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Is it possible to restore a chat in WhatsApp. An easy way to recover deleted messages in WhatsApp messenger

WhatsApp is one of the leading applications in the mobile messaging niche. The popularity of the application is evidenced by the fact that it is available on almost all known smartphones and mobile operating systems. Most active users had many interesting dialogues, useful correspondence, and even saved passwords. They are very upset if, due to some kind of failure, system rollback or message deletion, personal data is lost. In fact, there is no reason to be sad; the history of correspondence is easy to save.

Method to recover new messages in WhatsApp

The easiest way to get correspondence for the last 7 days is to delete the application and install it again. WhatsApp messenger automatically synchronizes with servers and sends backup copies to them. The data on the server is updated every day. History is uploaded to the server from the iOS storage and from the Android SD card. When you reinstall the application, the entire history for the week will be downloaded from the server to the phone and added to the “Messages” section.

The main window after installation shows the message “Recover/Restore Chat History”. At the bottom you need to click the “Restore” or “Restore” button.

How to recover chat history more than 7 days old

There is a recovery method, but it is somewhat more complicated to implement:

  1. On Android, go to the SD card database, located along the path /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases.
  2. Inside the destination directory, various files are displayed with the last entry being db.crypt. The record format is as follows: msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt, where YYYY-MM-DD is the time the file was created.
  3. You need to select any suitable file with a date and rename it to msgstore.db.crypt. The user will only have to cut out the date the file was created.

All that remains is to re-install the WhatsApp messenger and click on the “Restore” button on the initial screen. The restoration will take place from the created file. In this way, you can restore the entire message history, regardless of how old it is.

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About 1.5 billion people around the world use WhatsApp. The messenger allows you to always stay in touch with your colleagues, friends and loved ones.

WhatsApp chats store important messages, photos, documents and other information that you don’t want to lose. In this article we will talk about restoring correspondence if it was deleted from the phone.

How to Recover WhatsApp Chats

The backup copy is stored on Google Drive. A local archive is created automatically, every day at 2 am. If a Google account is connected to the messenger, the data will also be uploaded to cloud storage.

This feature allows you to get backups of your chats if you lose your phone or buy a new smartphone. However, if the information has not been archived and uploaded to the cloud, it will not be possible to return the correspondence.

How to upload archived messages to Google Drive

The program archives your correspondence daily and saves a copy of the chats on a memory card. Therefore, in order not to lose important information, you need to set up backup to cloud storage.

To do this, use the instructions below.

  1. Go to “Settings” and find the “Chats” item.
  2. Click "Chat Backup".
    1. The big green “Backup” button will immediately create an archive and upload it to Google Drive.
    2. If you want to set up automatic saving of a backup to the cloud on a schedule: connect your account, select the frequency and preferred network.
  3. Wait until the download completes. The first archiving lasts several minutes, subsequent ones - faster.

Google Drive always stores only one copy of chats - the most recent one. Previous versions are deleted from storage and cannot be restored.

How to download archived messages to iCloud

Apple users have a similar way of storing chats. Only instead of Google Drive, iCloud storage is used.

  1. The Apple ID is used to identify the user, so you must have a work account to sign in.
  2. Uploading a backup to the cloud is possible from phones running iOS 7 and later.
    1. In the seventh version of iOS, you need to enable “Documents and Data” in iCloud settings.
    2. In newer versions, just enable “iCloud Drive” in your account settings.
  3. Make sure you have enough space on your device and storage.

You can also select your preferred network to avoid data overruns. In iOS 7, mobile data usage is disabled in the Documents & Data menu. In iOS8 - the “iCloud Drive” item in the “Cellular” menu.

Please remember that storing backups of chats and online media files is not end-to-end encrypted. If attackers gain access to your email, they can read your private messages on any device.

How to view archive on WhatsApp

Archives that are created by the messenger daily are stored locally - on the SD card of your phone. Use the file manager, go to the WhatsApp directory on the memory card, and you will see the backup copies necessary for recovery.

The Databases folder stores the current version of chats, as well as previous snapshots. Therefore, you can restore correspondence for any day.

Follow the instructions below to see what information is saved in your local copy.

  1. Remove the messenger from your smartphone or reinstall the program from the app store.
  2. Click the "Recover" button when a message appears asking you to return your deleted data.
  3. Wait for WhatsApp to unpack the missing correspondence.

