There are many people who want to restore WhatsApp chats and media, but without using Google Drive. One of the most common reasons for this is connectivity issues. Other reasons include accidental overwrites, and privacy concerns. A lot of users have been preferring a local backup and manual restoration method. In this post, we have discussed a step-by-step method for recovering all your WhatsApp conversations and media files without the need for Google Drive.
📁 Where WhatsApp Stores Local Backups
WhatsApp takes local backups of your conversations which are encrypted automatically. These backups are on your device that is in the internal storage, in the Databases folder. This is the usual folder structure:
The file msgstore.db.crypt14 is the latest backup WhatsApp has created. If we want to transfer the chats from one device to another, this is the file that we will use.
🔄 Step-by-Step Guide to Restore WhatsApp Chats Without Google Drive
1. Locate the WhatsApp Backup on the Old Phone
- Turn on File Manager on the old device.
- Go to: Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Databases
- Find and copy the file named: msgstore.db.crypt14 Also, you can copy all .jpg, .mp4, .pdf, and other media folders that are located at: Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media
2. Transfer the Backup to the New Device
- Pick a suitable method, for example, USB, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, etc., and send the msgstore.db.crypt14 file (and media if needed) to the new phone.
Remember: Before starting this process, do not open WhatsApp on the new device. If WhatsApp has already been installed, uninstall it first.
3. Set Up the File Structure on the New Phone
- Use a File Manager to go to this directory path: Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Databases
- If no folders are found there, create them locally: Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases
- Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases
- Drop the file msgstore.db.crypt14 into this directory.
4. Reinstall WhatsApp
- Get the WhatsApp app from Google Play Store.
- Open WhatsApp, input your phone number, and follow the steps.
- Choosing RESTORE will give you the option to recover from the Local Backup.
- In this way, you will find straight view to restore WhatsApp Chats.
The process of WhatsApp will be the same if local backup is there, the app can restore the backup automatically.
📦 Optional: Restore WhatsApp Chats & Media Files Without Google Drive
Files such as photos, videos, and documents can be recovered as follows:
- On the old phone, open the file manager and go to: Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media
- Copy all folders such as: WhatsApp ImagesWhatsApp VideoWhatsApp DocumentsWhatsApp AudioWhatsApp Voice Notes
- WhatsApp Images
- WhatsApp Video
- WhatsApp Documents
- WhatsApp Audio
- WhatsApp Voice Notes
- Paste them into the same folder structure on the new phone: Android > media > com.whatsapp > WhatsApp > Media
- Thats’s it, you have done with restore WhatsApp Chats.
Upon launching WhatsApp, and restore WhatsApp Chats backup, the application will initiate a scanning of the media files and gradually will reindex them.
🧠 Things to Keep in Mind
- The file crypt14 is ciphered. You should work with the same phone number and, ideally, the exact WhatsApp version to be able to decrypt the file and have a seamless transfer.
- Make sure however, not to open WhatsApp before the actual process of backup transfer, since it may create the backup once more and thus overshadow the old one.
- In case WhatsApp does not trigger the restoration, adjust the file access rights accordingly. Don’t forget to provide WhatsApp with the necessary permissions for Files and Media.
🛠 Troubleshooting Common Issues
- Confirm that your backup is named exactly as msgstore.db.crypt14.
- Make sure the file is located in the right folder.
- Double-check that the file name does not carry two extensions (e.g., .crypt14.crypt14).
❓ No Restore Prompt Appeared
- Try uninstalling the application once more, then after erasing the residual data, reinstall it.
- Verify that the transfer of the file has been accomplished prior to launching WhatsApp for the first time.
✅ Final Words
Manually restore WhatsApp Chats and media without Google Drive is indeed feasible, and also it is sometimes more trustworthy when cloud backups go wrong or get changed. The mentioned way of following provides the utmost control to your data, and the success rate is pretty high.
If you still continue to have problems with restore WhatsApp Chats, do not hesitate to consult this guide or share it with those who have the same issue. This method guarantees that you will always have your conversations, even if there is no cloud.