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Logged out of WhatsApp and your chats are gone? How to get them back

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If WhatsApp logged you out, you get back in by verifying your number again with the 6-digit code WhatsApp sends by SMS or phone call. Your old chats come back only if you have a backup (Google Account or WhatsApp cloud storage on Android, iCloud on iPhone) or your old phone to transfer from. WhatsApp doesn't keep your messages on its servers, so support can't restore them for you.

The most important thing, if your chat list is empty right now: don't make a new backup yet. Each new backup replaces the old one, and the old one is the copy that still has your chats.

This week we saw a run of posts on X from people saying they'd been logged out for days, or that they logged back in and found every chat missing. Here is what WhatsApp's own help pages say to do, step by step.

Why WhatsApp logs you out

A WhatsApp account can be registered to one phone at a time. When the number is verified on another phone, the first phone is logged out and shows a message saying the number is no longer registered on this phone. That happens when:

  • you set WhatsApp up on a new or second phone yourself;
  • someone else got your 6-digit code (often by asking you to "send the code I sent you by mistake") and registered your number;
  • your phone number moved to a new SIM and you didn't use WhatsApp's change number feature.

There have also been past cases, reported by WABetaInfo and covered by Lifehacker, of Android users being logged out by a bug with no one else involved. You can't tell which one hit you from the message alone, so treat it as a possible takeover until you're back in.

Step 1: Log back in

WhatsApp's account recovery page lists these steps:

  1. Open WhatsApp and tap Log back in > Continue.
  2. If asked, enter your full international phone number and tap Next > OK.
  3. Enter the 6-digit code you get by SMS or phone call.

Entering that code logs out every other device on your account, including anyone who took it over. If WhatsApp then asks for a two-step verification PIN you never set, someone else probably set it. Without the PIN, WhatsApp says you have to wait 7 days and try again.

You need the SIM with the same phone number. WhatsApp says it isn't possible to recover an account without it.

If the code never arrives

From WhatsApp's Can't register phone number page:

  • Enter the number in full international format, with the country code and without a leading 0.
  • Wait for the timer to run out. It can take up to 10 minutes. Then pick Call me to hear the code instead.
  • Don't guess. Wrong guesses lock you out for a while.
  • Check that the SIM gets texts at all by sending it an SMS from another phone.
  • Restart the phone, update WhatsApp, or turn on Wi-Fi Calling if your signal is weak.

If you added an email address to your account earlier, WhatsApp can also send the login code there, but only for an existing account.

Step 2: Check for a backup before you do anything else

If you logged back in and your chats are missing, first find out whether a backup exists.

Android. Go to WhatsApp Settings > Chats > Chat Backup. If there's a backup, you'll see the time and size of the last one. WhatsApp's Android restore page warns against creating a new backup, deleting the existing one, or factory resetting the phone while you're trying to get chats back. Your Google Account stores only one WhatsApp backup per phone number.

iPhone. Go to Settings > Chats > Chat Backup in WhatsApp and look for the date and size of the last iCloud backup.

If the last backup is from before the logout, you're in good shape. Anything sent or received after that backup is lost.

Step 3: Restore from the backup

Android:

  1. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
  2. Verify the same phone number.
  3. Tap Restore when asked. Do not tap Skip. If you skip and another backup runs, it overwrites the old one with only the chats received since then.

WhatsApp restores your messages first, then photos and videos in the background. Keep the phone on Wi-Fi and plugged in until it finishes. WhatsApp only starts backing up again after the restore is done.

iPhone:

  1. Uninstall and reinstall WhatsApp.
  2. Verify your phone number and Apple ID.
  3. Tap Restore Chat History.

On both, the phone number you restore with has to match the one you backed up with, and the phone needs more free space than the backup takes up. Videos only come back if Include videos was on before the last backup. WhatsApp's Android page also says a backup more than 120 days old may not restore at all.

No backup? Two other ways

  • Your old phone still works. WhatsApp lets you transfer chat history directly from the old phone to the new one, no cloud backup needed. The changing phones page covers both the account transfer and chat transfer options.
  • You changed numbers. If you registered a new number on a new phone without first using change number on the old phone, WhatsApp says the chat history is lost. If the old phone and old SIM are still around, do the change number step there first.

If neither applies, the chats are gone. WhatsApp states plainly that it can't restore, transfer or delete chats, contacts or media for you.

Lock it down after you're back in

  • Turn on two-step verification and set a PIN you'll remember. If you add an email address, you can also get your login code there later.
  • Open Linked devices and log out any computer or browser you don't recognize. Our post on checking your linked devices walks through it.
  • Never send your 6-digit code to anyone, including friends and people claiming to be WhatsApp support. See what to do with codes you didn't ask for.
  • Make sure backups run on a schedule. If yours stopped, our post on fixing WhatsApp backup on Android goes through the usual causes.

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