How to Recover Lost or Deleted Chats on WhatsApp, for Android and iOS devices

Are you one of those who like to use WhatsApp to store vital information? Some people like to refer to WhatsApp chats to remind themselves of an appointment they have with someone, an agreement that was made in a group discussion, proof of payment made to a person and the likes. 

The WhatsApp messages are proof that we had such conversations, agreement, etc., and we become bothered the moment we search and discover the chats are no longer available. And so, how do you recover a message you accidentally deleted or once had but you can’t find it? The article is worth remembering incase you find yourself in such a situation. 

First off, kindly note that if you delete any chat and then back up your archive, those deleted messages will be wiped out in the backup. You won’t be able to retrieve such messages. 

Hence when you mistakenly delete a message and would like to restore it later, stop all automatic backups immediately and don’t do any manual backups! 

For Android devices

Start by uninstalling the app from your phone. You read that right! Start the process all over: set up and verify your phone number. Also, if you previously installed the software, you must have your two-step authentication number on hand as well. 

If WhatsApp finds a backup on Google Drive, it will notify you. Go ahead and tap “Restore” to get all your messages back. 

Take note: If you choose the “Skip” option, you won’t be able to get back your messages from Google Drive. You have to start this process again. When there is a local backup, you can select Skip instead.

Once backup is fully downloaded you will have all your chats and restored on WhatsApp. You will need to fill in your display name and enter your two-factor authentication code again. Then your messages will appear on the screen.

How do you restore from a local backup? 

Local backup means your chats are stored up as archives in your phone’s local storage, or an SD card. 

Google Files will help you gain access to your device’s internal storage. Open the app and search for your WhatsApp folder. When you’ve located the folder, scroll to Databases, and there you will find several files with names that begin with: msgstore. Look for the most recent or newly dated. In this case, it will be msgstore-2022-02-28.1.db.crypt14. Please note that this file name will differ because of your device. 

Next, rename the file so it has the word BACKUP in it: msgstore_BACKUP-2022-02-28.1.db.crypt14

Uninstall WhatsApp. Reinstall it and repeat the initial set up. To restore a backup, since there is no Google Drive backup to look for, it will instead look for a backup that is stored on your device.

For iOS devices

If you have an iPhone, you can’t use SD cards or back up your files on your own device. The only way to do this is to use an iCloud backup. In many ways, this makes the whole thing a lot easier to deal with.

And so, to restore your backup it’s the same process as in Android phones. Remove and reinstall WhatsApp on the iPhone. Set up and check your phone number again. Select “Restore,” and it will look for your iCloud backup, where you can then get your WhatsApp chats back to how it was.