It can be annoying when you’ve backed up your WhatsApp onto Google Drive, but, when you get a new phone, you can’t restore any of your previous chats from the backup. You may get confused by the message “Couldn’t restore messages. Check your phone’s internet connection”.
Today, we’ll go through all the solutions that you can try when you are unable to restore WhatsApp backup from Google Drive.
Some Basic Checks
Before we get onto the solutions, you first need to make sure that everything is in order. Internet connections do have a habit of not working at the exact moment that you want them to. Perhaps that’s the reason why you’re being told to “Couldn’t restore messages.
Check your phone’s internet connection is that there may be some problem with your phone’s internet connection- I know, it is obvious.
You can test how fast your internet ….
- Click here or go to speedtest.net.
- From here, all you have to do is press “Go” to see how fast your internet is running.
If there is a problem with your internet speed try doing the two following steps…
- Move closer to the router. If you’re using 4g instead, try moving somewhere with a better signal.
- If you are using Wi-Fi, turn the router off and back on again. I know it’s become a cliché but it can work.
Perhaps despite what WhatsApp is saying, the problem is not with your internet but with your phone. Here’s some advice on making sure the problem is not actually your phone.
- The Google account you’re signed into on your phone is the same one you’ve uploaded your WhatsApp Backup onto
- You have enough space on your phone to restore everything.
- Your phone is fully charged.
- You haven’t deleted the WhatsApp backup from Google Drive.
If everything above has been sorted, then it’s time to try the following ways if you are still unable to restore WhatsApp backup from Google Drive.
Option #1 Download WhatsApp Via Google Chrome
Most android phones will allow you to do online searches via Google Chrome. By downloading WhatsApp this way, the chances of the “Couldn’t restore messages. Check your phone’s internet connection” popping up might be lower. Some users shared this trick that worked for them.
- Make sure you enable downloads from unknown apps. Do this by going onto Settings > Apps and Notifications > Advanced > Special App Permissions > Install Unknown Apps > Chrome > Allow from this source. It might be different on different Android phones.
- Go to Google Chrome at visit www.whatsapp.com/android
- Click “Download”.
- Open the file and click “Install”.
- Once it has been installed, open WhatsApp.
Now you can try to restore the WhatsApp backup again. All you can do now is wait. This part might take a while. If you’re still finding that you get the same message “Couldn’t restore messages WhatsApp. Check your internet connection” when using the WhatsApp downloaded from Chrome, it’s time to try the following solutions.
Option #2 Use a Tool
iMyFone iTransor is a piece of software for your computer that can manage your WhatsApp flexibly. It does help when you are unable to restore WhatsApp backup from Google Drive.
It can backup WhatsApp to a computer, restore WhatsApp backup from Google Drive, transfer WhatsApp between iPhone and Android, and export WhatsApp to the computer in different file formats. However, this tool is paid software and the cheapest plan is 29.95USD.
Here is our guide on how to use it when you have already uploaded your backup onto Google drive but struggle to restore it.
Download the WhatsApp Backup from Google Drive
- Download and install iMyFone iTransor.
- Select “Restore/Export WhatsApp Backup”.
- On this page, you will see loads of options. There’s a button that says “Import from Google Drive Backups”- click this.
- Type in your Google Drive login details. This will connect your Google Drive account to the iTransor software.
- Select the WhatsApp backup that you wish to download and restore. Now, click the Download icon. Then the program wills tart to download the WhatsApp backup from Google Drive.
- This backup will automatically be added to the “backup list” when it’s finished downloading.
Restore the WhatsApp Backup to Your Phone
- Now, connect your phone to your PC using a cable.
- Select the Google Drive backup you’ve just downloaded and click “Restore to Device”.
- Follow the on-screen instructions if there are.
- Wait for the restore process to complete.
Option #3 Restore From Local Backup
If you have tried reinstalling WhatsApp using Google Chrome, and do not want to use iMyFone iTransor to restore the backup from Google Drive, our next solution does not include Google Drive.
To carry out this solution, you will need your old phone- with all your WhatsApp data on it, a PC, and a cable to connect your old and new phones to your PC.
If you no longer have your old phone and have only uploaded your WhatsApp backup onto Google Drive, scroll down to “The Last Straw Solutions“.
In order to bypass the error message “Couldn’t restore messages. Check your phone’s internet connection”, try restoring WhatsApp data from a local backup:
- Connect your old phone to your PC using the cable.
- On your PC, open the file explorer that’s connected to your phone. To do this, go onto “This PC”, and look under “Devices and Drives”- select your old phone>Local Storage > WhatsApp > Databases. If that doesn’t work, try SD Card > WhatsApp > Databases.
- Select everything in this folder. You will need to copy and paste all these files onto your PC. Make sure you put them somewhere safe.
- Safely unplug your old phone from your PC, and plug in your new phone.
- Move the files from your PC to your new phone. To be safe, you should put these files into the same location on your new phone (Local Storage or SD Card > WhatsApp > Databases)
- Open WhatsApp and verify your phone number.
- When prompted by WhatsApp, click “Restore” to restore from local backup.
- Wait for about 30 minutes for this process to complete. Then, just to be safe, restart your phone.
Options #4: The Last Straw Solutions
If you’ve done all you can from the instructions above and are still unable to restore WhatsApp backup from Google Drive, then try any or all of these four last straw options. These tips might eliminate the error message “Couldn’t restore messages. Check your phone’s internet connection”.
Check that the issue isn’t with WhatsApp. WhatsApp, and its parent company Meta can have problems. Make sure whether the issue is with you or with them. The best way to do this is to ask a friend if their WhatsApp is working properly.
I know that “asking a friend” might not be what you expect to read on a tech blog, but it will stop you from worrying about what’s out of your control and will likely be solved soon.
Reset Network Settings. Most Android phones follow a similar method to reset network settings. But, if these instructions don’t work for you, feel free to Google how to do it on your phone.
Here are the common steps: Settings > System > Advanced > Reset Options > Reset Network Settings.
Force Restart. Hold the power button down for like 20 seconds.
Update Google Play Services. Open the Google Play Store. Type “Google Play Services” and click it. If you see the option of Update, then click “Update”.
