You don’t want to start everything from scratch when you get a new iPhone. Most of you will have the same phone number when you update your phone. Therefore you can restore WhatsApp backup from iCloud.
However, that makes it particularly frustrating when your WhatsApp couldn’t restore chat history to your new iPhone. This blog will focus on that and offer you some efficient solutions.
- Have You Backed Up WhatsApp Correctly?
- Are You Prepared to Restore WhatsApp Chat History to iPhone?
- Alternative Methods to Restore WhatsApp Chat History to iPhone
Have You Backed Up WhatsApp Correctly?
Firstly, you’ll need to ensure you’ve properly backed up your WhatsApp chat history. If you have not backed it up properly, there is no way for it to be restored. You’ll need to turn your old iPhone back on to back up your WhatsApp data and then do the restore again.
To start with, is iCloud Drive turned on?
- Turn on your old device.
- Open the “Settings” app- which should have the gear icon.
- Click on “iCloud.”
- If iCloud Drive is off, turn it on.
- If iCloud Drive is on, turn it off and back on again. Then, restart your device.
Secondly, does your old iPhone have the latest iOS? The newer software in your new iPhone may not be able to restore data from an older iOS.
- Turn on your old device.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Select “General”.
- Select “Software Updates”.
- If you’ve enabled “Automatic Updates”, it might be the latest software.
- If not, it will check for updates for a few seconds and show you an update if there is a newer version of iOS.
- Click Download and Install to update your iOS.
Thirdly, is WhatsApp updated to the latest version? Data files from an older version of WhatsApp may not be able to transfer onto a newer version of WhatsApp.
- Open the App Store on your old device.
- Type in “WhatsApp”
- Select the “WhatsApp” app.
- Click “Update”.
Fourthly, if none of the above works, try performing a manual backup.
- Turn on your old device.
- Open WhatsApp
- Click “Settings” by clicking on the three dots in the upper right and selecting “Settings.”
- Click “Chat Backup”.
- Click “Back Up Now”. It will help to note the date. You’ll see why later.
Finally, do you have enough space on iCloud to be able to back up your WhatsApp data? The available space on your iCloud account needs to be at least 2.05 times as big as the size of all the files you wish to backup and restore. If you do not have enough space on your iCloud, you will need to make room by deleting apps or media that you no longer require.
Are You Prepared to Restore WhatsApp Chat History to iPhone?
Even if you’ve backed up correctly, there is no guarantee that you are following the correct instructions to restore correctly.
Do you really have a backup that can be restored?
To check if you have a successful WhatsApp backup to be restored, here are the steps:
- Turn on your new device.
- Log in to WhatsApp with the same phone number.
- Enter the verification code to verify your ownership of the account.
- WhatsApp will show you the option to Restore from iCloud.
- On this page, you will see when you performed the last backup. If you notice that it says the date you noted earlier in the “Have you backed up correctly” section, your old iPhone has a successful backup that can be restored to your new iPhone – everything is as it should be.
Is your new iPhone set up to restore the backup?
Another potential issue could be that your phone is not set up to restore the backup.
First of all, you’ll need to make sure that your old and new phones have the same iCloud account.
You can check the iCloud account in the Settings app. On a new iPhone if you haven’t signed in on your new iPhone yet, here is you can sign in with your Apple ID.
- Open the “Settings” app.
- Select “Sign in to your iPhone.”
- Enter your Apple ID and password.
- Enter the 6-digit code, which Apple should have sent to a trusted device or phone number.
- Congratulations, you have now signed in.
If you have signed in to your iCloud account with your Apple ID, you can also sign out and then sign in back to troubleshoot any problems. Remember to restart your iPhone once you’ve signed out.
Secondly, make sure your internet connection is stable and fast. If you’re using 4G or even 5G, turn it off and switch to Wi-Fi which is faster.
Thirdly, like iCloud, your iPhone needs at least 2.05 times as much space as the WhatsApp files will take up. If you don’t have enough space, delete some apps or files from your phone.
Lastly, you also need to ensure you have the latest version of iOS and the iCloud Drive is turned on. Please refer to the “Have you backed up WhatsApp correctly” section for how to do this.
Alternative Methods to Restore WhatsApp Chat History to iPhone
“Couldn’t restore chat history” problem only happens when you restore WhatsApp backup from iCloud. Therefore to avoid this problem, you can choose another way to backup and restore your WhatsApp chat history.
Backup and Restore WhatsApp using iTunes
As we know, iTunes can backup almost all your iPhone data including WhatsApp data. Therefore you can back up the old iPhone and then restore the backup to your new iPhone. WhatsApp chat history will be transferred to your new iPhone in the process and you won’t see “Couldn’t restore chat history” error.
Here is how to backup your iPhone including WhatsApp chats:
- Open iTunes.
- Plug your old iPhone into the computer.
- Click the little iPhone symbol once it is detected by iTunes.
- Click Back Up Now. Make sure “This computer” is selected.
- This will save WhatsApp chat history including media to your computer.
Here is how to restore the iTunes backup including WhatsApp data:
- Open iTunes and connect your new iPhone.
- Once the phone symbol appears on the iTunes interface, click it.
- Now click Restore Backup.
- Then you will be asked to choose a backup to restore. Just choose the backup you just made to restore. Confirm that when you are asked to.
The disadvantage of this method is that all the other data on your old iPhone will also be restored to your new iPhone which will occupy lots of space. The other data might be unnecessary for some users. If you don’t want the other data, check the next method.
Transfer WhatsApp Chat History via iMyFone iTransor
Another way is to use the software “Wondershare Dr.Fone – WhatsApp Transfer“. This is software that you can download for free on your computer, both Windows and Mac are supported. With this tool, you can transfer WhatsApp from your old iPhone to your new iPhone directly. This will avoid the “Couldn’t restore chat history” problem.
Here is how to transfer WhatsApp chat history including the media files between devices using Dr.Fone. Both iPhone and Android devices are supported.
- Open Dr.Fone and choose WhatsApp Transfer.
- Choose Transfer WhatsApp Messages.
- Connect your old and new iPhone to your computer using 2 cables. You may need to “Trust this computer” on your phones so that they will appear on iTransor.
- Now click the big blue “Transfer” button.
- Wait for the WhatsApp data to be transferred from one device to the other.
