your phone’s internal storage and find this folder: /WhatsApp/databases. That’s where all your WhatsApp backups are stored. Depending on your smartphone and preferences, this folder can be in internal or external storage.
If you can’t find this folder structure, tap the search icon and type ‘msgstore’ without the quotes.
You should see some results in the following format: msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12.
You can now choose to restore any backup file based on the date. In the screenshot above, notice that the first file (msgstore.db.crypt12) in the list has no date. That file is the most recent WhatsApp message backup. Before you continue, make a copy of that file and move it to another folder. Now rename the latest backup file to whatever you want.
Next, select the backup file you want to use to restore messages and remove the date part (YYYY-MM-DD) from the filename to make it look like a recent backup file (msgstore.db.crypt12).
In the previous section, WhatsApp found and recovered a file. So you need to do the same. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp, restore from backup and check your data.
3. Restore WhatsApp Messages on iOS
While WhatsApp managed to sign a deal with Google, Apple refused to play nice. You cannot backup WhatsApp to Google Drive on your iPhone. All your backups are stored in iCloud and the frequency is the frequency you selected inside the WhatsApp app.
By default, Auto Backup is set to Daily which means your WhatsApp chats will be backed up daily to iCloud. To restore a backup from iCloud, you need to follow this process.
Uninstall WhatsApp from your iPhone. Use the link below to re-download it from the App Store. You will be asked to verify your number using an OTP text message.
Once you’re done, WhatsApp will ask if you want to Restore from Recent Backup or Skip. Tap on the Restore option in the upper right corner. You can see the date and size of the backup file here.
Once the WhatsApp backup file has been restored, you can start using the app.
4. Recover WhatsApp Messages on iOS Using iTunes
If you are using iTunes to make regular backups of your smartphone, then you have nothing to fear. If not, then this is the end of the road for you, I’m afraid. You must use either for backup on iPhone.
There is no way to restore via iTunes on a per-app basis. This means that when you restore via iTunes, you will restore your entire iPhone, all of its respective apps and settings, along with WhatsApp. If you’re ready and willing to go this route, here’s how you can do it.
Connect your iPhone to the laptop where you installed iTunes, using the iPhone cable. Launch iTunes and it will automatically detect your iPhone. You will be asked to unlock your iPhone. At this point, I recommend creating a new backup, just in case.
Click the device icon in the upper left in iTunes.
This is where you can create a new backup or restore from an old one. Use the drop-down menu to select a backup file based on the date.
Again, you can not only restore WhatsApp data here, but also your entire iPhone contents like contacts, messages, etc. I recommend you to make a backup before restoring the old one.
What’s wrong with your backup?
There are several ways to restore WhatsApp backups even without Google Drive, no matter what mobile operating system you use. It shouldn’t be difficult. If you are not using Google Drive to backup your WhatsApp data, you should as it will make your life easier. If security is your primary concern, local backups are your only alternative.
Next: Want to create restricted groups in WhatsApp? Need more control over who says what and how? Click the link below to learn how to do it.
Categories: How to
Source: thpttranhungdao.edu.vn/en/
