WhatsApp is a widely used messaging app that offers a convenient chat history backup feature. However, users may encounter an error message that says “WhatsApp couldn’t restore chat history” when attempting to retrieve their chat history from a backup. This can be a frustrating experience, especially if you’ve lost important conversations. In this guide, we’ll explore the common causes behind the “WhatsApp couldn’t restore chat history” error and provide you with effective solutions to resolve it, ensuring that you can successfully retrieve your chat history on WhatsApp.
10 Ways To Fix WhatsApp Couldn’t Restore Chat History Error
Quick Answer
Try updating WhatsApp if you are using an outdated version. Also you must make sure to select the google account where you have backed up older chats. You can also try reinstalling WhatsApp by following these steps:
1. Launch Play Store app and search WhatsApp.
2. Tap on Uninstall option.
3. Confirm by select Uninstall again and wait for the app to be removed from your device.
4. Then, tap on Install option.
5. Finally open WhatsApp and select the account where you have the chats backup stored.
Reasons for WhatsApp Couldnt Restore Chat History on Android
There could be multiple reasons, why you cannot restore your chat history. Some of the examples are,
- Not using the same cloud storage account
- Don’t have enough storage
- Using iPhone to restore Android phone data
- Outdated app
- Outdated device
- There is no backup available
- Servers down
- Poor Internet connection
We have included the solutions for all the above-mentioned issues. We will know them one by one, but first, we have to understand how to properly back up your data.
How to Properly Backup WhatsApp Data
Before we start telling you the methods to fix this WhatsApp couldn’t restore chat history on Android error, you should know how to back it up properly. Here are the steps you can follow:
Note: We used Moto G71 5G for showing you the steps. It is possible that the process might be different on your device as Android devices setting may differ according to different manufactures.
1. Open WhatsApp and tap the three dots icon.
2. Select Settings.
3. Tap on Chats.
4. Select Chat backup.
5. Tap on Back up.
Now WhatsApp will back up the files. One pro-tip for you, use a Wi-Fi network when you are backing up your files. As it can consume a lot of your data.
No matter if you are a business or a normal WhatsApp user, your chat history and media files in WhatsApp are invaluable. But sometimes we by mistake delete our precious chat history. So, if you are fretting because of the loss of data, and now wondering, how to recover your data, then without wasting any more time let’s explore the methods.
Method 1: Basic Troubleshooting Steps
First, explore some basic troubleshooting methods that can help you to solve the problem without doing much work.
1A. Troubleshoot Network Connection
To download the backup file, you need to have a strong internet connection. If you are facing a slower internet issue, then it is possible the process of downloading the backup failed. However, solving it is really easy. Either you can use a different service provider, or you can increase the internet speed of the current one. If you want to increase the internet speed of your current provider, then check out this article, Slow Internet Connection? 10 Ways to Speed up your Internet!
1B. Wait for Server Uptime
If the servers are down, then you might not be able to download the backup file. It is possible that either WhatsApp’s or your cloud service provider’s servers are down. In that case, you should wait for the team to fix the issue, and then try out the backup again.
Note: If you want to know how to check if the servers are down or not, then you can use a service like Downdetector to figure out if the issue is indeed with the server.
1C. Restart Device
When the device has been opened for some time, it can store cache files, and those cache files can interfere with apps. To delete these files, you can restart your phone. After the device is restarted, open the app again, and see if WhatsApp couldnt restore chat history on Android problem is now resolved.
1. Press the Power button for a few minutes.
2. Select Restart option.
3. Wait for the process to complete and try to download the backup again.
1D. Backup WhatsApp Chats
It is possible that when you are backing up your files, it was cancelled midway and the process is not completed. If that is the case, then you won’t be able to get all of your data. We will recommend you back up properly by following the steps we already shared above.
Method 2: Sign in Again to Cloud Service
It is possible because of some malfunction in the backlog, you cannot install the backup from your cloud service. In this case, you can sign out and all the backlog data will be deleted. Then sign in again. Now open WhatsApp again, then download the backup file. If it is not downloading then try out the next method.
