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How to revive whatsapp chat


How to recover WhatsApp messages

The more we use WhatsApp in our daily communications, the more chance we are storing crucial information in those chats. It could be something mundane like a doctor’s appointment time or something serious like an agreement to buy a high-value item or proof of a debt from someone. It could even be chats from a now-deceased loved one that you don’t want to lose. Whatever it is, if you accidentally delete any of it, you need to be able to recover those WhatsApp messages.

Read more: How to use WhatsApp — a step-by-step beginner’s guide

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The answer to recovering WhatsApp messages is a bit drastic, but the only effective method nonetheless. You have to uninstall WhatsApp from your phone, reinstall it, then restore all of your messaging history from a backup. Assuming you haven't backed up after deleting the crucial messages, WhatsApp will reload all your messages, including the deleted ones.

JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS

  • How to recover deleted messages on Android
  • How to recover deleted messages on iPhone

Note: Before proceeding, remember that if you delete a message — and then back up your archive — those deleted messages will then be wiped in that backup. At that point, the messages will be unrecoverable. So if you have deleted a message you need to recover, make sure any automated backups are immediately canceled — and don’t back up anything manually!

How to recover deleted messages on Android

First, delete WhatsApp from your phone, then reinstall it. You will have to do the whole setup again with your phone number and verify the number. You also need to have your two-step authentication number ready if you had that set up with the previous installation.

Once you have verified your number, it will tell you if it has detected a backup on Google Drive. If it has, it will invite you to restore it. If you tap SKIP, bear in mind that you will not be able to restore from Google Drive without uninstalling and reinstalling again. But you can select SKIP if you intend to restore from a local backup. More on that in the next section.

Your backup will now be downloaded to your phone and restored. How long it takes will depend on the size of your archive and your internet connection speed.

Once the backup has been completed, you’ll be asked to fill in your display name and enter your two-factor authentication code again. Then your messages will appear on the screen.

Restoring from a local backup

If, instead, you have backed up your WhatsApp archive to your device’s local storage, or an SD card, this is how you can restore it.

Use a file manager such as Google Files to access your phone’s internal storage. Find the WhatsApp folder — the location varies from device to device, so you may have to do a bit of hunting. When you find the folder, go to Databases, and you should see a file named like this. The name of your file will vary slightly.

Change its name so it has the word BACKUP in it, so msgstore_BACKUP.db.crypt14. Find the file in that folder that you want to restore (likely the most recently dated one) and change its name to the previous file. In this case, it would be msgstore.db.crypt14.

Now uninstall WhatsApp, reinstall it, and go through the initial setup again. When it comes time to restore a backup, since there’s no Google Drive backup to detect, it will detect the local storage version instead.

Restoring from an earlier backup

If you have more than one backup stored on local storage or SD card, you can opt to leap-frog over the most recent backup and choose an earlier one instead.

The method here is virtually identical to the previous method, except each file in the Databases section will have a date attached, such as msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt14. Earlier backups may have crypt13 or crypt12 at the end, but you shouldn’t change this number.

All you need to do is select the one you want to restore and remove the date so it is renamed, in this case, msgstore.1.db.crypt14. But before you do that, make sure the file that already has that name has BACKUP added to the name. You obviously can’t have two files with the same name.

Now go through the reinstallation process of WhatsApp, and select Restore.

How to recover deleted messages on iPhone

Since an iPhone doesn’t support SD cards or restoring from local storage, the only way is through an iCloud backup. In many ways, this greatly simplifies the whole process.

It is the same as restoring an Android phone from Google Drive. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp on the iPhone. Set up and verify your number again. Select Restore, and it will detect your iCloud backup, where you can then get everything to reset.

Read more: How to find and change your WhatsApp phone number

FAQs

There is no official method from WhatsApp, as Google Drive-based WhatsApp backups are incompatible with iOS devices. Again though, many paid third-party apps claim to be able to do it. Take these claims with a pinch of salt, though.

You need to have a backup of some description. Because of end-to-end encryption, WhatsApp doesn’t keep copies of your messages on its servers. Plus, from a cost point of view, it’s cheaper to leverage Google Drive or iCloud as backup options. If you haven’t backed up to the cloud, you’ll need to have a backup in your internal storage or SD card. But this only applies to Android devices.

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:

  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.

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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.

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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:

  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.

How to restore WhatsApp chat on Android in 2022

Recently, issues related to the security of the WhatsApp messenger have been discussed more and more often. However, he did not lose his popularity because of this, but on the contrary: during the pandemic, WhatsApp became one of several social networks that replaced live communication for people. Many users do not delete chats on purpose, keeping them as an important source of information with data, photos. This allows you not to clutter up the phone's memory, as well as sort them. But what if the correspondence was deleted and the backup was not done for a very long time? Consider the 4 most popular and affordable ways in which you will find information about how to recover deleted chat in whatsapp .

