Home » Misc » How to get previous deleted whatsapp messages

How to get previous deleted whatsapp messages


How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages

Device Links

  • Android
  • iPhone
  • Device Missing?

Over the past few years, WhatsApp has established itself as the go-to social media platform, helping people connect with friends and family. One feature that endeared users is being able to send or receive an unlimited number of messages that don’t autodelete, as happens with some other social media platforms.

However, WhatsApp allows you to delete the messages you don’t want to keep. This option means there’s a possibility of deleting something accidentally. You might also lose your messages inadvertently, for example, when switching to a new device or even while resetting your device.

But does that mean you lose those messages forever? The answer is no. If you have accidentally deleted messages from your WhatsApp account, there is still a chance to recover them.

How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages

If you’re an avid WhatsApp user, there’s a good chance you’ve had the unfortunate experience of losing some of your messages. It could be a funny text from a friend, contact information shared with you by a colleague, or even an exchange you could present as evidence in court.

Although WhatsApp doesn’t provide a direct built-in tool to help you retrieve deleted messages, you can still recover them in several ways. However, recovery methods generally depend on the type of device you’re using. For example, what works for Android devices may not work for iPhones.

First, let’s dive in and see how to recover your old WhatsApp messages on an Android device.

Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages using Android

Android devices often get praised for their affordability, large display, open-source programs (which makes them highly customizable), and an incredible app selection in the Google Play Store. It’s no wonder that most Android devices today are fully compatible with WhatsApp.

But as with other devices, you can lose your WhatsApp data in a matter of seconds. Losing your data can happen if you accidentally hit the “delete” button or switch to a new device.

Luckily, WhatsApp comes equipped with a cloud-based backup solution that can save the day if you lose your messages and want to retrieve them. But how exactly does it work?

Once you’ve enabled backup in the settings section of your WhatsApp account, the app starts to store copies of all your messages in WhatsApp’s servers at regular intervals. When a backup process begins, the app checks for message duplicates on its server. If it doesn’t find one, a copy gets created immediately. The app also saves any new photos or videos automatically.

Therefore, your backup should be the first place you look when you delete a message accidentally.

Note: To see if your messages are backing up, go to Settings>Chats>Chat Backup. Then, verify that the email listed is one that you can access.

Here’s how to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on an Android device when you’ve backed up your data:

  1. Delete WhatsApp from your device.
  2. Download and install a new copy of WhatsApp from Google Play.
  3. After installation, open WhatsApp and enter your details, including your name and number.
  4. During installation, a prompt will appear on your screen asking whether you’d like to
    Restore your chats from your Google Drive. Tap on Restore to initiate the recovery process.
  5. After recovering your data, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

All your old messages and media should now be available in your chats.

Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages on an iPhone

Like Android, the WhatsApp application for iPhones supports backup to the cloud at regular intervals. So long as your backup is enabled, WhatsApp will store copies of all your messages in the iCloud Drive. You can even see when the last backup was performed by opening the settings section of your account.

Recovering deleted messages from iCloud is straightforward:

  1. Uninstall WhatsApp from your device by choosing Delete App.
  2. Visit the App Store and download a new copy of WhatsApp.
  3. After downloading the app successfully, install it on your device.
  4. Follow the on-screen instructions to recover all the deleted messages.

Now, WhatsApp displays all your deleted messages in your chat.

It’s crucial to ensure enough space in your local storage before the recovery process starts. As a rule of thumb, the available local storage should be twice as much as the size of your backup. For example, if your backup is 1 GB, there should be at least 2 GB of free storage space on your device.

How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages without a Backup

Although data recovery from your WhatsApp backup is fast and convenient, you may have forgotten to enable it when setting up your account.

The good news is that you can still recover lost messages and media thanks to your device’s local backup or third-party software.

Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages without a Backup on Android Devices

Apart from cloud-based backup, all Android devices come with Android Local Backup—the default data backup service for many Android devices. The application typically gets included in nearly every new Android smartphone with Google Mobile Services (a collection of Google apps that help support functionality across devices).

