While WhatsApp isn’t as popular in the USA as other messenger apps, it is still used by almost one-fifth of American adults. That means that almost 40 million people in the country rely on the app for their personal messaging needs. Today we’ll show four different ways that iPhone users can recover GBWhatsApp messages that were inadvertently deleted.
Whether the messages were lost by mistake or through an issue with the phone, it’s quite easy to bring back messages that were lost. The first method we’ll look at is simple and free: recovering WhatsApp messages from an iCloud backup.
Before you can recover those messages from an iCloud backup, you’re going to need to make sure that WhatsApp is set up to back up to the cloud automatically. To check this, launch WhatsApp and tap the Settings button, then tap Chats, and finally tap Chat Backup.
If you’ve never backed up WhatsApp Chats before, there’s a Back Up Now button to tap that performs the process. Your iPhone needs to be connected to your iCloud account, and the Back Up Now button creates a location in iCloud to store the WhatsApp data.
Below the Back Up Now button are two buttons that are used to make regular backups of WhatsApp. By default, Auto Backup is off. Simply tap the button to turn on the iCloud backup process. Note that it’s a good idea to have your iPhone connected to Wi-Fi when performing a WhatsApp backup in order to avoid expensive data charges.
The other button is named Include Videos, and it enables the ability for WhatsApp video messages to be backed up as well. If you have concerns that backing up those video messages over a cellular network might cause expensive overage charges, keep Include Videos disabled.
Now, at some future date you may need to restore some or all of your WhatsApp messages. First, uninstall the WhatsApp app by tapping and holding the app icon, then selecting Remove App (iOS 14) from the menu that appears. In iOS 14 you’ll be asked if you wish to delete the app or just move it to App Library and hide it — select Delete App.
At this point, you may wish to restart your iPhone by selecting Settings > General > Shut Down. Once your iPhone has been shut down, wait for a short time, then power it back on.
Go to the App Store and re-install the WhatsApp app on your iPhone by tapping the download button. Once it has been reloaded, launch WhatsApp, tap on Settings, tap on Chat Backup, and then tap Restore from iCloud. On the screen that appears, tap Restore Chat History, and all of your chats are restored from the iCloud Backup.
More Ways to Recover WhatsApp Messages
The other three ways to restore lost WhatsApp messages to your iPhone involve a handy utility called iMyFone D-Back iOS Data Recovery. While there are full instructions on how to recover deleted WhatsApp message on iPhone, we’ll show you how to use iMyFone D-Back right here!
Now our first method listed above is free, but it has some complications. First, it takes multiple steps and requires you to delete and reinstall WhatsApp. Also, it assumes that you have previous backed up WhatsApp, either to iCloud or through a connection to your Mac. Backups to a Mac used to be done through iTunes, but since that application has been replaced by Apple Music, the backup function is now part of macOS. Apple provides complete instructions on how to back up and restore your iPhone on Mac on this web page.
What if you never did a backup, either to iCloud or to your Mac? That’s where our second recovery method — Recover from iOS device — works. iMyFone D-Back comes in handy as it can restore data directly from your iOS device.
To get iMyFone D-Back iOS Data Recovery, click this link and then click the Buy Now button. The app is fully compatible with iOS 14, and is updated each time a new version of iOS is created by Apple. If you have a one-time need to restore your WhatsApp messages, try the 1-month plan for just $39.95. Use iMyFone D-Back to restore your data, then cancel the auto-renewed subscription.
A better idea is to get the 1-year subscription for $49.95, since chances are good that if you’ve lost data once, you may lose it again! This is a subscription that is renewed annually until you cancel it. Finally, for families or small workgroups, consider the lifetime plan for $69.95. You’ll never need to subscribe or pay again, and the plan works for up to five iOS devices. Regardless of which plan you select, your purchase is covered by a 30-day money back guarantee.
OK, have you downloaded and installed the app? Once it’s installed on your Mac, launch iMyFone D-Back and start at the “Recover from iOS Device” tab. Click on the Start button as seen in the image below.
Next, connect your iPhone to your Mac using the proper USB to Lightning cable. iMyFone D-Back detects your device, then displays a screen showing the name and type of iPhone. Click the Next button, and a screen similar to the screenshot below is displayed.
See the WhatsApp icon under the Third Party IM Apps header? Click it, then click the Scan button. Once iMyFone D-Back has completed its scan of your iPhone it displays an organized list of all recoverable WhatsApp chats. Click the tab to check all files or just check the chats you wish to recover, then click the Recover button in the bottom right corner of the iMyFone D-Back screen.
Once you’ve clicked Recover, a pop-up window appears to let you choose the location to store the recovered chats and the recovery is complete in just a few minutes.
Our third method — Recover from iCloud — also uses iMyFone D-Back, and assumes that you’ve been backing up your iPhone to iCloud. Launch iMyFone D-Back, click on the Recover from iCloud tab at the left of the window, then click Start.
Next, you’ll be asked to sign into iCloud with your Apple ID and Password. Once you’re logged into iCloud, you can choose a category to recover — yes, iMyFone D-Back works with much more than just WhatsApp — but in this case click the iCloud Backup icon as seen below.
A list of backups — by date and device — is displayed. Select the iCloud backup to scan by clicking on it, then click the Next button.
As before, you can now click the WhatsApp icon under the Third Party IM Apps header, then click Scan. iMyFone D-Back scans your iPhone and displays all recoverable WhatsApp chats. Select the chats you wish to restore by checking them, then click Recover. Voila! Your WhatsApp chats are restored to your iPhone.
Last but not least, our fourth method — Recover from an iTunes or Finder backup — uses iMyFone D-Back to recover your WhatsApp chats from an iTunes (or Finder) backup of your iPhone on your Mac.
Now in this case, we’re assuming that you have been using iTunes (older macOS versions) or Finder (macOS Catalina) to back up your iPhone on occasion. Launch iMyFone D-Back on your Mac, then select Restore from iTunes Backup and click Start.
As with the iCloud backup method discussed earlier, iMyFone D-Back displays a list of the backups found on your Mac (see screenshot below).
Click the one you wish to restore (check the device model and backup name to make sure you get the correct backup), then click Next. Once again, you’ll see a screen displaying the various file types that can be restored by iMyFone D-Back. Click on WhatsApp, then click Scan.
As soon as the scan is completed, a list of all of the chats available to restore is listed. Check the WhatsApp tab on the left, then select the chats you want restored. Click Recover, and watch as iMyFone D-Back performs its magic.
In Conclusion…
We’ve offered you four methods of recovering WhatsApp messages to your iPhone, whether they’ve been deleted by accident or through no fault of your own. By far, the easiest methods are those provided by iMyFone D-Back iOS Data Recovery.
It’s good to remember that iMyFone D-Back not only works wonders on recovering lost WhatsApp chats, but it can also be used for much, much more.
Get iMyFone D-Back before you need it, and you’ll be safe from data loss due to accidental deletion, a damaged or bricked device, a factory reset, a locked or disabled iPhone, or even one that has been lost or stolen. It’s easy insurance with a money-back guarantee.
