Have you deleted your WhatsApp chat messages by accident and need them back urgently? Don’t panic, there are several methods you can use to recover deleted Whatsapp chats.
Instructions
Chats Less Than Seven Days Old
Chats less than seven days old are fairly easy to recover. Simple uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall.
- On your phone, search for Applications. The location will differ with each version of Android.
- Look for the WhatApp app and tap on it to reveal the Uninstall option. Alternatively, open the Google Play app, go to My Apps, locate WhatsApp and uninstall.
- Once you have removed the application, select it from the Google Play store and reinstall. You will be prompted to restore your message history.
- Tap Restore and follow the prompts to finish.
The reason this is possible is because WhatsApp creates a back up of your messages at 4 am everyday. This backup is stored on your SD card.
Chats Older Than Seven Days
Restoring chats older than seven days is slightly more complicated.
- Before you begin restoring older chats, backup your current chat history by going to WhatsApp > Menu > Settings > Chat Settings > Backup conversations.
- Next, go to your WhatsApp database folder using your file manager (Files) app. The route to the database folder is /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases. In this folder, you will notice several files . The backup file you have just created will have a name similar to “msgstore.db.crypt7” or “msgstore.db.crypt8”. Rename this file so that you don’t confuse it with other files during the recovery process. For example, you can rename it to “msgstore.db.crypt8.recent”.
- Take note of the other database files marked with different dates e.g. “msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.2.db.crypt5” As you have probably guessed, YYYY-MM-DD is the year, month and date of backup. Decide on the backup file you want restore based on the date and rename it “msgstore.db.crypt”
- Uninstall WhatsApp and reinstall. Choose Restore when prompted and your old chat history is restored using the file you have renamed “msgstore.db.crypt” in point 4 above.
WhatsApp Android Resources
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