If you haven’t enabled cloud backup on your WhatsApp account, you can still recover the data stored in your device’s local backup. Here’s how to go about it:

  1. Open your device’s File Manager and tap on WhatsApp.
  2. Select the Database folder.
  3. Look for a file named msgstore.db.crypt12 and change its name to msgstore_BACKUP.db.crypt12 without quotes.
  4. After that, look for the file named msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 and rename it to msgstore.db.crypt12 without quotes.
  5. Now, delete WhatsApp from your device, download a new copy from the Google Play store, and install it.
  6. Since you don’t have any files backed up in the cloud, you get prompted to restore your chats from the local phone backup. Tap on Restore to initiate the recovery process.

Now, you can view most deleted messages in your chats.

The downside to this local backup method is that you can only recover the most recent messages. That’s because the amount of backup space available for each app is limited.

Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages without a Backup on iPhone

If you run WhatsApp on iOS and cloud backup isn’t enabled, you can only recover deleted messages via a third-party tool.

Although there are several options to choose from, MiniTool Mobile Recovery for iOS stands out because it doesn’t require you to uninstall WhatsApp.

Here’s how to use it:

  1. Download and install MiniTool Mobile Recovery for iOS on your PC.
  2. Connect your phone to your PC via a suitable USB cable.
  3. Launch MiniTool Mobile Recovery for iOS on your PC.
  4. Click on Scan to initiate a thorough search through all the social media and communication apps installed on your iPhone.
  5. At this point, select WhatsApp from the menu displayed on the left side of your screen. All messages, including the ones that got deleted, should appear.
  6. Select the messages you’d like to recover and then hit the Recover button in the lower right corner.

In closing, WhatsApp is a great way to communicate with your friends and family. Regardless, there can be moments when you accidentally delete messages or lose them while switching devices. If this happens to you, don’t panic. You now have multiple ways to recover the deleted messages and view or share them as you like, whether you had backups enabled in WhatsApp or not. Give the above options a try!

WhatsApp Message Recovery FAQs

Does WhatsApp keep your messages?

When you delete a message on WhatsApp, it disappears. However, it isn’t gone forever. Your messages get stored in the cloud (Google Drive or iCloud). They also get stored on your device. For these reasons, you can recover your deleted WhatsApp messages even if you need a third-party service.

I reinstalled the app, but none of my messages appeared. What’s happening?

When you follow the instructions above to uninstall the app and reinstall it, you must log in to the correct account. Using a different email, phone, or phone number is the likely culprit of your missing messages.

As shown above, open the WhatsApp Settings and tap on Chats. Then tap on Chat Backup. You can verify the last time WhatsApp saved your chats and the email address associated with that backup.

How to Recover Deleted or Missing WhatsApp Messages

Do you need to recover deleted or missing WhatsApp messages? It's certainly possible, depending on the situation.

Below, you'll learn how to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on your iPhone or Android device. We'll then teach you how to set up an advanced WhatsApp backup plan to ensure you never lose any of your WhatsApp messages again.

Understanding WhatsApp Chat Backups

In order to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages, you must have enabled Chat Backup in the app's settings. To reach this, tap the Settings tab. It's on the bottom bar of the iPhone app; on Android, open the three-dot menu at the top-right and choose Settings.

From there, head to Chats > Chat backup. Here (under Auto Backup on iOS and Back up to Google Drive on Android), the app offers several backup frequencies (along with the option to encrypt your WhatsApp backups):

  • Daily
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Off

2 Images

On Android, WhatsApp makes a local backup every night, but this won't help you if you lose your phone. This is why cloud backups are vital.

WhatsApp deletes older backup files as you create new ones. The iPhone app only keeps the latest backup file, while the Android version keeps "up to the last seven days' worth" of backup files. Keep that in mind as you choose the right backup frequency for your needs.

