Restore WhatsApp from an Old Backup in 2025 – Here's How

Part 1: How to Restore an Old Backup of WhatsApp from the Local Storage?

Before you learn how to restore your old WhatsApp messages, it helps to know how WhatsApp backs up your data. WhatsApp keeps backups in two places:

Google Drive: If you connect a Google account, WhatsApp can save backups there on a schedule (daily/weekly/monthly) or when you trigger one manually in Settings → Chats → Chat backup. Google Drive only keeps the latest backup — older backups get overwritten.

Local storage (on Android): WhatsApp also makes a local backup on your phone every day at 2:00 AM. Your device keeps up to seven daily copies. That means if the chat you want is within the last seven days, you can restore it from local files.

If your needed backup is within seven days, follow these steps to restore it:

Step 1 — Open the WhatsApp backups folder
Use a File Manager on your Android and go to Internal storage → WhatsApp → Databases. You’ll see files named like msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt12 (timestamps show the day).

Step 2 — Pick and rename the backup
Find the backup date you want, select it, and rename it to msgstore.db.crypt12 (or match the existing crypt extension). Remove any timestamp so the file name matches exactly.

Step 3 — Reinstall and restore WhatsApp
Uninstall WhatsApp (if already installed), reinstall it, and set it up with the same phone number. During setup WhatsApp will detect the local backup and offer a Restore button — tap it and wait for the process to finish.

Part 2: How to Restore an Old WhatsApp Backup (of Deleted Chats)?

If you can’t find a local backup of WhatsApp data or you have lost your messages before the last 7 days, then consider using a data recovery tool. For instance, Dr.Fone - Data Recovery (Android) has a dedicated feature to recover an old chat history of WhatsApp from Android devices.

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These are some simple steps that you can take to learn how to restore an old backup of WhatsApp on your Android device.

Step 1: Install and Launch Dr.Fone – Data Recovery (Android)

Whenever you want to restore an old WhatsApp backup, just install the application on your system. Launch the Dr.Fone toolkit and simply go to the “Data Recovery” feature from its home.

Step 2: Connect your Device and Start Recovering your Data

Using a working USB cable, you can now connect your Android device to the system from where you lost your WhatsApp chats. On the Dr.fone interface, go to the WhatsApp Data Recovery feature. Here, you can verify your connected device and simply start the recovery process.

Step 3: Wait as Dr.Fone would Recover WhatsApp Data

Once the data recovery process has been started, you are expected to wait for a while. The application will let you know the progress of the recovery process. Just make sure that your device stays connected, and that the application is not closed in between.

Step 4: Install the Specific App

After the recovery process has been completed, you will be asked by the toolkit to install a special app. Just agree to it and wait as the application would be installed, letting you preview and extract your WhatsApp data easily.

Step 5: Preview and Restore WhatsApp Data

That’s it! In the end, you can check all the extracted WhatsApp content on the sidebar, listed in different categories like photos, chats, videos, and more. You can just go to any category of your choice to get a preview of your WhatsApp data.

To get better results, you can go to the top-right corner of the application to view all data or just the deleted WhatsApp data. After selecting the WhatsApp files you want to get back, click on the “Recover” button to save them.

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Tips: If you're looking to recover WhatsApp data on your Android phone, the Dr. Fone App-Data Recovery (Android) is your go-to solution. This app allows you to retrieve lost files directly from your device without needing a computer, making the recovery process straightforward and hassle-free. Whether you've lost photos, videos, or important documents, Dr. Fone has you covered.

With just a few taps, you can effortlessly recover a wide range of data types, including audio files, contacts, call logs, messages, WhatsApp content, and even Google Drive files. It's designed to be user-friendly, so you can quickly get back what you've lost. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing your valuable data is just a step away from being restored.

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Conclusion

I hope this guide would have answered your questions like can you restore old WhatsApp messages and how to restore old WhatsApp chats on Android. If your chats were lost in the last 7 days, then you can try to restore WhatsApp from an old backup directly. Though, if your data has been lost or deleted, then consider using a recovery tool. I would recommend Dr.Fone - Data Recovery (Android) to recover deleted WhatsApp files easily. It is a DIY tool that you can use on your own without facing unwanted hassle to restore old WhatsApp backup.

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