How to retrieve archived whatsapp messages
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
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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:
- Scroll up in the chat list (swipe from top to bottom) until Archived Chats appears.
- Tap on it, then swipe from right to left on the chat you want to restore.
- Hit the Unarchive button that appears.
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To unarchive a chat on Android:
- Scroll to the bottom of the chat list and tap Archived chats (X).
- Press and hold on the chat you want to recover.
- 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:
- Open a file explorer app on your Android device.
- Navigate to /WhatsApp/Databases.
- Rename msgstore.db.crypt12 to msgstore-latest.db.crypt12.
- Rename msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 to msgstore.db.crypt12.
- Uninstall WhatsApp.
- If Google Drive backups are enabled, open Google Drive, slide out the left menu, tap Backups, and delete the WhatsApp backup file.
- Reinstall WhatsApp.
- 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:
- 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.
- Next, rename the msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 file that you want to restore to msgstore.db.crypt12.
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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.
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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.
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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:
- 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.
- 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.
How to Recover Deleted and Archived Messages on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a multi-platform messaging app owned by Meta that was launched in 2009.
With just a Wi-Fi connection, users are able to have voice and video conversations, make calls, send text messages, and share photos and files.
It can also utilize your phone's cellular data to make one-on-one or group calls, which eliminates the requirement for costly long-distance calling fees.
According to Digitaltrends, WhatsApp is a free app that is compatible with multiple platforms. It does not charge its users any fees and does not require subscriptions.
It is compatible with a variety of phones and computer operating systems. You may carry on a discussion whenever and wherever you choose, making it one of its numerous advantages.
How WhatsApp Backups Work
For users who want to recover their messages on the app, they must first ensure that they have enabled Chat Backup in the app's settings.
To enable the chat backup, just go to the Settings, then head to Chats and select Chat Backup.
Under the auto backup in the settings, there will be different options provided for the frequency of backup. The choices are: daily, weekly, monthly, and off.
When the app generates new backup files, WhatsApp's existing backup files are automatically deleted.
The Android version of the software stores backup files for "up to the last seven days' worth," in contrast to the iPhone app, which only stores the most recent backup file.
When you select from the options, keep this in mind as you select the appropriate backup frequency for your requirements.
You'll be able to restore WhatsApp messages quickly after deleting them if you have daily auto-backups.
Weekly auto-backups, on the other hand, will allow you to go back to further conversations to recover deleted WhatsApp messages.
How to Recover Archived Messages on WhatsApp
There is a difference between deleting a message and archiving a message. When you delete a chat, it deletes its contents, making them inaccessible to you.
On the contrary, archiving removes the conversation from your list, allowing you to hide messages that you're no longer interested in. You can unarchive a chat at any moment, and archiving does not remove anything from the conversation.
To unarchive WhatsApp messages on iPhone,
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First, find the message by scrolling up to the chat list until the archived messages appear, then click on it.
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Secondly, after tapping on it, you will need to swipe from right to left on the conversation you wish to bring back.
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Lasly, to unarchive the file, click the Unarchived button on the screen display.
To unarchive WhatsApp messages on Android:
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Go to the chat list and select archived chats.
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Press and hold on to the messages you wish to retrieve.
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Tap the icon that looks like a box with an arrow pointing upwards, which is located in the top-right corner of the screen.
Read Also: iPhone Invisible Ink Lets You Hide Your Text Messages From Snooping Strangers: How to Use
How to Recover Deleted Messages on WhatsApp
According to MUO, removing WhatsApp from your device and then reinstalling it will allow you to restore your WhatsApp backup on that device.
There will be a prompt in the app with a request to restore your message history from the backup file when you reinstall the app. Click Restore to restore everything from the most recent backup.
However, you must do this right away when prompted, as you will not be able to restore the backup file afterward.
As long as you have a backup, this method of restoring deleted WhatsApp messages works on both Android and iPhone.