By having daily auto-backups, you'll be able to easily recover WhatsApp messages soon after deleting them. On the other hand, weekly auto-backups will allow you to go further back in time to recover deleted WhatsApp messages, at the expense of losing recent chat messages.

For a more advanced backup plan for Android devices, scroll down to the "An Advanced WhatsApp Backup Strategy for Android" section below.

How to Recover Archived Chats in WhatsApp

Before we look at recovering deleted WhatsApp messages, there's a chance that you might have just archived a missing chat, not deleted it. But what's the difference?

Archiving removes the chat from your list, allowing you to hide conversations that you're done with for now. You can unarchive a chat at any time to access it again, and archiving doesn't delete anything in the chat. Conversely, deleting a chat erases its contents, so they're no longer accessible to you.

On iPhone, when you archive a chat, you can immediately reverse the archival by shaking your device and choosing Undo to recover the archived chat. But even if you miss this, it's easy to retrieve archived WhatsApp chats later.

To unarchive a WhatsApp chat on iPhone:

  1. Scroll up in the chat list (swipe from top to bottom) until Archived Chats appears.
  2. Tap on it, then swipe from right to left on the chat you want to restore.
  3. Hit the Unarchive button that appears.

2 Images

To unarchive a chat on Android:

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the chat list and tap Archived chats (X).
  2. Press and hold on the chat you want to recover.
  3. Tap the unarchive icon at the top-right, which looks like a box with an upward-facing arrow.

How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages

Wondering how to get back deleted WhatsApp messages after backing them up? You can restore your WhatsApp backup by simply uninstalling and reinstalling WhatsApp on your device.

When you reinstall the app, you will be prompted to restore your message history from the backup file. Tap Restore and you'll retrieve everything from the latest backup. Make sure to do it when prompted, as you can't restore the backup file later.

This method of recovering deleted WhatsApp messages works on both Android and iPhone, as long as you have a backup. Keep in mind that you can only recover backed-up messages within your selected auto-backup frequency, however.

For instance, if you've set the app to back up daily, you can recover any deleted chats before the next daily backup occurs. But if the app has made a new backup since you deleted certain messages, they're lost for good.

How to Recover Deleted Media on WhatsApp

Hopefully, restoring your backup file allowed you to retrieve any deleted media from your chats. If that didn't work, however, read our guide to recovering deleted photos from WhatsApp.

On Android, you can simply open a file explorer app and navigate to /WhatsApp/Media. From there, simply sift through the folders until you find the deleted photos you want to recover.

On iPhone, you should have a backup copy of images saved to your device if you have the Save to Camera Roll option enabled at Settings > Chats in WhatsApp.

Check the above guide for additional methods of media recovery.

How to Recover Older Deleted Chats in WhatsApp

Getting deleted messages back after a new WhatsApp backup has run is slightly more difficult. Your success will depend on your selected auto-backup frequency.

Note that the below strategy only works on Android devices, since the OS lets you access local backup files. If you're using an iPhone, your only other method is to restore an iPhone backup that you made before deleting the WhatsApp chats. There are third-party apps that claim to help you recover WhatsApp chats, but they aren't cheap and offer no guarantees. Whether you use these is up to how much you value the missing messages.

Before we dive into the process, here's an overview of restoring older WhatsApp chats on Android:

  1. Open a file explorer app on your Android device.
  2. Navigate to /WhatsApp/Databases.
  3. Rename msgstore.db.crypt12 to msgstore-latest.db.crypt12.
  4. Rename msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 to msgstore.db.crypt12.
  5. Uninstall WhatsApp.
  6. If Google Drive backups are enabled, open Google Drive, slide out the left menu, tap Backups, and delete the WhatsApp backup file.
  7. Reinstall WhatsApp.
  8. When prompted, restore from the backup file.

How to Restore Older Deleted WhatsApp Chats on Android

As mentioned before, WhatsApp on Android retains several days of chat backup files. One is, of course, the latest chat backup. The others, depending on your auto-backup frequency, could be one day or many days old. In addition to the Google Drive cloud backup, WhatsApp stores these backups on your device's local storage.

