How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages on iPhone and Android?

Written By Axel Nash |

WhatsApp is growing exponentially. Its ease of use, robust functionality, and awesome features make it a popular choice for general chatting, official messaging, classroom, and teaching coordination.

So, as the user base is growing, you must be seeing many people who have had many accidents and asking questions like how to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages because I accidentally deleted them. Also, how can you see deleted messages on the WhatsApp application and so on. We address these questions for iOS and Android today and find the best yet simple solutions.

Part 1: How to check if I have backup Whatsapp?

Ok, I was checking my WhatsApp messages in my son's class group, and while deleting the redundant messages, I accidentally deleted important notifications. So, how do I check if I have a backup for my WhatsApp chats that I can use to recover my messages?

You may have a backup in Google Drive, iCloud, iTunes, or even a backup. WhatsApp regularly backs up your data at 2:00 AM daily. So if the backup was enabled when you deleted the messages, you could recover them. Here is how to see deleted messages on WhatsApp on an Android device.

  • Step1: Go to the File Manager on your Android device and then look for your backup. It can be Device Storage → WhatsApp → Database on root storage or SD Card → WhatsApp → Database on SD card storage.
  • Step2: Along with the msgstore.DB.crypt12 file, you should also see some previous backups in the format of msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12.
  • Step3: If you back up your messages from this file, you will most likely recover the latest deleted messages.

to check if I have backup whatsapp

Part 2: How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages on Android?

Depending on your preferences, you can have various types of backup configured on your phone. By default, WhatsApp creates a local backup. Additionally, you can have a Google Drive backup on your Android phone and an iCloud backup on your iPhone. So, let us see how to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages one by one.

1. Recover Deleted Whatsapp Messages From Local backup

You can use this method to bring back deleted WhatsApp messages on Android because iPhone does not have a local backup system incorporated for WhatsApp. So, if you have deleted your important messages in any case, let us go through the step-by-step tutorial.

  • Step1: Go to File Manager>Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases.
  • Step2: Locate the "msgstore.DB.cryptXX" file and rename it to "msgstore.dbBACKUP.cryptXX". It is important not to change the "XX" numbers because it is the version of encryption used.

locate and rename the msgstore.db.cryptxx file

  • Step3: You can also check the files of the format, "msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.cryptXX" where YYYY-MM-DD corresponds to the date that this backup file was created. You can even choose any previous file if you think that may contain the messages you want to recover.
  • Step4: Since we are talking about Android devices, we have to ensure that Google Drive doesn't have a backup and local backup can take over. Navigate to Google Drive, click on the menu, and select Backups. You need to delete the WhatsApp backups; you may want to rename instead of delete, to be on the safe side.
  • Step5: Uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall it again to force recovery from local backup.
  • Step6: On the prompt to choose the backup file, select the "msgstore.DB.cryptXX" file.

This is how you can get back your deleted messages from WhatsApp using a local backup. This method works well with Android phones, and for iOS, we will discuss alternatives shortly.

2. Recover Deleted Whatsapp Messages From Google Drive

You can also configure your WhatsApp messages to backup on Google Drive, provided you are using an Android app. It can be done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Before recovering messages, we would like to emphasize creating a Google drive backup in fair weather and showing how to configure the backup to Google Drive.

  • Step1: Open WhatsApp and click the three dots in the upper right corner.
  • Step2: Navigate to Settings > Chats > Chat backup > "Backup to Google Drive" and choose your preferred option.
  • Step3: You can select an existing account or create a new Google account.
  • You can check the backup date by checking the backup links in the Google Drive menu. You can locate the files by the date and time in the file name.
  • Step4: Locate the Google Drive backup on your drive.
  • Step5: Uninstall the WhatsApp application.

You can reinstall WhatsApp using the same mobile number you were previously using and select "Restore" if prompted to restore old conversations. Now, wait for the app to integrate the backup. Note that you must click on the Google Drive option if there's a selection.

Part 3: How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages on iPhone?

Unfortunately, iOS users cannot revolver their delete WhatsApp messages from local backup. However, they have access to two very robust online backup systems for WhatsApp, and these methods are retrieval through iCloud and retrieval through iTunes. So, let us dive into details right away.

How to Restore Whatsapp Messages Through iCloud

You can configure the settings for WhatsApp backup on the cloud in the WhatsApp settings tab available at Settings>Chats>Chat Backup. It can automatically create and periodically update the backup in iCloud without disturbing the normal functionality of the application.

to restore whatsapp messages through icloud

How to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages from iCloud backup?

