Android. Chats.

Restoring your chat history

You can back up your WhatsApp data using Google Drive or a local backup. Local backups will be automatically created every day at 2:00 AM and they'll be saved as a file in your phone.

Google Drive
Restoring or transferring a backup
Troubleshooting backup and restoration issues

Google Drive

You can back up your chats and media to Google Drive, so if you change Android phones or get a new one, your chats and media are transferrable.

To back up to Google Drive:

Open WhatsApp.
Tap More options > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
- You can tap BACK UP to create an immediate backup.
- You can also tap Back up to Google Drive to set a backup frequency.
If you don't have a Google account already set up, tap Add account when prompted.
Tap Back up over to choose the network you want to use for backup. Please note that backing up over a cellular data network might result in additional data charges.

Important notes about Google Drive:

WhatsApp backups no longer count towards the Google Drive storage quota. Furthermore, WhatsApp backups that haven't been updated in more than one year are automatically removed from Google Drive storage. To avoid the loss of any backups, we recommend you back up your WhatsApp data.
The first backup might take a while to complete. Please leave your phone connected to a power source.
You can change your chat backup frequency, the Google account you back up to and which connection to use for backup at any time by tapping More options > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
Every time you create a Google Drive backup using the same Google account, the previous Google Drive backup will be overwritten. There's no way to restore an older Google Drive backup.
Media and messages you back up aren't protected by WhatsApp end-to-end encryption while in Google Drive.

Restoring or transferring a backup

WhatsApp will ask you to restore your chats and media from a backup once you verify your number. Simply tap RESTORE when prompted to. If WhatsApp doesn't detect a backup, it could be because:

You aren't logged into the same Google account.
You aren't using the same phone number that was used to create the backup.
Your SD card or chat history is corrupted.
A backup file doesn't exist on the Google Drive account or locally on your phone.

Note: The easiest way to transfer data to a new phone is by using Google Drive. If you want to use a local backup, you'll need to transfer the files to the new phone using a computer, file explorer or SD Card. If your data isn't stored on the /sdcard/ WhatsApp/ folder, you might see "internal storage" or "main storage" folders.

To restore a less recent local backup

Your phone will store up to the last seven days worth of local backup files. Google Drive will only have the most recent one. If you want to restore a local backup that isn't the most recent one, you'll need to do the following:

Download a file manager app.
In the file manager app, navigate to sdcard/ WhatsApp/ Databases. If your data isn't stored on the SD card, you might see "internal storage" or "main storage" instead of sdcard.
Rename the backup file you want to restore from msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 to msgstore.db.crypt12. It's possible that an earlier backup may be on an earlier protocol, such as crypt9 or crypt10. Don't change the number of the crypt extension.
Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
Tap RESTORE when prompted.

Troubleshooting backup and restoration issues

For problems related to Google Drive backup creation

Verify you added a Google account to your phone.
Verify you have Google Play services installed on your phone.
- Note: Google Play services are only available on Android 2.3.4 and higher.
If you're attempting to back up on a cellular data network, make sure that you have data for both WhatsApp and Google Play services. Please contact your provider if you're unsure.
Try to create a backup over a different network.
- Example: Try connecting to Wi-Fi if you're unable to back up over a cellular data network.

For problems related to Google Drive backup restoration

Make sure you're trying to restore a backup using the same phone number and Google account that the backup was created on.
Make sure there's enough space on your phone to restore the backup.
Make sure you have Google Play services installed on your phone.
- Note: Google Play services are only available on Android 2.3.4 and higher.
Make sure your battery is fully charged or your phone is plugged into a power source.
Make sure your phone has a strong and stable Internet connection. If restoring using a cellular data network doesn't work, please try Wi-Fi.