Open your device's file explorer app (Files by Google is a good option if you don't have one installed), and navigate to /WhatsApp/Databases. Depending on your device, the WhatsApp folder may appear under /sdcard/, /storage/, Internal Memory, or similar.

Within that WhatsApp folder, you'll find the various chat backup files. The latest one is named msgstore.db.crypt12, while the others look like msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12. As you'd expect, YYYY-MM-DD represents the year, month, and date (respectively) that the backup file was created.

To retrieve WhatsApp messages deleted sometime between two backups, simply do the following:

  1. Rename msgstore. db.crypt12 to msgstore-latest.db.crypt12. This changes the latest backup file, since you're about to give an older backup its name in order to restore it.
  2. Next, rename the msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 file that you want to restore to msgstore.db.crypt12.

3 Images

After this, uninstall WhatsApp. If you've enabled Google Drive cloud backups, open the Google Drive app, slide out the left menu, and select Backups. You'll see a WhatsApp backup file with your phone number in it. Tap the three-dot Menu to the right of this and choose Delete backup to erase it.

Doing this prevents WhatsApp from using the backup file in Google Drive instead of the local file you want to restore.

3 Images

Now, reinstall WhatsApp from the Play Store. During the setup process, you'll be prompted to restore from the backup file you've just tweaked—it will show as X days old instead of the most recent backup file. Confirm restoration from this file.

That's all you have to do in order to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages from older backups. Once you've restored those messages, feel free to start using WhatsApp as normal again.

How to Export Retrieved WhatsApp Messages and Return to the Latest Backup

When you walk through the above, you'll lose any messages created since the backup you restored. If you only performed that process to restore a few deleted messages, and don't want to lose recent messages, you can export the retrieved chat messages and then restore WhatsApp to the latest backup. You'll have to run through the entire process again, but it's not difficult.

To export messages, open the chat containing the messages you want to save. Tap the three-dot Menu button at the top-right, followed by More > Export chat. If the chat has media, you'll see an option to export Without media or to Include media.

Including media will add all recent images as attachments, which obviously increases the size of the export file. You can export up to 10,000 messages with media, or 40,000 messages without media.

After you make your choice, choose an app on your phone to share the text file (and attachments, if applicable) containing your messages. You can email this to yourself, add it to cloud storage, or similar. Repeat this for any other chats with messages you want to save.

3 Images

Once you're done exporting, follow the steps in the above section again to access your WhatsApp backups. When you come to renaming the backup files, reverse the process:

  1. Rename the existing msgstore.db.crypt12 (which contains the messages you retrieved) to msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12, using today's date. In case there's already a file with today's date, use DD.2 instead.
  2. Next, rename msgstore-latest. db.crypt12 (the latest backup created when you started) back to msgstore.db.crypt12.

Uninstall WhatsApp, delete your Google Drive backup again if needed, and reinstall the app. After you restore from backup, your latest chats will reappear. The messages you exported won't appear inside WhatsApp, but you can at least see them in the text file whenever you need them.

An Advanced WhatsApp Backup Strategy for Android

Because you can easily view and edit WhatsApp chat backup files on Android, it's easy to manipulate them. Renaming them allows you to keep as many backup files as you want.

All you need to do is rename a backup in the msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 format to something else, such as oct11.db.crypt12 or 2021-June-Backup. Because this file doesn't use WhatsApp's naming convention, it's now protected from WhatsApp overwriting it.

Consider creating your own backup file in this way once every month or so. That way, you won't lose tons of messages if you have to restore from an older backup. For even more safety, you should copy these backup files to cloud storage or your computer so that they're safe in case your phone stops working or you lose it.

Recover WhatsApp Messages to Preserve Memories

As you can see, it's fairly easy to recover deleted WhatsApp messages. However, this is only the case if you've backed up your messages ahead of time. This is why the advanced backup strategy is worth setting up if you're an Android user. iPhone owners don't have as many options.