  • Step1: Find your iCloud backup online.
  • Step2: Uninstall WhatsApp from your phone.
  • Step3: Reinstall and configure the application with the same number you were using already. On the prompt of recovering the conversations, select "Restore."
  • Step4: WhatsApp will take hold from there on to bring back the same condition of WhatsApp when the backup was taken.

Recovering Whatsapp Messages Through iTunes

iOS can also use iTunes backup for recovering the deleted WhatsApp chats and media. This is a method for backing up your entire devices, WhatsApp included. Let us see how to configure the backup of WhatsApp messages using iTunes?

  • Step1: Connect your iPhone device to a computer using iTunes.
  • Step2: Launch iTunes and select your device.
  • Step3: Here you can select where the backup must be stored.

restore whatsapp messages through icloud

How to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages using iTunes? Here is the step-by-step guide.

  • Step1: Connect your iPhone to the computer with iTunes.
  • Step2: Launch iTunes and go to your device's summary page.
  • Step3: Click "Restore Backup" link and select the backup you want to recover. You may select the latest backup if you have recently deleted messages that you want to recover, or you can do guesswork about which backup, according to the date, may contain your required data.
  • Step4: ;Remain connected till the backup is complete.

We have covered all aspects of getting back deleted chats from WhatsApp on Android and iPhone using backups. But what if you do not have a backup on any online platform or locally?

Part 4: How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages without Backup?

If you do not have a backup, there is no support from WhatsApp. In this case, you will need a robust and secure third-party application to scan your device and recover the deleted WhatsApp/WhatsApp Business/GB WhatsApp messages. We recommend starting with 'MobileTrans - Backup & Restore' by Wondershare. It has a solid base of satisfied customers who rate this application high for its ease of use, recovery percentage, and security.

MobileTrans is a backup and restoration application that supports backing up your phone data, including media, chats, messages, files, and other documents. It also includes your WhatsApp data.

Let us go back to our topic and find out how to restore deleted WhatsApp messages without backup on Android. You need to download and install Wondershare's MobileTrans app on your computer. You can see the detailed guidelines available at the MobileTrans official website.

Step 1: Connect your phone and computer

After installing the MobileTrans application, connect your phone to the computer. Start the MobileTrans application, and then go to Backup & Restore > Deleted WhatsApp Data Restore.

connect your phone and computer

Step 2: Backup WhatsApp on your phone

This step will see how you can use MobileTrans to back up your data. For this, login to WhatsApp on your Android device and navigate to Settings > Chats > Chats Backup. You need to turn off auto-backup to Google Drive and click on the backup button.

backup whatsapp on your phone

Step 3: Install WhatsApp on your Android phone

On prompt, allow installation of WhatsApp via USB on your phone.

install WhatsApp on your Android phone

Step 4: Allow access to your phone storage

Allow the installed WhatsApp application to access your photos, media, and files.

allow access to your phone storage

Step 5: Login and Restore Deleted WhatsApp Messages

Sign in to your WhatsApp account and choose to restore the backup files on your phone. Click the Next button.

login and restore deleted whatsapp messages

Step 6: Retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages

Hurrah! You have found the deleted messages. Select the deleted messages you want to recover and restore to your phone.

retrieve deleted whatsapp messages

Part 5: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Can I restore WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone?

Again, this feature is not available in the built-up WhatsApp functionality. If you want to restore WhatsApp messages from Android to iPhone, you will use MobileTrans - WhatsApp Transfer application module. It allows the direct transfer of WhatsApp data from one device to another regardless of the operating system. It is simple, safe, and guaranteed functionality. If you want to transfer WhatsApp from iOS to Android. The detailed guide is available here for the other way round path, i.e., Android to iOS.

2. Can I restore WhatsApp messages from Google Drive to iPhone?

Google Drive backup is intrinsically not configured for the iPhone. iCloud is for iPhone, and Google Drive is for Android. However, if you are using an Android phone and then choose to switch to iPhone, you will still want to keep your previous messages in your WhatsApp. Consequently, you need to get support from a third-party app. In such cases, MobileTrans-WhatsApp Transfer comes to the rescue again. You can use this application to restore WhatsApp messages from Google Drive to your iPhone.

Conclusion

WhatsApp is a very important and popular online messaging platform for both Android and iOS. It is simple, secure, and robust, and for these reasons, more and more people are moving to WhatsApp for academic, professional, and social interactions. Consequently, people are looking forward to additional features like How to recover deleted WhatsApp messages on iPhone and Android? And more importantly, how to restore deleted WhatsApp messages without backup? Also, we have discussed how to transfer WhatsApp backup between iOS and Android.

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Axel Nash

Axel Nash

staff Editor