Do you need to install WhatsApp on your new iPhone and would like a hand to recover the chats you had on the old phone? If your old smartphone was also an iPhone, that's no problem. All you have to do is associate the new iPhone with the phone number and Apple ID you used on the old "iPhone by" and the chat history will be automatically recovered from iCloud.
Have you accidentally deleted a chat from WhatsApp and don't know how to recover it? Don't panic! Again, iCloud backups may help. Before restoring them, however, you need to make sure that they are older than the day you deleted the discussion you want to retrieve.
In short, if you want recover iPhone WhatsApp messages, take five minutes of free time and try to follow the directions I'm about to give you: one way or another you should be able to restore the conversations you need. Just a small clarification before starting: restoring a WhatsApp backup, all subsequent conversations to it are deleted from the application, so carefully evaluate all the pros and cons of the situation and choose whether it is worth going on or not. Then don't tell me I didn't warn you!
Retrieve WhatsApp messages on a new iPhone
What to do on the old iPhone
- apri WhatsApp, select the scheda Settings which is at the bottom right and move up Chat> Chat backup;
- Press on the button Back up now to start creating a new iCloud backup. If you want to include the video, activate the relevant option.
In case you are unable to back up your conversations on iCloud, go to the menu Settings> iCloud> iCloud Drive of iOS and check that the options iCloud Drive e WhatsApp are both active. Also go to the menu Settings> iCloud and check that your account still has some space available (if not, find out how to free up space on iCloud by reading my guide dedicated to the topic).
What to do on the new iPhone
- Make sure you have the same telephone number you had on your old iPhone;
- Go to the menu Settings> iCloud iOS and verify that the phone is associated with the same iCloud account of the old "iPhone by";
- Go to the menu Settings> iCloud> iCloud Drive and check the options iCloud Drive e WhatsApp both are active;
- Download WhatsApp from the App Store. If you need a hand to do this, consult my tutorial on how to download WhatsApp on iPhone;
- Start WhatsApp and follow the initial application setup procedure. After verifying the phone number, the backup of the chats on iCloud should be automatically detected, so press the button Ripristina chat timeline and your conversations should return to their place.
Recover WhatsApp messages by reinstalling the application
Do you want to recover a chat that you accidentally deleted from WhatsApp? In this case, you could solve the problem by reinstalling the application and restoring the last backup on iCloud, but only as long as this is earlier than the date you deleted the conversation you want to recover.
To find out when was the last backup that WhatsApp saved on iCloud, start the application, select the tab Settings located at the bottom right and moved to the menu Chat> Chat backup. You will find the date of the last backup on iCloud next to the entry Last backup (up).
If the backup meets the requirements you need - that is, if it dates back to a date prior to the day you deleted the WhatsApp chat you intend to recover - uninstall the application from your iPhone and download it again from the App Store. To uninstall WhatsApp, all you have to do is keep your finger pressed on its icon and press on cross that appears at the top left, to download it again from the App Store ... well, I don't think there is a need for too many explanations (and in any case you can find everything explained in my tutorial on how to download WhatsApp on iPhone).
Once (re) downloaded WhatsApp on your "iPhone by", start the application, verify the mobile number and accept the restore of the backup from iCloud by pressing the button Ripristina chat timeline.
If the iCloud backup is not detected, go to the menu Settings> iCloud> iCloud Drive of iOS and check that the options iCloud Drive e WhatsApp are both active.
Recover iPhone WhatsApp messages via phone reset
In the most desperate cases, those in which restoring chats from iCloud does not work or is not useful for its purposes (e.g. it is after the date on which you deleted an important conversation that you want to recover), you can try to recover iPhone WhatsApp messages by doing a phone reset via iTunes or iCloud.
This is a drastic measure, as a result of which all iPhone applications are rolled back to a previous state. But in cases of real need it is certainly worth a try.
If you don't know how to restore iPhone, read my guide dedicated to the topic in which I explained how to restore the iPhone to a previous state both via iTunes and via iCloud. But I recommend, before starting, make sure that your backup is recent enough (otherwise you risk losing a bunch of messages and apps after the date of the restored backup).
Recover archived WhatsApp messages
Have you accidentally archived a WhatsApp chat and don't know how to restore it? Don't worry, it's child's play!
All you have to do is select the tab Chat of WhatsApp, drag the screen down and select the item Archived chats which appears at the top. Then find the conversation to restore, swipe your finger from right to left on its title and press the button Extract that appears from the side. Mission accomplished!
If you have accidentally archived ALL your WhatsApp conversations (congratulations, it takes some skill!), Go to the menu Settings> Chat of WhatsApp and presses the button Extract all chats from the archive located at the bottom of the screen.
