How to Restore WhatsApp Backup on iPhone and Android devices

It’s scary to imagine that you have lost all your WhatsApp messages and files. They contain most of our most private and most precious chats and memories after all! Where is the way to restore WhatsApp backup?

Even if you have the WhatsApp backup data, you would still want to know the process by which to restore the WhatsApp backup data on your Android device or iPhone. In this article we bring you the most efficient means to restore WhatsApp backup for Android devices and iPhones separately.

• Part 1: 3 Ways to Restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone
• Part 2: 2 Ways to Restore WhatsApp backup to Android
• Part 3: 2 Ways to Restore WhatsApp backup between Android and iPhone (cross-OS restoring)

Part 1: 3 Ways to Restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone

1.1 Restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone in one click

One means of restoring WhatsApp backup data effectively, and in fact, restoring them selectively without uninstalling the app, is to use dr.fone - WhatsApp Transfer (iOS). This incredibly well rated toolkit comes with plenty of features.

dr.fone - WhatsApp Transfer (iOS)

Restore WhatsApp Backup without Uninstalling the WhatsApp app

• Efficient, simple, and safe means of WhatsApp backup & restore.
• Transfer WhatsApp data from iOS to any iPhone/iPad/Android device.
• Backup of WhatsApp data to computer.
• Restoration of iOS WhatsApp data back to iPhone/iPad.
• Completely private and secure. Confidentiality remains sealed.
• Fully compatible with all models of iPhones and iPads.

Available on: Windows Mac

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Follow these steps to selectively restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone in one click (without uninstalling WhatsApp):

Step 1: Install dr.fone, connect your iPhone to PC, and choose the option "Restore WhatsApp messages to iOS device".

Step 2: Choose one WhatsApp backup and click "Next". Restoration of the WhatsApp backup may take some time depending on the data volume.

Step 3: Alternatively, you can choose a WhatsApp backup file and click on "View" to gain access to the contents of the backup.

Step 4: In the window that displays all WhatsApp backup details, you can select the wanted data and click "Restore to Device".

1.2 Restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone in WhatsApp's official way

WhatsApp of course have provided its own way to restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone. In short, since you have backed up WhatsApp contents, uninstalling and re-installing the WhatsApp app gives a pop-up asking to restore the WhatsApp backup. Or in other cases, you have got a new iPhone, downloading the WhatsApp and logging in with the old iCloud account also activates the WhatsApp backup restoring process.

Perform the following steps to restore WhatsApp backup messages to iPhone (by uninstalling and re-installing WhatsApp):

1. Uninstall the WhatsApp app and then install it again from the App Store. If it is a new iPhone, install WhatsApp directly from the App Store.
2. Go to WhatsApp settings > Chat > Chat Backup to check whether you have a iCloud backup of your WhatsApp data history or not.
3. Once you have verified your last backup along with its details, you need to delete and reinstall WhatsApp on your phone from App store.
4. Verify your phone number and follow the prompt coming on screen to restore the chat history. The phone for backup and restore should be same. If you are sharing an iCloud account, you can keep separate backups.

One thing to remember: this solution works only if you have backed up WhatsApp on iPhone. Here are the steps to backup WhatsApp on iPhone:

1. Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup.
2. Click on "Back Up Now".
3. You can also schedule automatic chat backups by clicking on "Auto Backup" option choosing the desired frequency for backup.
4. All the content will be backed up in your iCloud account where you can choose your selected files for backup.
5. This process may take some time.

Limitations of this solution:

1. You need to have iOS 7 or higher.
2. You need to sign in to iCloud.
3. Documents & Data or iCloud drive has to be set to "ON".
4. Ample storage space is needed on your iCloud and iPhone.
5. Selective recovery is not possible.

1.3 Restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone using iTunes

Maybe few people know this fact: WhatsApp backup data exists in iTunes backup. You can restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone by restoring the whole iTunes backup. The only shortcoming of this way, yes, you can see, is all the wanted or unwanted data in iTunes backup would all be restored to iPhone. But if other ways fail, restoring with iTunes is still worth trying.