  • Method 1: Restore Whatsapp chat using third party software
  • Method 2. How to recover a deleted chat in WhatsApp
  • Method 3. Restore Whatsapp Chat via Google
  • Method 4. Restore chat in WhatsApp without linking to Google

Method 1: Restore Whatsapp chat using third party software

Tenorshare UltData WhatsApp Recovery is a modern utility that has been developed for such cases - an urgent need to restore message history without using backups. The program has a high level of reliability, it is easy to use and has an intuitive interface. It is compatible with almost all devices on Android / iOS operating systems.

In order to help you restore the WhatsApp chat as soon as possible, we have developed a small guide.

  • Download Tenorshare UltData WhatsApp Recovery and install it on your computer.

  • When the installation is completed, an active window will appear on the desktop with all the functions that it offers. We, in this case, are interested in the "Restore WhatsApp data" button.

  • Connect your device with a cable to a PC.

  • The program will request a special setting to synchronize with the device. It will take some time.

  • The utility has detected your device. Now you can go to the next screen. To do this, press the "Start" key, which will start searching for deleted WhatsApp data on your device.

  • Then log into your account. If you've already done so, click "Yes, I want to continue." Once the backup issue is resolved, Tenorshare UltData for Android will run a scan to detect data on your smartphone.

  • Upon completion of the operation, all found data will appear on the screen, including deleted chats and messages. Choose what you would like to return, then click the "Restore" button.

  • The operation was successfully completed if the following icon appears on the screen.

Method 2. How to recover a deleted chat in WhatsApp

How can I restore WhatsApp chats, apart from the method using third-party software? There are several options that can quickly solve your problem. One of them is implemented right inside the application. It's about message forwarding.

When you chat, the conversation is stored on two devices. If at the time of deletion, data was erased from only one device, then they most likely remained on another. This is true for those who have lost data by accident. For example, when buying a new smartphone. Chat Forward Instruction:

  • Make sure the other party has saved the data;
  • You must then select the message to be sent. To do this, pinch and hold your finger on it for a long time. It will be highlighted when a checkmark appears on the left. You can select as many messages as you like;

  • In the upper right corner you will see an arrow to the right, clicking on which will open the contact list. From it, a person is selected who will receive the selected messages;

  • If you want to send the whole chat at once, then open the settings in the application and find the chats tab;
  • Next, go to "chat history" and "export chats";

  • Select the chat you want to forward and click send.

This method is only suitable if your interlocutor has not deleted the information. Otherwise, it will be impossible to return the chat inside the application.

Method 3. Restore Whatsapp chat via Google

If the second method also does not help you, how to restore chat in WhatsApp, then try this method. The most reliable way to store information in the messenger is to regularly create copies in the cloud storage. All you need is an active Google account and access to Google Drive.

Method 4. Restore chat in WhatsApp without linking to Google

If you do not use Google services for some reason, you can try to make a backup from a local copy. First of all, make sure it's there. To do this, open the Files application (file manager, my files) and find the WhatsApp folder. We are interested in the name Databases. All information about your correspondence is stored there in encrypted form, copies of which are created automatically if you have not disabled this feature.

How to get back a deleted chat in WhatsApp?

  • 1. Connect your mobile device to the PC with a cable. Copy folder contents from phone memory and memory card.

  • Back up data on the phone via settings-chats-backup chats.
  • Copy the fresh backup file that WhatsApp will create to the PC again in a new folder.
  • Delete the messenger from the phone.
  • Select a copy file made a few days ago (some time before the information you need was deleted).

  • Transfer this file to an application folder called Databases in the phone memory and on the memory card.

  • Download WhatsApp and install it. After receiving the SMS, you will see an offer to restore from a local copy.

  • The program will automatically find the required file and decrypt the chat from it.

Conclusion

We told you about how to return chats in WhatsApp using several methods. As you can see, none of them involve complex manipulations: everything is quite simple, and most importantly, quickly. It’s great if you don’t forget about backups that will reduce your nerves and time, help you quickly resolve the issue of how to recover deleted chats in WhatsApp. But if this does not happen, there is always a way out. The Tenorshare UltData WhatsApp Recovery utility can handle this task in a few minutes. It is enough to install it and configure the backup procedure. Then the program will do everything for you. Reliable and affordable, it will recover important information.

How to recover WhatsApp chat history on Android and iOS

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03/25/2021

Author: CHIP

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How to restore WhatsApp chat history on Android and iOS

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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 methods of data recovery. 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 backup in the cloud. 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.

Restore 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.

  • 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 chat history 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.
  • If you want to replay actual conversations, repeat the process with a backup copy of the "msgstore.db.crypt7" file.

How to restore WhatsApp history on iPhone via iCloud

To restore chat history on your iPhone, the Documents and Data section must be activated in iCloud settings. In the WhatsApp menu under "Chats Backup" you can see the time when the last copy was made. To restore chats, simply uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. Use the same phone number as before and follow the instructions in the app itself.

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