How to Reinstall WhatsApp Without Losing Data

WhatsApp is the No.1 instant messaging platform used by millions of people worldwide which means there are billions of important messages shared on the platform daily. However, like any other app, WhatsApp may experience occasional glitches and software issues which can be resolved by reinstalling the app on your phone.

But how do you reinstall WhatsApp without losing data? How do you back up your chats before reinstalling WhatsApp?

The good news is this guide reveals how to reinstall WhatsApp on Android and iPhone without losing data and how to restore your WhatsApp backup after reinstalling WhatsApp on your iPhone or Android device.

Before Reinstalling WhatsApp: Back Up WhatsApp to PC for Safety

Before you reinstall WhatsApp on your iPhone or Android phone, it’s important to back up your WhatsApp data to your computer. This way, your chats and WhatsApp files are kept safely on your computer's internal storage after you uninstall WhatsApp and you can easily restore an updated version of your WhatsApp chats to your phone later.

Also, backing up WhatsApp data to a PC allows you to access your WhatsApp chats, photos, videos, and documents without a Wi-Fi network or cellular data.

The most popular tool to back up your WhatsApp files to your computer is the MobileTrans - Backup & Restore tool.

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MobileTrans is easy to use and it’s secure, so your files are better protected. Download and install Wondershare MobileTrans on your PC. Then follow this guide to back up your WhatsApp data to your PC before reinstalling WhatsApp:

1. Launch MobileTrans on your computer and select Backup & Restore mode.

   

2. Connect your phone to the computer via a USB cable and select App Backup & Restore. Then choose WhatsApp.

   

3. Click Start Backup and wait till your WhatsApp data is successfully backed up to the computer.

   

How to Reinstall WhatsApp Without Losing Data on iPhone

There are two methods to reinstall WhatsApp without losing data on an iPhone. You can reinstall and restore via iCloud or via iTunes. This guide discusses both methods in detail.

Reinstall WhatsApp on iPhone Without Losing Data via iCloud

iCloud is the default cloud-based storage service for iOS users to back up personal files and data including WhatsApp chats and media. WhatsApp backup on iCloud is stored in iCloud’s servers and not on your iPhone. So, if you reinstall WhatsApp or even erase your iPhone, you can still restore the latest WhatsApp backup to your device from iCloud.

However, you should know that iCloud’s basic storage plan is 5GB, so if your WhatsApp data is more than 5GB or you have already exhausted your iCloud storage space, you’ll need to subscribe to get more storage to back up your WhatsApp files.

That said, here is how to reinstall WhatsApp on iPhone without losing data via iCloud:

• First Step: Back up WhatsApp to iCloud

• Open WhatsApp and go to Settings (the gear icon) at the bottom right of your iPhone screen.

  

• Click on Chats and select Chat Backup.

  

• Click on Back Up Now to start backing up your WhatsApp data from your iPhone to your iCloud account.

  

Note: You must be signed in to an active iCloud account on your iPhone and have enough iCloud storage space to back up WhatsApp data to iCloud.

• Second Step: Reinstall WhatsApp on iPhone

• Once the WhatsApp backup to iCloud is complete, go to the Home Screen and hold the WhatsApp Icon.
• Choose Remove App from the pop-up menu and confirm Delete App to uninstall WhatsApp from your iPhone.

  

• Next, go to the App Store and type “WhatsApp” in the Search Field at the top of the screen. Click Get Now to reinstall WhatsApp on your iPhone.

• Third Step: Restore WhatsApp Data from iCloud

• Sign in to your WhatsApp account using your phone number and verify the phone number.
• WhatsApp will ask if you want to Restore Chat History from iCloud. Click Restore and follow the onscreen instructions to restore your WhatsApp backup from iCloud.

  

Once restore is complete, you have successfully reinstalled WhatsApp on your iPhone without data loss.

Reinstall WhatsApp Without Losing Data via iTunes

If you are out of iCloud storage space, you can also back up your iPhone WhatsApp data via iTunes. Apple designed iTunes so users can manage, backup, and restore personal data via PC.

However, iTunes doesn’t just back up your WhatsApp data. Instead, it backs up your entire iPhone memory including WhatsApp data and other personal files. So, this method is ideal for when you want to reinstall WhatsApp and erase or reset your iPhone.

Here is how to reinstall WhatsApp without losing data via iTunes:

• First Step: Back Up WhatsApp to iTunes

• Launch the latest version of iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.
• When iTunes detects your iPhone, go to the Summary Tab on the left side of the screen and access the Backup tab.

  

• Click to Back up to This Computer and select Back Up Now. Then leave your iPhone connected to the computer and wait till iTunes backs up the iPhone data to the computer.

  

Once the backup is complete, disconnect the iPhone from the computer and go to the Home Screen.

• Second Step: Reinstall WhatsApp

• Hold the WhatsApp icon and choose Remove App from the pop-up menu.
• Confirm Delete App to uninstall WhatsApp from your iPhone. Then go to the App Store and reinstall WhatsApp on your iPhone.