Method 3: Update WhatsApp
If you are trying to download the backup to an outdated WhatsApp, then that can create such errors. Install the latest version of the app from the Google Play Store, by following the steps below,
1. Open Google Play Store and tap on profile picture.
2. Select Manager apps and device.
3. Tap on Update all.
This method will help you to update both, WhatsApp and the cloud service on your phone.
Also Read: WhatsApp Rolling Out Description for Forwarded Messages
Method 4: Clear Storage Space
If the backup size is more than the storage available on your device, then that can create issues like this one. To solve it, you just have to clear your storage by deleting unnecessary files. You can read our article, How to Free up Internal Storage on Android Phone, for more details.
Method 5: Use Same Cloud Storage Account
If you backed up your files to a different cloud storage, for example, Dropbox, and now you are trying to back up the data from Google Drive, then it is not possible. The other likely case is, you have backed up your files in one Gmail account, and now you are trying to download the backup from the other, then that is also not possible. Although this might seem to be an insignificant detail, it can be the real culprit that is causing the issue. So, we will recommend you make sure that you are using the same cloud storage account.
Method 6: Clear WhatsApp Cache
Clearing the cache of WhatsApp and your Cloud application is important. These cache files can interfere with apps and cause malfunction. So, we will recommend you clear these temporary files from time to time. Check out this blog post for more details, How to Clear Cache on Android Phone.
Method 7: Update Device
Updates are essential for your device, not only for new features, but also they come with some bug fixes. So, we will recommend you install them whenever your brand provides one for your phone’s model number. Check out this detailed article for steps, 3 Ways to Check for Updates on your Android Phone.
Method 8: Reinstall WhatsApp
When updating or clearing the cache doesn’t work, then you should reinstall the app, as it will delete all the files, including corrupted ones. You have to reinstall both WhatsApp and your cloud application in this case.
1. Hold the WhatsApp icon and tap on the i button.
2. Tap Uninstall.
3. Tap on OK.
Note: You can tick the box beside Keep (your data size) of app data, and you won’t need to back up the files. Whenever you will install WhatsApp again, all your chats will be restored automatically.
4. Open Google Play Store and search for WhatsApp.
5. Tap on Install beside WhatsApp.
6. After installing the app, tap on Open.
7. Sign in with your phone number and choose your Google account where you have backed up the chats.
Follow the same steps for your cloud application and reinstall it again.
Method 9: Download From Local Backup
It is possible that you forgot to upload the backup file to your cloud storage. So it is not possible to download the data from there because there is no file to restore! But you don’t have to be anxious, as WhatsApp by default backup your files locally.
1. Open File Manager, then tap on Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Databases.
2. Rename the desired files from msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt14 to msgstore.db.crypt14.
3. Reinstall WhatsApp as shown in Method 8.
4. After you have successfully installed WhatsApp once again on your device, open the application. Tap on the RESTORE option.
Also Read: 13 Ways to Fix WhatsApp Camera Problem
Method 10: Contact WhatsApp Support
If none of the methods mentioned above is working, then there is no way other than to contact customer care. You can contact the WhatsApp team via their official Twitter account, or support page. If the team says, from WhatsApp’s side, there is no problem. Then contact your respective cloud storage service.
How to Prevent It From Happening
What if you don’t have any backup in the cloud storage? Then it is not possible to restore the backup data, as there is no data. If you don’t want this to happen, then you can do two things,
- Check the tick box when you are uninstalling the app, as we discussed previously.
- Turn on automatic backup.
To turn on the automatic backup, you can follow the steps mentioned above.
Note: You should always back up your files in Wi-Fi only. As this process can consume a lot of your data.
We hope after reading the article, your problem, how to fix couldn’t restore chat history in WhatsApp, is now solved. If you still got any questions, then don’t forget to mention them in the comment section, and our team of experts will solve them. You can also suggest us a new topic in the comment section, and we will try to write a dedicated article on that. Save our site as a bookmark for future reference. Thank you for reading.