The loss of important correspondence on WhatsApp on a smartphone Honor 9A always becomes an unpleasant surprise, especially if it contains work or personal information. Chat deletion can happen accidentally, as a result of a system crash, or when reinstalling the application. Fortunately, the architecture of the messenger provides several levels of data protection, which significantly increases the chances of success.
The recovery process directly depends on whether the function has been previously configured. backup. If you used the standard settings Huawei i Google, you can return the data in just a couple of clicks. However, even in the absence of cloud backups, there are methods for working with local system files.
Before taking active steps, you need to clearly understand the current state of your device and account. It is critical not to install new applications or create new chats until recoveryas this can overwrite old data in the phone’s memory. Further steps will require care and consistent follow-up of instructions.
Checking for a backup in Google Drive
The most reliable and easiest way to return lost messages is to use cloud storage Google Drive. By default, WhatsApp messenger offers to create automatic copies once a day, week or month. For owners Honor 9A with Google services installed, this method is a priority.
To verify the existence of a saved version of the history, open the application Google Drive on your smartphone. You will need to log in to the same Gmail account that you used in the messenger earlier. The storage menu often displays a “Backups” section, where you can see the date of the last save.
If you cannot find the file through the app interface, try checking for a copy directly when reinstalling WhatsApp. After entering the phone number, the system itself will offer to restore data from the cloud, if it is present there. The absence of an offer means that either a copy was not created, or it is tied to another account.
⚠️ Attention: The cloud recovery process requires a stable Wi-Fi connection. mobile data may be unstable or charged by the operator, since the data volume can reach several gigabytes.
The procedure for restoring from a cloud backup
If the availability of a backup is confirmed, the main stage of work begins. To start the recovery process on Honor 9A you need to completely uninstall the current WhatsApp application. This is a mandatory condition, since the function of returning data from the cloud is activated only during the initial installation.
After uninstallation, download the current version of the messenger from the official store Google Play or AppGallery. Launch the application and enter the same phone number to which the copy was created. The confirmation code will be sent via SMS or will be received automatically.
At the setup stage, the system will detect the file in Google Drive and will ask if you want to restore it. Click the "Restore" button and wait until the download completes. The speed of the process depends on the size of the archive and the speed of your Internet connection.
☑️ Checklist before recovery
It is important not to interrupt the process and do not turn off the smartphone screen Honor 9A until a message about successful completion appears. After this, your chats will appear in the list, and media files will begin to load in the background.
Using local backup files
In cases where the cloud backup is missing or damaged, local copies come to the rescue. The Android operating system, including the EMUI na shell, automatically creates backup files in the device's internal memory. These files are stored in hidden or system folders. Honor 9A, automatically creates backup files in the device's internal memory. These files are stored in hidden or system folders.
To access them you will need a file manager. The standard “Files” tool or a third-party one File Manager will allow you to Navigate to the desired directory. The path usually looks like Internal Storage/WhatsApp/Databases or Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases depending on the version of Android.
In this folder you will find files with names like msgstore-2023-10-25.1.db.crypt14. The numbers in the name indicate the date of creation, and the extension crypt indicates the encryption version. You need to select the file with the most recent date preceding the deletion of the correspondence.
| File name | Data type | Location | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| msgstore.db.crypt14 | Current database | Databases | Rename/Delete |
| msgstore-DATE.db.crypt14 | Archive database | Databases | Rename |
| wa.db | Account settings | Databases | Do not touch |
| settings.db | Application options | Databases | Do not touch |
To use an archive file, rename it, removing the date from the name, so that it becomes msgstore.db.crypt14. If such a file already exists, rename it (for example, append _old) to avoid a conflict. After renaming, reinstall WhatsApp and choose to restore from a local copy.
What to do if the file is not found?
If the Databases folder is empty, you may have previously cleared the cache or application data through Android settings. In this case, local recovery is impossible without third-party software.
Recovery via Huawei Phone Clone
Smartphone owners Honor have a unique advantage - a built-in application Phone Clone. This tool is designed to transfer data between devices, but it can also be effectively used to restore information from a previously created backup.
If you have an old phone or a previously made full copy of the system on another Honor/Huawei device, you can transfer the WhatsApp folder from there. The application allows you to select specific types of data to migrate, including messages and instant messenger media files.
Run Phone Clone on Honor 9A in “This is a new device” mode. On the second device, select "This is an old device" and scan the QR code. In the list of data to transfer, make sure that the “Messages” option or specifically “WhatsApp” is selected.
⚠️ Attention: The Phone Clone method only works if you have access to another device with an up-to-date copy of the data. You won’t be able to simply restore data from the “Huawei cloud” without first setting up synchronization.
After the transfer is complete, do not rush to open WhatsApp. First, make sure that the files appear in the file system in the standard path. Only after this can you launch the messenger to check the integrity of the correspondence.
When transferring large amounts of data via Phone Clone, use Wi-Fi Direct (created automatically), since the transfer speed will be much higher than through a router.
Solving common errors during recovery
The process of returning data does not always go smoothly. Users Honor 9A may encounter storage access errors or incompatible encryption versions. Often the problem lies in the fact that the backup file is protected by a key different from the current account.
If you see a message about a damaged database, try updating the WhatsApp application to the latest version through the official store. Old versions of the messenger may not support new encryption algorithms crypt14 or crypt15.
Lack of free space is also a common mistake. Unpacking the archive requires an amount of memory equal to approximately twice the size of the backup copy. Clear the cache or delete unnecessary files before starting the procedure.
- 📱 "File not found" error - check the application's access rights to the storage in the Android settings.
- 🔒 Encryption error - make sure you are using the same phone number and Google account as when creating the backup.
- 💾 Lack of space - free up at least 2-3 GB of free memory on your internal drive.
In some cases, clearing the data of the Google Play Services application itself helps. Go to Settings → Applications → Google Play Services → Memory → Clear cache. This can eliminate synchronization conflicts.
Preventing data loss in the future
To never again encounter the problem of losing correspondence on Honor 9A, you need to configure automatic backup. It will take a couple of minutes, but it will save your nerves and data at a critical moment.
Open WhatsApp, go to Settings → Chats → Chat backup. Select the frequency for creating copies (Daily is recommended) and the Google Drive account for storage. You can also enable the copy option via the mobile network if you have an unlimited tariff.
Automatic backup setup is the only guaranteed way to protect against accidental deletion of correspondence in the future.
Additionally recommended periodically manually copy the folder WhatsApp to a computer or external drive. A physical copy of the files msgstore.db will be your last argument in case of any software failures.
Is it possible to restore correspondence if the phone has been reset to factory settings?
If you did a hard reset and did not save a backup copy to Google Drive or an SD card before resetting, then It is almost impossible to recover data. Data encryption on modern Android smartphones makes restoring deleted information without a backup an impossible task.
Where exactly are WhatsApp files stored on Honor 9A?
The path depends on the version of Android. On new versions this is Android/media/com.whatsapp/WhatsApp/Databases. On older EMUI builds, the path may simply be WhatsApp/Databases in the root of the internal memory. Use the search for files with the .crypt extension.
What to do if Google Drive says that the space is full?
WhatsApp backups do not take up space in the Google Drive quota, but creating and restoring them requires free space in the storage itself for temporary files. Free up space in Google Photos or mail, or buy additional space.
Does changing your phone number affect the restoration of correspondence?
Yes, it does critically. The backup copy is linked to the phone number. If you change your number, first use the “Change number” function inside the WhatsApp settings on your old device (if available) to link the history to the new number, and only then make a backup.