If you are like me, you sometimes use Whatsapp to store important messages. This can include an agreement that was made in a group discussion, proof of payment made to a person and the likes. Whenever we are looking for these information, we may become bothered the moment we search and discover the chats are no longer available. So, how do you recover a message you accidentally deleted or that you believe you once had but you can’t find again? In this article, we will share some tips on how to recover lost or deleted Whatsapp messages.
Please 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. So, when you believe you mistakenly deleted a message and would like to restore it later, you need to stop all automatic backups immediately. Also, ensure you don’t do any manual backups.
How to Recover Lost or Deleted WhatsApp Messages on Android Device
The first step is to uninstall the WhatsApp app from your phone. You will need to set up and verify your phone number again. The next step will be to restore your backup. If WhatsApp finds a backup on Google Drive, it will notify you. Go ahead and tap “Restore” to get all your messages back.
Please note that 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. If you have a local backup on your phone, you can select “Skip” this process.
Once backup is fully downloaded, you will have all your WhatsApp messages restored on your device. 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 To Restore Your WhatsApp Messages From a Local Backup
Local backup means your WhatsApp messages are stored up as archives in your phone’s local storage, or an SD card. You can gain access to your device’s internal storage using “Google Files”. So, open the app on your device and search for your “WhatsApp folder”. When you locate the folder, look for Databases, and then find the files with names that begin with “msgstore”. Look for the most recent file. In this case, it will be msgstore-2022-03-01.1.db.crypt14. Please note that this file name may differ because of your device.
The next step is to rename the file so it has the word BACKUP in it. For instance, msgstore_BACKUP-2022-02-28.1.db.crypt14. Then, uninstall WhatsApp, reinstall it and repeat the initial set up. But this time, you will restore the backup that is stored on your device.
How to Recover Lost or Deleted WhatsApp Messages on iOS Device
If you have an iPhone, you won’t be able to back up your Whatsapp messages 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.
So, to restore your backup, follow the same process as in Android phones.
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