Recovery of WhatsApp messenger data is easy and fast, but requires prior backup. The WhatsApp backup can be created automatically, thanks to which your data is always safe and ready for recovery, and you do not waste time or remember anything.
Read on if you want to learn how to recover deleted messages, chats or multimedia from WhatsApp on your Android smartphone.
Generally, WhatsApp messenger lets you back up data using Google Drive or save your backup data locally. A local backup is created automatically every day at 2am and is saved as a file in the phone’s memory.
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Recover messages from Google Drive
Using Google Drive, you can back up the chats and media listed in chats on WhatsApp. This is also useful when you replace your Android device with a new one because you can easily import previous chats and multimedia into it .
Backup using Google Drive:
- Open WhatsApp
- Tap the menu (three dots in the upper right corner) > Settings> Chats> Backup.
- Tap Back up or choose a frequency for backing up to Google Drive (available options: never (ignore this option) only when I choose “Back up”, daily, weekly, monthly).
- If you don’t have a Google account connected yet, click Add account and follow the instructions.
- Optionally select whether the backup should be created only via Wi-Fi or via Wi-Fi or mobile network (depending on your tariff, this may result in additional fees).
Note: Every time you back up to Google Drive using the same Google account, the previous Google Drive backup is overwritten. It is not possible to restore an older backup from Google Drive. In addition, the backed up media and messages are not protected by full WhatsApp encryption in Google Drive.
Backup recovery
WhatsApp automatically proposes recovering chats and multimedia while verifying your phone number. Then just tap Recover . Hence, the way to recover deleted messages is to reinstall WhatsApp messenger on your smartphone. If WhatsApp does not prompt you to restore data, it may be because:
- you’re using a different Google Account than before
- you are using a different phone number than before,
- The backup file is damaged.
- the backup file was not created in Google Drive or locally in memory.
Note: The locally saved backup file is in the / sdcard / WhatsApp / folder by default.
Recovery of a backup 7 days ago
WhatsApp automatically recovers data not older than 7 days, because, as already mentioned, the Google Drive is always to only the latest version of the backup . You need a local copy to restore older data . For this purpose:
- Download the file manager , e.g. ES File Explorer (link at the end of the article) and launch it.
- Go to sdcard / WhatsApp / Databases . If your backup is not saved to the SD card, look for it in the internal memory.
- Rename the backup file you want to keep from msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 to msgstore.db.crypt12 . In some cases, the file may be named crypt9 or crypt10. Do not change the number in the “crypt” extension.
- Uninstall WhatsApp.
- Install WhatsApp.
- Tap Recover when the appropriate message is displayed.
Alternative solution – Dr Fone
Download Dr Fone (download link at the end of the article) and install it on Android. Allow USB debugging (Settings> Developer options> USB debugging ) and grant access to the device content. It may happen that Dr. Fone will temporarily boot the device, but after the root data recovery is completed, it will be removed. Depending on the number of files to recover, the process may take up to several minutes. Finally, just choose where to save the recovered files .
1. WhatsApp Messenger
WhatsApp Messenger is an application that allows communication via a smartphone. It allows you to send messages over a wireless or 3G network , talk and send video files, images and sound messages to contacts at home and abroad for free and receive notifications as soon as someone sends you a message.
Download >> WhatsApp Messenger
2. Google Drive
Google Drive is an application that lets you store files in one place and gives users access to them and the ability to share files from anywhere. You can, among others, download files to work in offline mode , create and edit text documents , spreadsheets or presentations, and convert files.
Download >> Google Drive
3. ES File Explorer File Manager
ES File Explorer is a popular file manager stored on Android devices. It allows you to manage documents and applications saved in Android memory as well as Google Drive and Skybox. Recognizes all file formats , allows you to transfer documents and files to the SD card and delete or even hide selected files .
Download >> ES File Explorer
4. Dr.Fone – Recover deleted data
Dr Fone is a tool to recover files deleted from an Android smartphone, which also works on devices without root (creates temporary root). With it, you can recover and restore deleted messages, photos, videos and documents . The Dr Fone trial version is available for free.
Download >> Dr Fone
