How to Restore WhatsApp Chat History from Local Backup Without Google Drive

WhatsApp is a widely used messaging app that keeps a lot of our personal and important conversations, documents, photos, and messages. Despite its popularity, we often experience data loss due to various reasons. Fortunately, WhatsApp automatically creates local backups every day. This article will guide you on how to restore your chat history from a local backup when you are unable to use Google Drive for backup.

Steps to Restore WhatsApp Chat History from Local Backup

1. Locating the Local Backup

WhatsApp typically stores local backups in the following directories on your device:

/sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/

The backup files are named in the format . The most recent backup is usually named [version].

2. Uninstalling and Reinstalling WhatsApp

Uninstall WhatsApp from your device. You can do this via your device's app settings or the Google Play Store.

Reinstall WhatsApp from the Google Play Store. This step ensures that the app is properly set up.

3. Restoring the Chat History

Open WhatsApp and verify your phone number.

When prompted to restore your chat history, WhatsApp will automatically look for local backup files. If a local backup is found, tap Restore.

4. Handling Unrecognized Backups

If WhatsApp does not detect the local backup, you may need to rename the backup file:

Go to the /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/ directory.

Rename the most recent backup file from [version] to [version-1].

Reinstall WhatsApp again and follow the restore prompts.

Additional Tips

Ensure you have enough storage space for the restoration process. Make sure your device is connected to the internet during the verification process. If you use a different file manager app, the paths may vary slightly, so adjust accordingly.

Understanding the Importance of WhatsApp Backups

WhatsApp plays a significant role in our daily lives, making it crucial to maintain regular backups of our chat history. Local backups are automatically created every night at 2:00 AM local time and stored on your device.

Restoring from Local Backup

Open the file manager app on your device and navigate to /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases/.

If your data is not stored on the SD card, it might be on your phone's internal storage.

Rename the backup file (e.g., ) to An earlier backup might be on an earlier protocol such as crypt9 or crypt10. Do not change the number of the crypt extension.

Open the Google Drive app and select Backups. Check if you can see a WhatsApp back DB file with your phone number.

Delete the backup if it is found by tapping the three-dot menu and then delete backup.

Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp. During the setup process, you will be prompted to restore from the backup file you just edited. Tap RESTORE to restore the backup file.

Restoring Archived WhatsApp Chats

Chances are, you may not delete your WhatsApp messages but archive them instead. Archived chats are still stored in the archive folder and can be restored at any time:

Scroll to the bottom of the Chats screen and tap Archived.

Tap and hold the thread you want to restore and tap the Unarchive option on the top bar.

The conversation thread will return to your Chats tab, and you can find the missing WhatsApp messages now.

Conclusion

No matter the reason for your chat history loss, the steps outlined in this article provide a comprehensive guide on how to restore your WhatsApp chat history from a local backup. Whether it's a recent or older backup, or archived chats, you can recover your data manually without relying on Google Drive.