WhatsApp failing to backup to iCloud can stop you from upgrading to a new iPhone. After all, you won’t want to leave behind those precious messages when upgrading to a new iPhone model.
1. Check iCloud Storage
WhatsApp has struck a deal with Google to exclude WhatsApp chat backups from the Google Drive default storage. Meaning, your 5GB-6GB WhatsApp chat backup won’t get counted against Google Drive base storage. The company has no such arrangement with Apple. Every MB of your WhatsApp data will be counted in the iCloud Storage. The iCloud storage comes with only 5GB storage, to begin with. If you don’t have enough iCloud storage, you may need to go ahead and subscribe to one of the iCloud+ plans. Apart from extra storage space, you also get privacy goodies such as Hide my email and Private Relay. If you want to check how much data WhatsApp will need to complete the backup process, follow the steps below. Step 1: Open WhatsApp on iPhone. Step 2: Go to Settings and open the Chats menu. Step 3: Select Chat Backup. Step 4: Check the total WhatsApp backup size from the following menu. Open iPhone Settings and go to the profile menu. Make sure you have enough iCloud space to backup WhatsApp data to the cloud.
2. Enable WhatsApp in iCloud Backup
This is ideal for restoring the entire iPhone data backup using iCloud. You need to enable WhatsApp for iCloud so that the service backs up the IM app along with other app data. Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone. Step 2: Go to the profile menu and select iCloud. Step 3: Scroll down and enable WhatsApp toggle for iCloud.
3. Keep WhatsApp Open During Backup Process
Although the app background process has improved with the latest iPhones, you still face occasional errors when the app is not actively running. You can manually backup WhatsApp data to iCloud and keep the app open the entire time to make sure glitch-free process. Step 1: Open WhatsApp on iPhone and go to Settings. Step 2: Select Chat and open the Chat backup menu. Step 3: Tap on the Back Up Now option and keep the app open during the backup process. If you go back home and lock your iPhone, the process might get stopped in the background. Make sure you have a high-speed internet connection, as it might take a while before completing the backup process.
4. Disable Videos from iCloud Backup
If you tend to receive many videos on WhatsApp, the overall backup size might go up significantly. If the videos aren’t important to you, you can exclude videos from the iCloud backup and try again. Step 1: Go to WhatsApp Settings and open the Chat menu. Step 2: Select Chat backup and disable Include Videos toggle. In our case, the backup size was around 4.15 GB without videos. When enabled videos, the size got increased to 6.5 GB.
5. Check iCloud Status
iCloud isn’t the industry standard when it comes to reliability. If the iCloud servers are having an off day, WhatsApp won’t be able to backup chat data to the cloud service. You can visit the Apple System Status page and make sure the iCloud Backup service has a green indicator. Visit Apple System Status
6. Backup Using iTunes
If you don’t want to pay for iCloud plans, iTunes can be the ideal choice. You won’t be able to selectively backup WhatsApp data only. You have to perform the iPhone backup and store it on a PC. If you have trouble keeping your iPhone connected to the PC, read our dedicated troubleshooting guide to fix the issue.
Save WhatsApp Data to iCloud
There are a lot of third-party software solutions on the web promising to backup/transfer WhatsApp chat in a single click. Before you go with the paid apps, try the tricks above and backup WhatsApp to iCloud on iPhone. Which troubleshooting method worked for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