Now that you know you won't lose any WhatsApp messages in the future, it's a good idea to discover some of WhatsApp's other cool features that aren't immediately visible.

android, iphone from whatsapp backup on android, is it possible to restore whatsapp chat, backup

If you accidentally deleted whatsapp chat history, messages and attachments on android phones like samsung galaxy, lg, htc, lenovo, motorola , you can restore them. In this article, we will show you different ways to recover deleted WhatsApp data. We will explain how to get back your deleted WhatsApp messages or chat history along with the app, we will also recommend a more powerful Android data recovery that is easy to use and free to download.

  • Method #1: How to restore WhatsApp chat history from recent backups?
  • Method #2: How to restore WhatsApp chat history from old (not the latest) backups?
  • Method #3: How to recover recent WhatsApp chat messages without losing new chat history?
  • Method #4: How to recover deleted WhatsApp chat history without backups?

#1. Restoring WhatsApp Chat History from Latest Backups

If you have backups of your WhatsApp chat history, you can restore them from the backup. If you have deleted any history or messages without backup, you can recover lost WhatsApp messages, attachments from automatic backups. Because WhatsApp automatically creates backups every day at 4am (your local time) and saves them to your phone's internal storage (assuming there is enough free space) or to your Android phone's external microSD card. What you need in order to recover whatsapp messages is uninstall whatsapp then reinstall the chat app again. During the installation process, you will be prompted to restore your message history. Just press

Restore and all messages from the last 7 days will be restored.

#2. Restoring WhatsApp Chat History from Old (Not Latest) Backups

You can follow the instructions below to restore WhatsApp messages or chats from a backup:

  1. Delete WhatsApp.
  2. Open the WhatsApp database or backup folder. Decide which backup file you want to restore.
  3. Rename this file from "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt7" to "msgstore.db.crypt7".
  4. Install WhatsApp.
  5. When prompted to restore, tap Restore.

You can find the WhatsApp backup files in the /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases folder and you will see that they are saved with the name "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt7". Please note that the WhatsApp backup folder may be in your phone storage or external storage.

What are the disadvantages of restoring chats from WhatsApp backups?
  • Automatic backup files of WhatsApp chat history and messages are only valid for 7 days after the last backup. Make sure you import your chat history before it expires! It will not be possible to find or restore data from backups older than 7 days.
  • You will lose new WhatsApp messages . Current chat stories that have not yet been backed up will be lost after restoration. That is, you will lose all messages that you have sent or received since the backup was created.
  • Chat messages cannot be recovered if your SD card and/or chat history is corrupted.
  • Chat history cannot be restored if you have a different phone number where you backed up your chats.
  • When performing a manual backup, the last automatic file backup will be overwritten.

#3. How to recover recent WhatsApp chat messages without losing new chat history?

We know that new messages sent/received after a backup and deleted before the next backup cannot be restored. If you want to keep a copy of new WhatsApp messages, you can create a copy manually via WhatsApp > Menu Button > Options > Chat Options > Backup Conversations . Typically, a manually created backup file is saved as "msgstore.db.crypt7" in the /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases folder. Rename this chat backup file to something like "msgstore.db.crypt7.newest" or "msgstore.db.crypt7.current". However, there is no easy way to merge your new, old and restored messages.

#4. How to recover deleted whatsapp chat history without backups?

If you just delete some very important messages without a backup, how can you get them backed up? We recommend this android data recovery, which is easy to use and you can download it for free. You can recover whatsapp messages without backup with this android data restorer as follows.