Depending on your settings, you can only recover backed-up messages within your chosen auto-backup frequency.
For example, if you have the app settings set to weekly, you can retrieve any deleted chats before the next weekly backup occurs.
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Why recover deleted messages from messenger? It is possible that instead of archiving a WhatsApp chat, you accidentally deleted it. Who cares? Well, archived chats can be restored very easily in WhatsApp; recovering deleted messages is not so easy. But rest assured, it is possible.
Below we will show you how to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages. And then we will teach you how to create an advanced WhatsApp backup plan so that you never lose your WhatsApp messages again. What are WhatsApp chat backups and why do you need them in principle
To recover deleted WhatsApp messages, you need to enable "Chat Backup" in "Settings". In the "Startup" section, WhatsApp offers several options for the frequency of backups:
WhatsApp backup settings page - WhatsApp backup frequency setting It is also important to note that WhatsApp will only save the latest backup file for iOS and the last two backup files when you archive it if your operating system is Android. With automatic daily backups, you can easily restore messages soon after they are deleted. On the other hand, weekly automatic backups will allow you to go back to recover deleted WhatsApp messages from less than seven days ago at the cost of losing recent chat messages. That is, if the backup operation is performed on Mondays, and the failure occurs on Wednesday, then the data for Tuesday will be lost. Select the automatic backup frequency that best suits your needs. For a more advanced backup plan for Android devices, scroll down to the Advanced WhatsApp backup strategy .”
Restoring WhatsApp chatsTo restore WhatsApp messages, you will first need to determine how the messages were deleted.
Restoring archived WhatsApp messagesIf the messages have been archived, you can simply restore them from the archive by pointing your smartphone to the desired archive and issuing the Restore “UNDO” command
However, even if the chat was archived a long time ago, you can still restore the messages. On iOS, scroll through the chat list until "Archived Chats" appears. Click on it, then swipe on the chat you want to restore and click Unarchive. On Android, tap the "Archived Chats" text at the bottom of the chat list. Tap and hold on the chat you want to restore and then tap on the "Unarchive" icon. Click to view and restore archived chats
How to Retrieve Deleted WhatsApp MessagesIt's surprisingly easy to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages if the records are within the automatic backup frequency you choose. For example, if your automatic backup frequency is set to daily, then you can easily restore any deleted chats before your next backup. Just uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. When you reinstall the application, you will be prompted to restore the message history from the backup file. Just click "Restore" and everything from the last backup will be restored. Done. This WhatsApp deleted message recovery method works on both Android and iOS.
Restoring old chat entriesRetrieving deleted messages after a backup is a bit more complicated. This will depend on the automatic backup frequency you choose and will only work on Android devices. As mentioned earlier, WhatsApp records two chat backup files. One of them will be the latest version of the chat; the other, depending on your auto backup frequency, could be daily, weekly, or monthly. And they are all located on the local storage of your Android device.
If you also backed up to Google Drive, then open the Google Drive app, click "Backups" and delete the WhatsApp backup file. Reinstall WhatsApp. Again, you will be prompted to restore data from the backup file you just edited.