By default, the messenger restores the last snapshot of the conversation. If you want older messages, you'll have to rename a few files manually.

  1. Open the “Databases” directory, which is located on the memory card in the “WhatsApp” folder. Depending on the selected file manager, the memory card may be called “SD card” or “Main memory”.
  2. You'll see a lot of files with names like "msgstore-2018-06-01.1.db.crypt12". If the program has been installed for a long time, some databases will have the extension .crypt10.
  3. Find the archive with the required date and rename it to “msgstore.db.crypt12” - this is the name of the snapshot that is used for recovery by default.

As soon as the files appear appropriate, reinstall the program.

What you need to know about the CRYPT12 extension

The files in the “Databases” directory are archives developed by the WhatsApp Tools Dev team. They contain SQLite databases encrypted with 256-bit AES.

The number at the end of the extension indicates the version of the messenger with which the messages were archived. Databases of older programs use the algorithms CRYPT7, CRYPT8, and so on.

The easiest way to view the archive is to restore correspondence using the instructions above. If you don’t have a smartphone with messenger installed at hand, you can convert the archive to another format and open it on your computer.

For example, the Omni-Crypt tool makes a CRYPT file from an encrypted backup. It opens through WhatCrypt and similar services.

How to restore a backup copy of deleted WhatsApp correspondence on Android

Storing messages only locally is not the most secure option. If you lose your phone or the SD card fails, there is a risk of losing all correspondence along with photos, videos and other attached documents.

Keep your local copies safe, but also keep the current version of the database on Google Drive.

When you install WhatsApp on a new smartphone, the program will offer to download lost correspondence from the cloud or try to find files in the Databases directory.

Recovery problems: causes and solutions

WhatsApp does not always detect backups. An error like this can happen due to 4 different reasons.

  • There is no connected Google account from where the messenger can copy data.
  • A different phone number is being used than the one from which the backups were created.
  • The internal or external memory of the phone is damaged.
  • There is not a single saved message database in either the local or remote storage.

There are several proven ways to solve the problem.

Make sure your Google account is connected to your device. Many Android devices automatically substitute the email address in WhatsApp if it is among the accounts used on the smartphone.

Check if there is enough free space. Sometimes, the messenger cannot download and unpack a copy of the correspondence because the internal memory or SD card is full. Clear your cache, remove unnecessary updates, and try downloading messages again.


Many Android users have lost their data and files, but do not know how to recover and find them. Now we will tell you how to recover deleted messages on WhatsApp on Android. Using Tenorshare UltData for Android, it is possible to recover deleted and lost photos, videos, messages, contacts, and other files.

Android device and brand support

These 2 methods support Android 8.0, Android 7.0, Android 6.0, Andorid 5.1/5.0 Lollipop, Android 4.4 KitKat, etc. Moreover, subsequent brands are also used.

Samsung Galaxy S8/S8+ HTC One M8 Huawei Mate 10
Samsung Galaxy S7 HTC Desire 10 Huawei Mate 9
Samsung Galaxy S6 Google Pixel Huawei Mate 8
Samsung Galaxy S5 Google Pixel XL Huawei G9
Samsung Galaxy Note8 Google Nexus 9 Huawei G7
Samsung Galaxy Note7 Google Nexus 6 Huawei P10
Samsung Galaxy Note5 Sony Xperia XZ Premium Huawei P9
HTC One X Sony Xperia Z5 LG G6
HTC Sensation Sony Xperia E5 LG G5
HTC U11 Sony Xperia Z4 LG Q8
HTC One M9 Sony Xperia Z3 LG K11

When reinstalling WhatsApp, the user is prompted to recover deleted messages. By default, the backup does not include received and sent videos. Only message text and photos are recovered. Video archiving can be enabled in the program settings.

Create a local copy of WhatsApp messages

Backup copies are saved automatically on your mobile device; activation of this function is not required. Unlike hosting in cloud storage, not only the latest version of correspondence is saved on the device, but also chat archives for the previous week. You can specify backup parameters in the “Chats and calls -> Chat backup” menu.

Important! The archive is written to the file system of the Android device. It can be accessed at “/sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases”. If necessary, the created files can be transferred to another device.