  1. When you mistakenly delete your WhatsApp chat history, your messages will actually be stored on your phone's internal memory or SD card until they are completely erased from your mobile when you save new files or data on your phone. So don't use your phone currently to prevent overwriting data with new files instead of deleted ones.
  2. Install data recovery software for Android mobile phones on your Windows PC.
  3. Use data recovery to check your Android phone. It supports up to 2000 Android devices, including Samsung, LG, HTC, Motorola, Lenovo, Nexus, ZTE, Huawei, Xiaomi, Blu or other Android phones and tablets.
  4. Get back your lost whatsapp messages and export them from your mobile to computer.

Now download the Android mobile phone data recovery software below and follow the steps below to recover deleted WhatsApp messages without backups on Samsung or other Android phones. Note : This is a desktop program for Windows and Mac and you will not be able to download it to your phone or other computers. This file contains both the trial version and the full version of the program. You can order a license key online to receive it by email and then unlock the full version by entering the already purchased key.

Step 1. Enable the USB debugging option on your android.

Here is a step by step guide showing you how to enable USB debugging on Android phones, or if you are a Samsung Galaxy phone user, let's see how to enable USB debugging on Samsung Galaxy phones.

Step 2: Connect your phone to your computer via USB

Launch the Android data restorer on your computer. Use your USB cable to connect your mobile phone and computer. The data recovery program can automatically detect your mobile phone and establish a connection between the data recovery application and your phone.

Step 3: Analyze your mobile and scan it for deleted WhatsApp messages on Android

Android Data Recovery will now analyze your phone. It will check your Android version, driver support, etc. Before allowing the Android data recovery program to scan your phone, you can select the file you would like to recover. But this is not necessary, you can leave the default settings, then the data recovery assistant will scan all the files and data on the phone. It is recommended to select files of a specific type that needs to be recovered, in this case WhatsApp messages and documents, as this can narrow down the search and save you a lot of time. See screenshot below. You can also use this program to recover lost photos, videos, contacts, text messages, call history, music, etc.

  • Step by step recovery of deleted photos and videos from Samsung galaxy
    • mobile phone
  • Step by Step Recovery of Deleted Text Messages from Samsung Mobile Phone
  • Mobile data recovery after factory reset

Step 4. How to recover deleted WhatsApp chat history without backups?

Now click the Next button in the lower right corner of the screen at the top to allow the Android data recovery tool to scan your Samsung smartphone or other Android device. This tool can find lost files and data in internal storage or external storage. The results page will be grouped into different categories and you can open any of them to view and find data, and restore any item or data to your computer and mobile phone.

You can choose to recover certain WhatsApp data, chat messages, photos, videos, attachments. You can select and export any of them or all at once to your computer. The data recovery program is compatible with almost all Samsung smartphones and other Android phones like HTC, Motorola, Sony, Lenovo, Huawei and ZTE, LG. You can download videos from YouTube to Android using applications.

Refer to this guide if you use WhatsApp on iPhone: Steps to restore whatsApp chats on iPhone. However, it will not be possible to merge your new, already recovered messages with old WhatsApp messages.


how to recover messages and correspondence

Bookmark this page, share with your friends - FreeSoft has prepared simple instructions + interesting life hacks for recovering lost chats, deleted messages and other correspondence in WhatsApp on your iPhones and Android devices (Samsung, Huawei, Honor - no difference).

The structure of the article is as follows: first, we answer the question “how to restore WhatsApp correspondence” in the simplest way, then, if it doesn’t help, we delve into the details: we check the settings for automatic message backup - this will help you understand how to work wonders for recovering deleted chats (instructions are attached). In the end, we will figure out how to get correspondence from broken phones or transfer to a new one.



Attention! Read to the end only if you want to know everything about data recovery in the messenger. Ever understand? Click on the link to go to the right section.

Contents

  • Reinstallation ← helps almost always
  • Backup ← enable if disabled
    • Phone
    • Cloud
  • Restoring messages and chats ← the magic is here
    • Via msgstore.db.crypt12
    • Forwarding correspondence
  • From a damaged phone ← this is also possible
    • Android
    • iPhone

Simple recovery

First, about the simplest situation: you used the messenger, deleted it a long time ago, and now you decide to use it again, and even return all the “recent” correspondence? Nothing easier - install it and the messages will return themselves.

