How to back up and restore WhatsApp chat history on iPhone and Android

Backup & Storage KB-277

Summary

This guide helps you troubleshoot and resolve: How to back up and restore WhatsApp chat history on iPhone and Android. Follow the steps below to fix the issue.

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Common Causes

Backing up your WhatsApp chat history is a smart way to protect important conversations, photos and videos from being lost when you switch phones, reset your device or accidentally delete the app. This guide walks you through setting up automatic backups to iCloud (iPhone) or Google Drive (Android), as well as how to restore your chats to a new or reset device.

Before You Begin

Before setting up your backup, make sure you have the following ready:

A stable Wi-Fi connection (mobile data backups can use a large amount of data and may fail on slower networks)
Enough free storage in your iCloud or Google account to hold the backup
The latest version of WhatsApp installed from the App Store or Google Play Store
Your phone number and access to the SIM card or phone number you are backing up

Tip: Media files such as photos and videos take up the most space. If your cloud storage is limited, you can choose to exclude videos from your backup to save room.

How to Back Up WhatsApp on iPhone (iCloud)

Open WhatsApp on your iPhone.
Tap Settings in the bottom-right corner.
Tap Chats.
Tap Chat Backup.
Tap Back Up Now to perform an immediate backup.
To enable automatic backups, tap Auto Backup and choose Daily, Weekly or Monthly.
Tick or untick Include Videos depending on your storage preference.

Tip: If you do not see your iCloud account listed, tap Add iCloud Account and sign in with your Apple ID. Make sure iCloud Drive is enabled in Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud on your iPhone.

Managing Your iCloud Storage

If your backup fails due to insufficient storage, you can free up space by going to Settings > [Your Name] > iCloud > Manage Account Storage on your iPhone, or by signing into icloud.com from a browser.

How to Back Up WhatsApp on Android (Google Drive)

Open WhatsApp on your Android device.
Tap the three-dot menu in the top-right corner.
Tap Settings.
Tap Chats.
Tap Chat backup.
Tap Back up to Google Drive and choose your preferred backup frequency.
Tap Google Account and select the Google account you wish to use for backups.
Tap Back up over and choose Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi or mobile data.
Tap Back Up Now to perform an immediate backup.
Tick or untick Include videos depending on your storage preference.

Tip: Google Drive backups are tied to your Google account and phone number. If you change your phone number, update it in WhatsApp before your next backup to avoid issues when restoring.

Managing Your Google Account Storage

To check how much storage you have available, open the Google Drive app, tap your profile picture in the top-right corner and select Manage storage. You can also free up space by deleting old backups or files from drive.google.com on a computer.

How to Restore WhatsApp Chat History

Restoring a backup is straightforward, but it must be done during the initial setup of WhatsApp, or after a fresh install. Existing chats cannot be replaced with an older backup.

Restoring on iPhone

Make sure you are signed into iCloud with the same Apple ID used to create the backup.
Install WhatsApp from the App Store and open it.
Verify your phone number using the same number that was backed up.
When prompted, tap Restore Chat History.
Once the restore is complete, follow the on-screen prompts to finish setting up.

Restoring on Android

Install WhatsApp from the Google Play Store and open it.
Tap Agree and Continue.
Verify your phone number using the same number that was backed up.
When prompted, tap Restore to restore your chats and media from Google Drive.
Once the restore is complete, follow the on-screen prompts to finish setting up.

Important: WhatsApp can only restore from a backup that was created on the same operating system. Backups made on iPhone cannot be restored to an Android device, and vice versa. There is no cross-platform transfer tool available at this time.

Troubleshooting

Backup Will Not Start or Keeps Failing

Confirm your device is connected to a stable Wi-Fi network.
Check that you are signed into iCloud or Google Drive with enough free storage.
Make sure WhatsApp has permission to access your cloud storage in your phone settings.
Update WhatsApp to the latest version from the App Store or Google Play Store.
Restart your phone and try the backup again.

Restore Option Does Not Appear

Confirm you are using the same phone number that was used to create the backup.
Check that you are signed into the correct iCloud or Google account.
Ensure the backup exists by checking Settings > Chats > Chat Backup on the device where the backup was originally created.

Restored Chats Are Missing Media

Confirm that your backup included videos if you are trying to restore them.
Check that your cloud account had enough storage to complete the full backup.
Re-download any missing media manually by tapping on individual chats.

Tip: For additional ways to protect your photos and videos outside of WhatsApp, see our guide on How to backup photos to external drive.

If you continue to experience issues after following these steps, our support team is happy to help. Please Open a Ticket through our support portal and include details of your device, operating system version and the error message you are seeing.

Still Having Issues?

Need more help? If the issue persists after trying these steps, please open a support ticket and our team will assist you.

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