Here is how to use iTunes to restore WhatsApp backup to iPhone:

Step 1: Open iTunes on the computer where your iPhone is previously backed up.

Step 2: Use the lightning cable to connect your iPhone to this computer. When it is detected, click "This computer".

Step 3: Click "Restore Backup". Then in the dialog, select an iTunes backup to restore.

Video tutorial: How to restore iTunes backup (to get back WhatsApp backup)

Part 2: 2 Ways to Restore WhatsApp backup to Android

2.1 Restore WhatsApp backup to Android in one click

Wouldn't it be dreamy if there is a solution to restore WhatsApp backup to Android in one click? Here is a must-have tool, dr.fone - WhatsApp Transfer, to restore WhatsApp backup just this way.

Follow the below instructions to restore WhatsApp backup to Android:

1. Install the dr.fone tool, then launch and open it. You can find the following screen displayed.



2. Click on the "WhatsApp Transfer" tab, and select "WhatsApp" > "Restore WhatsApp messages to Android device".



3. Find your previous Android backup from the list, like "HUAWEI VNS-AL00", and click "Next".



4. Then all your WhatsApp backup can be restored to your Android device. You need to wait a little bit longer if the WhatsApp backup contains more data.

2.2 Restore WhatsApp backup to Android in WhatsApp's official way

The WhatsApp-official way to restore WhatsApp backup is through Google drive backup, however, the phone numbers for your Google account and WhatsApp account need to be the same.

In order to back up on Google drive, open WhatsApp and go to Menu > Settings > Chats > Chat backup. Choosing "Back Up" will do immediate backup, while choosing "Back up to Google Drive" allows you to set a backup frequency.

Important considerations for this process:

1. First backup may take a long time
2. You can change the backup frequency or Google account on which you are backing up by going to Menu > Settings > Chats > Chat backup.
3. Google drive backup overwrites the previous Google drive backup with no restoration possible.
4. The data is not fully encrypted and protected in Google drive.

How to restore WhatsApp backup to Android in WhatsApp's official way (by uninstalling and re-installing WhatsApp):

1. Uninstall and re-install WhatsApp from Play Store.



2. Verify your phone number and the prompt for restore messages from Google drive will come up.



3. Click on "continue" and restoration will be done.

Part 3: 2 Ways to Restore WhatsApp backup between Android and iPhone (cross-OS restoring)

3.1 Restore WhatsApp backup of iPhone to Android

When you want to restore WhatsApp backup of iPhone to Android device, dr.fone - WhatsApp Transfer is the best solution. It can restore WhatsApp of your iPhone not only to another iPhone, but also to an Android device.

Now the actual steps to restore WhatsApp backup of iPhone to Android, here we go:

Step 1: Connect your Android device with computer through a USB cable and turn on dr.fone.

Step 2: Activate USB debugging so that dr.fone tool can recognize your Android device. Now click "WhatsApp Transfer" > "WhatsApp" > "Restore WhatsApp messages to Anroid device".

Step 3: Among all the WhatsApp backup files listed, select one and click "View".

Step 4: Browse all the WhatsApp details, select all the wanted items and then click "Restore to Device".

3.2 Restore WhatsApp backup of Android to iPhone

As more and more people are switching from Android to iPhone, the demand of restoring WhatsApp backup of Android to new iPhone is upshooting. Luckily, with dr.fone - WhatsApp Transfer, you can also complete this task without any hassle.

Ready? Let's just restore WhatsApp backup of your old Android to iPhone this way:

1. After downloading and installing the dr.fone toolkit, open it up.



2. Select "WhatsApp Transfer" from the main screen.
3. In the left column, click right on "WhatsApp". Then choose "Restore WhatsApp messages to iOS".



4. Among all the backup records, identify the Android WhatsApp backup and select it. Lastly click "Next".



5. All your WhatsApp backup can be restored to your new iPhone in a short while.