Follow simple instructions :

  1. Downloading the application
    • WhatsApp for Android
      or
    • WhatsApp for iPhone
  2. Installing and registering
    Specify the country, phone number, SMS comes with a confirmation code, enter it into the application
  3. We write the username
  4. WhatsApp will offer to restore a backup copy of messages - agree
  5. Done!
    Correspondence restored

No? So your case is not so simple. Most likely, backup was not configured and messages were not saved. We check and configure in the next chapter - this is important!

Backup copies

1. On the phone

If you have already used WhatsApp, then all correspondence, photos and other files are stored in the phone’s memory, in the “ /WhatsApp ” folder. You can check using an application like " File manager " (or " file manager "). Not sure what you have? We recommend downloading these:

  • Total Commander for Android
  • File Manager for iOS

Open the application, find the folder:

Didn't find it? You immediately here. Found? Okay, let's get to the content.

The " WhatsApp / Databases " folder contains archives of different backup dates. The dates are in the file names. Archives are saved every 24 hours at approximately 2 - 3 am according to the time set on the phone. File without date " msgstore.db.crypt12 " is the latest, most current copy. According to it, correspondence is restored after installing the application. By renaming files, you can restore dialogs from different periods. Here in the folder " WhatsApp / Databases / Media " all your files from chats.

2. In the cloud

WhatsApp additionally saves copies to cloud services:

  • Google Drive for Android devices
  • iCloud Drive on iPhone and iPad

Most likely, copies of your correspondence ("backups") are already saved in the "cloud" - the messenger periodically offers to connect cloud backup. If you remember that you refused - in vain, turn it back on.

Checking cloud backup settings .

  1. Open chat lists
  2. Click on the "3 dots" icon in the upper right corner of the screen, select "Settings" in the drop-down list
  3. Go to menu " Chats → Backup Chats »

Redundancy setting

  • " Last backup " - dates of the last backups
  • Button " Backup " starts backing up the current state of chats
  • Storage is configured below: disk account, backup frequency.
  • You can choose to download via Wi-Fi only or via mobile network.

If the chat history is not saved to the cloud drive, be sure to enable this feature, it will save you from misunderstandings in the future.

We figured out the theory, let's move on to practice. Let's start with the most interesting - deleted messages.

Correspondence recovery

We warn you not to waste your time! Just undo the deletion of the message and return it directly to the chat - impossible!

The principle of the messenger: do not store what has been intentionally deleted. Therefore, the official documentation does not offer clear solutions. FreeSoft offers.

Solution : restore the state of the correspondence at the time of automatic backups. Consider a couple of simple ways to restore important messages.

Option 1

If you remember that you sent a message before the date and time the file " msgstore.db.crypt12 " was changed, and deleted it later - just reinstall the application, receive an SMS with a code, log in, restore chats from backups . Don't remember? Read on.

Reservation takes place at night, every 24 hours, which means that if a day has passed between sending and deleting a message, everything is possible, we will restore the correspondence now. (Otherwise, the less time has passed, the less chance. By the way, you can check it with a special program).

In general, follow instructions :

  1. Copy backup folders
    Make, just in case, a copy of the copies: go to the directory " / WhatsApp ", copy the folder " Databases " to a safe location. Use computer connection or file manager application
  2. Find the correct backup
    • Select an archive file with a date between sending and deleting the message - it contains your message, the file needs to be renamed.
    • Find the file msgstore.db.crypt12 , copy the name, then delete it, or rather rename it to "abra-kadabra".
    • Assign the copied name to the file with your message.
    • Last → reinstall the application.

    At the end of the installation, Vatsap will offer to restore messages - agree. You will get the status of the chats at the moment when the message has not yet been deleted. Simple, right?

Important! All current messages not included in the latest backup will be lost. If this is critical - create a copy from the current moment - to do this, click the "Backup" button in the settings (more), then repeat step 1.