• Third Step: Restore WhatsApp Backup on iPhone via iTunes

Hint: You should reset your iPhone before restoring WhatsApp backup from iTunes because iTunes will restore your entire iPhone memory including WhatsApp chats and attachments.

• Open iTunes or Finder on your computer and connect your iPhone to the PC using a lightning or USB cable.
• Click on the Device Icon near the top left of the iTunes window. Then access the Summary Tab and select Restore.

  

• Follow the onscreen instructions to restore your iPhone backup from iTunes including WhatsApp data.

How to Reinstall WhatsApp Without Losing Data on Android

It’s easier to reinstall WhatsApp without losing data on your Android phone than on an iPhone because WhatsApp stores your data on your Android phone’s internal storage rather than cloud servers like your iPhone.

How to Reinstall WhatsApp Without Losing Data via Google Drive

Google Drive is one of the default backup storage services for Android phones. With Google Drive, you can back up your entire WhatsApp chats and data or choose which files to back up to Drive. This way, when you reinstall WhatsApp on your Android phone, you can easily restore your WhatsApp backup from Google Drive.

Here is how to reinstall WhatsApp without losing data via Google Drive:

• First Step: Back Up WhatsApp to Google Drive

• Open WhatsApp on your Android phone. Click the 3-dot icon on the corner of your screen and select Settings.
• Go to Chats and click on Chat Backup.

  

• Click on the Google Account you want to back up to and pick the frequency of your backup either daily, weekly, or monthly.

  

If you haven’t linked your Google Account to your Android phone before, you have to do this before you can back up WhatsApp to Google Drive. When the Google account has been linked, click on Back Up Now and your WhatsApp data will be automatically backed up to your Google Drive account.

• Second Step: Reinstall WhatsApp

• Go to your Home Screen on your Android phone and hold the WhatsApp icon.
• Choose to Uninstall WhatsApp and click Uninstall.

  

• Go to the Google Play Store and search for WhatsApp. Then Install the app on your Android phone.

• Third Step: Restore WhatsApp Data on your Android phone Without Data Loss

• Once WhatsApp is reinstalled, sign in and verify your phone number.
• WhatsApp will ask if you want to restore your Chats and Media from your phone's internal storage. Click on Restore and follow the onscreen prompts to restore WhatsApp.

  

Now, if you didn’t back up your WhatsApp data to Google Drive before, you can’t restore a backup via drive after reinstalling WhatsApp. However, you can still restore your WhatsApp backup email via the default WhatsApp Export Chat option. Let’s find out how.

Reinstall WhatsApp Without Losing Data via Email

WhatsApp allows you to back up your chats and attachments to a folder in your email when you Export Chat. So, if you didn’t back up WhatsApp to Google Drive, you can still reinstall WhatsApp without data loss and restore your WhatsApp backup via your email storage.

Note: You should know that the WhatsApp Export to Email option allows you to export individual chats from your conversations. So, this WhatsApp backup option is ideal when you have just a few chats to backup. If you have multiple chats to back up or you want to back up your entire WhatsApp data, you should back up to Google Drive as explained above.

That said, here is how to reinstall WhatsApp without losing data on Android via email:

• First Step: Back Up WhatsApp from Android Phone to Email

• Open WhatsApp on your Android phone and go to Settings.
• Click on Chats and access your Chat History. Select Export Chat.

  

• WhatsApp will display your recent chats. Click on the Chat to export. Then choose to include the media in the chats or not.
• Choose the method to Export the Chat. Here, select Gmail/Email. Then enter the recipient's email address to receive the chat history.

  

• Follow the onscreen prompts and click Send. Repeat the steps above for all the WhatsApp chats you want to back up to your email.

• Second Step: Reinstall WhatsApp

• Go back to the Home Screen and uninstall WhatsApp from your phone.
• Go to the Google Play Store and install the latest version of WhatsApp again on your phone.
• Sign in to WhatsApp and verify your phone number.

• Third Step: Restore WhatsApp Chat From Email

• When you launch WhatsApp, skip to restore your chats from your Google Account.
• Next, go to WhatsApp Settings and click on Account. Then click on Email Address/Email login. If you don’t have an email linked to your WhatsApp number, click on Add Email.

  

• WhatsApp will send a six-digit verification code to your email address. Copy and paste the six-digit code in WhatsApp. Then click on Verify.
• Click Next and follow the onscreen prompts to sign in to your WhatsApp account. Then restore your WhatsApp chats from your email backup.

Once completed, you have successfully reinstalled WhatsApp on your Android phone without data loss.

Final Words

In summary, reinstalling WhatsApp is a good solution to resolve common WhatsApp problems on your device such as WhatsApp connection issues or WhatsApp not responding.

However, reinstalling WhatsApp without having an existing backup folder of your WhatsApp chats and files means all your WhatsApp data will be permanently deleted. As such, you should back up your WhatsApp data to your computer before reinstalling the app by following the steps above. When you have a backup of your WhatsApp data, your files are protected and you can restore them to any device after you reinstall WhatsApp.

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