Top 6 Ways to Fix WhatsApp Not Backing Up to iCloud
WhatsApp does not store a chat backup on their servers. WhatsApp uses iCloud on iPhone and Google Drive on Android to store your backup chat data. The entire backup process can take a long time and sometimes fail. Here is how you can fix WhatsApp not backing up to iCloud.
Failed to backup WhatsApp to iCloud may prevent you from upgrading to new iPhone. After all, you won’t want to leave those precious messages behind when you upgrade to a new iPhone model.
1. Check iCloud storage
WhatsApp has entered into an agreement with Google to exclude WhatsApp chat backups from Google Drive’s default storage. This means that your 5GB-6GB WhatsApp chat backup will not count towards basic Google Drive storage.
The company has no such agreement with Apple. Every MB of your WhatsApp data will be counted in iCloud storage.
ICloud storage comes with just 5GB of storage, to start with. If you don’t have enough iCloud storage, you might need to subscribe to one of the iCloud + plans.
Along with additional storage space, you also get privacy bonuses like 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.
2nd step: Go to Settings and open the Chats menu.
Step 3: Select Conversation backup.
Step 4: Check the total size of WhatsApp backup in the following menu.
Open iPhone settings and go to profile menu. Make sure you have enough iCloud space to backup WhatsApp data to cloud.
2. Activate WhatsApp in iCloud backup
This is ideal for restoring entire iPhone data backup using iCloud. You need to enable WhatsApp for iCloud so that the service backs up the instant messaging app along with other app data.
Step 1: Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
2nd step: Go to the profile menu and select iCloud.
Step 3: Scroll down and turn on WhatsApp for iCloud failover.
3. Keep WhatsApp open during the backup process
Although the background process of the app has improved with the latest iPhones, you still experience occasional errors when the app is not actively running.
You can manually backup WhatsApp data to iCloud and keep the app open all the time to ensure a smooth process.
Step 1: Open WhatsApp on iPhone and go to Settings.
2nd step: Select Chat and open the Chat backup menu.
Step 3: Tap on Back up now option and keep the app open during the backup process.
If you go home and lock your iPhone, the process may stop in the background.
Make sure you have a high speed internet connection, as it may take some time before you complete the backup process.
Also on Guiding Tech
4. Disable videos from iCloud backup
If you tend to receive a lot of videos on WhatsApp, the overall size of the backup may increase dramatically. If the videos are not important to you, you can exclude videos from iCloud backup and try again.
Step 1: Go to WhatsApp settings and open the Chat menu.
2nd step: Select Chat Backup and turn off the Include Videos toggle.
In our case, the size of the backup was around 4.15 GB without the videos. When videos are enabled, the size is increased to 6.5 GB.
5. Check the status of iCloud
iCloud is not the industry standard for reliability. If iCloud servers have a day off, WhatsApp will not be able to back up chat data to cloud service.
You can visit the Apple System Status page and make sure the iCloud Backup Service has a green indicator.
6. Backup using iTunes
If you don’t want to pay for iCloud plans, iTunes may be the perfect choice. You will not be able to selectively backup WhatsApp data only. You need to take iPhone backup and store it on PC.
If you are having trouble keeping your iPhone connected to the PC, read our dedicated troubleshooting guide to resolve the issue.
Save WhatsApp data to iCloud
There are many third party software solutions on the web promising to backup / transfer WhatsApp chat with just one click. Before using the paid apps, try the tips above and backup WhatsApp to iCloud on iPhone. Which method of troubleshooting worked for you? Share your opinion in the comments below.
Last updated on January 6, 2022
The above article may contain affiliate links that help support Guiding Tech. However, this does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains impartial and authentic.
(function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id))return;js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=”http://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.5&appId=1652915528311925″;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}(document,’script’,’facebook-jssdk’));