Option 2

If you know for sure that the sent message was not backed up on the device or in the cloud, then your solution is to ask the interlocutor to forward the message or chat.

Forwarding a message to is very easy:

  1. We click on the message, hold down the click - it is “highlighted”, the mode of highlighting messages is turned on. In this mode, you can select more messages
  2. In the upper right corner, click on the "arrow to the right" - the list of contacts will open
  3. Select the recipient's contact

This will work if you deleted it using the "Delete at home" method. The "Delete from everyone" option deletes the message from both you and the other party. The chance that it got into the interlocutor's backup is small.

To forward all chat

  1. Go to " Settings "
  2. Go to the menu " Chats → Chat history → Export chats "
  3. Select chat
  4. Specify the chat transfer method

Comment
The messenger will ask if you need to send files from the chat. We recommend choosing the "Without files" method - it's faster.
It is more convenient to transfer files via the Internet: use WhatsApp, another messenger or a cloud drive. But in fairness, we note that you can send a file directly via Bluetooth or Wi-Fi Direct - this is convenient when there is no access to the Internet or its speed is very low, and, for example, you decide to attach all multimedia files.

Deleted messages sorted out. Now let's figure out what to do if you overdid it with clearing memory, broke it, lost it, or just bought a new device.

Memory recovery

Solutions depend on the problem. Consider all options.

Unsuccessfully cleared phone memory

In this case, backups will be extracted from the cloud drive. Just try to install the app again. If there are no copies in the cloud, we will restore the information from the gadget's memory. Steps:

  1. Download and install memory recovery program
  2. Extract message archives from device memory (more info)
  3. Put them in the folder " WhatsApp / Databases "
  4. Reinstall the application as described at the beginning of the article.

We restore archives with free programs and applications.

Free app for Android . There are special functions for recovering archived WhatsApp conversations. Install, follow the instructions in the program.

Download for Android

The program for OS Windows shows messages and calls from the iPhone, there is a function to read archives - you can immediately see if the message got into the backup copy or not.

Download for Windows

iPhone Data Recovery

The program recovers correspondence and in general all the “whatsapp” data on the “iPhone” for free, it is installed on Mac-OS .

Pay attention to the functionality: applications do a good job of returning deleted songs, photos and even videos.

The device has changed

It all depends on whether you have access to the old device . Let's consider 3 possible cases.

Case No. 1 - the old phone works

Did the purchase of a new device cause the restoration of correspondence? Solution: configure and restore backups step by step:

Via the Internet

  1. Go to app settings on your old device
  2. Go to menu " Chats / Chats Backup "
  3. Select " Google Drive/iCloud Drive Backup "
  4. Specify the account and the frequency of the reservation
  5. Click on the button " Backup "
  6. Install the application on a new phone
  7. After installation, WhatsApp will ask for access to the cloud drive - allow
  8. Done! Read old correspondence on the new device

Without Internet

  1. Open the " Settings " application, go to the menu " Chats / Chats Backup "
  2. Click on the button " Backup "
  3. We transfer backup files from the folder " WhatsApp / Databases " to a new device in a similar directory. Use the connection to a computer or transfer from phone to phone via " Bluetooth " or " Wi-Fi Direct "
    Wi-Fi Direct is usually faster, but not all old devices support it, and not all new ones, check with yourself. Bluetooth is available on almost every modern gadget.
  4. Further, everything is as in the previous instructions - install, register, restore. Ready!
Case #2 - old device lost

Lost or broken with no chance of repair or data recovery.

Chat can now be restored only if a backup to the cloud has been configured. As a rule, the application recommends doing this sooner or later. When installing the messenger, it will ask for access to the virtual disk and restore the data. Reinstall.

If you specifically refused to reserve WhatsApp → Game Over! (╯°□°)╯︵┻━┻. Now ask your interlocutors to forward chats. And be sure to set up a reservation in the future!

Case #3 - device broken

For example, the phone was bathed.

Learn more