Saving correspondence to Google Drive

To save chats to cloud storage, give the app access to your Google Account. This can be done in the Google Drive Settings section. To save traffic, change the network usage settings to “Wi-Fi only”. In this case, mobile Internet will not be used when uploading information to the server.

Advice! If errors occur, make sure you are logged into your account on your phone. Also check your internet connection. If it is missing or there are interruptions, connect to a stable network.

Tutorial video: Recovering WhatsApp conversations

Restoring from a backup

Install and launch the deleted WhatsApp application. If a backup copy is detected, the system will offer to restore the correspondence database. You can skip this step and come back to it later. If the installation is performed on a new smartphone, the ability to recover deleted conversations will appear after logging into your Google account or copying the archive to an SD card.

Send a backup to your device, with which you can restore deleted correspondence. To do this, connect your smartphone to your computer or transfer the archive from your old phone via Bluetooth. The file should be named “msgstore.db” and located at the address “WhatsApp/Databases”. Select the appropriate version by creation date, rename it and save it to the desired directory on the memory card.

When the deleted messages are restored, a message indicating the successful completion of the operation will appear on the screen. It will indicate the total number of messages recovered. To proceed to using WhatsApp, click the "Next" button at the bottom of the window.

Note! If there is no database with deleted conversations on your phone or in the cloud storage, you will not be able to restore messages. User conversations are not stored on WhatsApp servers, so contacting service support will not bring results.

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If you accidentally deleted your conversation history from WhatsApp, you can get it back. There are several ways to restore correspondence on WhatsApp. The article presents three simple methods that will help you recover deleted information.

Method 1: Use fresh backups

If there are any backup copies of the chat history in the program, you can use them to return deleted conversations. All of them are stored in the WhatsApp/Databases folder.

If the user has deleted any correspondence without such copying, the lost messages can be returned using an automatic data saving system. The app automatically makes copies every day at 4 am (local time) and saves them to the phone's internal memory (only if there is enough free space) or to an external MicroSD.

To recover deleted messages on WhatsApp, you need to:

1.Delete the application from your mobile device.

2.Reinstall the program again.

3.During the installation process, WhatsApp will offer to restore the correspondence history. Click on the appropriate button.

This method restores information for the last 7 days.

Method 2: Recovering more recent data

You must follow the following instructions when restoring messages from a backup after deletion:

1.Delete the program from your mobile device.

2.Open the application database or backup folder using the file manager. Select the file of interest that you want to restore.

3.Rename this file from “msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt7” to “msgstore.db.crypt7”. Databases are automatically saved with the date in the file name. When restoring a chat, you must remove the date from the database file name.

4.Install the application again.

Please note that the backup folder can be located on the phone's internal memory or on external media. Restoring messages from such copies has several disadvantages. First, these files are only valid for a week after the last save. Secondly, when using this method, you can lose new, unread messages. In addition, it is not possible to restore a chat if the SD card is damaged if the user has a different phone number.

Initially, WhatsApp is configured to automatically save data only once a day. The user has the opportunity to customize this frequency individually to suit his schedule, or carry out the process manually. It's a pretty simple procedure:

  • Go to the messenger menu.
  • Settings/Chat and calls/Chat backup.
  • You will be prompted to save the archive to your choice of device or Google Drive.

Method 3: Recover Deleted Messages Without Backups

Having deleted very important messages on WhatsApp without the copying system considered, you can still get them back. There are special data recovery applications for this. When you delete a chat by mistake, in fact, the messages will be saved in the mobile device on the internal memory or SD card until they are completely deleted or no other information is saved to the phone.

How to restore correspondence on iOS?

If the application is used on an iPhone, recovery occurs as follows:

1.Checking the Archive. To do this, in the Chats section you need to view the list of dialogues where you can find the deleted message.

2.Check iCloud. First, you need to make sure that the program is turned on and automatic saving has been performed (Settings - iCloud).

3.Log into your iCloud account and check if WhatsApp has access to it.

4.If everything is turned on, then go to the application and perform the following action: Settings - Chats and calls - Copy.

5.Check the availability of the copy you are interested in.

6.Reinstall the messenger and during installation click on the “Restore from copy” button.

Knowing how to restore conversations with friends or colleagues in the instant messenger you are using, you don’t have to worry about the safety of important information and data.