Whatsapp deleted all my chat and call history without any notice

[ddblum]

Hi​

WhatsApp deleted my multiple years long history on my android phone last week. It says a problem occurred and then tried to restore. My phone is always running out of space but I did not trigger any delete or clearing action. The automatic restore took some time getting several times to 100% but once it was done, everything was cleared (chat and call history). It was doing automatic back-up every night. I checked the google drive and there is a back-up there from last night. This happened a few days ago and I am afraid the on-going back-up replaced my original back-up already making it impossible for me to retrieve my data. The only way that I see would be to get the back-up file that is stored somewhere on my phone. If my phone was cleared of that file, I am sure I would get a lot of storage but my phone is still almost out of space so I guess the file is still there somewhere. Can you please help me?​

 

[Golfdriver97]

I'd try deleting data in WhatsApp. If the restore already nuked your messages, what is there to lose by trying?

 

[ddblum]

What do you mean by try deleting data in whatsapp?

 

[Golfdriver97]

What do you mean by try deleting data in whatsapp?

Go to Settings>Apps>WhatsApp>Storage & Cache>Clear Storage. This will delete all data associated with the app. Then try restoring your backup.

 

[ddblum]

Ok. Will do. But how can I get locate the actual file on my phone that has the original back up? It should be somewhere and it should be an heavy file.

I read somewhere that you can do that through a computer. Is there a software you recommend to do that?

 

[Golfdriver97]

You said the file was on Drive. Resetting the phone shouldn't touch that. As for software, I have no idea.

 

[ddblum]

Yes the file is on Drive but I believe that this is the new back up. So if it was done last night, me restoring this file, will bring to the same situation. That's why I was thinking of looking for the right file on the phone. Do you think that this is possible?

 

[Golfdriver97]

You could maybe see if there is a version history of the file: https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2409045?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Desktop

Other than that I don't know where to look on the device.