This method will allow you to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages from the second most recent backup. You can continue to use WhatsApp from now on. Or you can export the received chat messages and restore WhatsApp back to the latest backup by starting the whole process again. This time, in your smartphone's File Explorer, do the following:
Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp, restore your backup and your latest chats will reappear! Search for deleted images, videos and audiosIt may come as a surprise, but when you delete images and videos from WhatsApp, they are not deleted until you delete them. Therefore, restoring WhatsApp images and videos that you have deleted from a chat is quite easy. Open your device explorer, go to WhatsApp > Media . There, browse the folders carefully until you find the deleted files you want to recover. Accidental deletion of messages is a common problem across all messaging platforms, not just WhatsApp. Even worse, you may accidentally delete some important documents such as Microsoft Office files. Fortunately, it is also possible to recover deleted Microsoft Office files. Advanced WhatsApp backup strategyBased on the fact that you can easily view and edit WhatsApp chat backup files on Android devices, it is quite easy to manipulate them to your advantage. Although WhatsApp will only store the last two backup files, you can increase the number of backup files so that you have as many as you want. All you have to do is rename msgstore -YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 to something else, perhaps n2.db.crypt12 . Thus, this file is now protected from being overwritten by WhatsApp. In the next backup, WhatsApp will create a new file msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 . And now you will have three restore points. Create whatsapp for youAs you can see, it is quite easy to recover deleted WhatsApp messages. However, you pay with your time for this opportunity. That is why the right strategy - performing backups - proves its worth. You can repeat the specified backup settings as many times as you like. And without much effort, you will be able to go back to recover your deleted WhatsApp messages. Share:
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How to restore WhatsApp chat history on Android and iOS
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03/25/2021
Author: CHIP
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How to recover WhatsApp chat history on Android and iOS
If you have deleted WhatsApp conversations, you can restore them in a few steps. We tell you what you can do on an iPhone and an Android smartphone.
In this article, we consider proven ways to recover information. Click on the link to go directly to the point of interest.
- With third party software
- Using Google
- From backup
- Not tied to Google
- On iPhone via iCloud
Restoring chat using third-party software
One of the reliable and easy ways to restore information in WhatsApp is to use third-party software. But it often requires rooting, and rooting a smartphone is quite risky (read why). Therefore, it is worth looking for programs that can work with standard firmware. For example, Tenorshare UltData.
The program works simply: you need to run it and click the "Restore WhatsApp Data" button.
Then connect the smartphone to the computer with a cable. Before doing this, it is advisable to make a backup copy of messages - just in case.
Although root rights are not required, you need to open access to the developer menu. This is safe (if you do not change the parameters manually). Usually you need to go along the path "Settings> System> About phone" and press your finger on "Build number" until a message appears about entering the mode.
If you have not created a backup, the program will offer to do it yourself. After a few steps, you will see deleted messages and pictures - you can restore them by clicking on the appropriate button.
In the same way, you can restore correspondence on iPhone / iPad, including using a backup copy on iCloud. To do this, you will need to download Ultdata iOS.
How to restore your WhatsApp history with Google
Perhaps the easiest way to save your WhatsApp history is to automatically create a cloud backup. All you need is a Google account and access to Google Drive. If you haven't linked the cloud to WhatsApp yet, follow these steps:
- Open WhatsApp and select "Settings" by clicking on the three dots in the top right corner.
- Now select "Chats" - "Backup Chats".
- In the Google Account section, enter your Google Drive account.
- Also in the settings you can set how parts will be backed up to the cloud: monthly, weekly, daily, when you click the "Backup" button or never.
- You can also set whether to download backups only when you are in Wi-Fi coverage area or via mobile data.
Now in case of loss of data or smartphone, you can easily reinstall WhatsApp and start recovery via Google Drive. To do this, follow the recovery instructions when setting up WhatsApp.
Restoring WhatsApp chat history on Android
If you have deleted some or all of your chat history, you can quickly restore it.
Delete WhatsApp from your smartphone. When reinstalling, click the "Restore" option. The latest backup copy of the messenger data will be loaded. However, do not forget that messages received or sent during the current day will not be completely restored.
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Tips
How to recover deleted messages in WhatsApp
Restoring messages without linking to Google
If you have not linked a Google account to create a backup, you have a second option. To do this, the correspondence should not be older than 7 days - any message deleted before that will not be restored.
- Delete WhatsApp.
- You can find the history of correspondence in Android using the file manager. To do this, go to the "/sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases" section. Don't forget to make a copy of the "msgstore.db. crypt7" so as not to lose new correspondence.
- Individual backups are named as follows: "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.db.crypt7". Select the copy you need and rename the file with it to "msgstore.db.crypt7".
- Reinstall WhatsApp and select the Restore option.