WhatsApp offers a nifty integration with Google Drive which allows storing your Chat backups without taking up storage space. You can set automatic backup intervals and never worry about losing your chat history. However, some users report that WhatsApp is not backing up to Google Drive. If you are among them, check the solutions we listed below.
Table of contents:
- Check WhatsApp settings
- Delete chat backups from the Drive and try again
- Clear cache and data from WhatsApp
- Remove access and add it again
- Reinstall WhatsApp
- Roll back to an older version of WhatsApp
How to give WhatsApp permission to backup to Google Drive?
If you can’t create a WhatsApp backup to Google Drive, try these solutions:
- Check in-app settings. Make sure to use the Google Account you are logged into on your phone.
- Check the network. Make sure that WhatsApp can use Mobile data in Settings > Apps > WhatsApp > Mobile data if you use cellular data (mobile data) to back up WhatsApp messages to Google Drive.
- Delete chat backups and back up your chat again.
- Reset WhatsApp by clearing local data.
- Reinstall WhatsApp or roll back to an older version of WhatsApp.
- Check the official support page for more insight.
1. Check WhatsApp settings
The first thing to do is to ensure that Google Drive has the necessary permission to create a backup on Google Drive. Also, there seems to be a glitch with the app, as it “forgets” the Google Account associated with the Drive.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Open WhatsApp.
- Tap on the 3-dot menu and open Settings.
- Choose Chats.
- Select Chat backup.
- Tap on the Google Account option (Gmail address) and choose your account if it’s not already there. If the account is there, just tap on it to authorize access to Google Drive.
- Tap Backup.
2. Delete chat backups from the Drive and try again
The next thing you can try is deleting the chat backup from the drive and creating a brand-new one. Here’s what you need to do:
- Open Google Drive on your device.
- Tap on the hamburger menu and select Backups.
- Delete WhatsApp backup and close the app.
- Open WhatsApp and try to create a new backup.
3. Clear cache and data from WhatsApp
Alternatively, you can reset the app by clearing the locally-stored cache and data. Chances are that some data that WhatsApp caches is corrupt and thus the app is not functioning as intended.
Follow these steps to clear cache and data from WhatsApp:
- Open Settings.
- Choose Apps & notifications.
- Select WhatsApp from the bottom of the list.
- Select Storage.
- Clear cache and data.
- Restart your device and sign into WhatsApp again.
If WhatsApp is still not backing up to Google Drive, remove WhatsApp access and try again.
4. Remove access and add it again
Moving on. If the previous steps failed to address the problem, you can try to revoke access granted to WhatsApp from your Google Account settings. Once you remove the access, grant it again within the app settings.
Follow these instructions to revoke WhatsApp access to Google Drive:
- Navigate to your Google Account settings.
- Sign in if necessary and open Security from the left pane.
- Scroll down and, under Third-party apps with account access, open Manage third-party access.
- Revoke access to Google Drive for WhatsApp.
- Now, open WhatsApp on your device and navigate to Settings > Chats > Chat backup, and tap on the Google Account. Grant permission to WhatsApp so it can access Google Drive.
- Try to back up again.
5. Reinstall WhatsApp
Alternatively, you can also try fixing the issue by reinstalling the app from the Play Store. Chances are that there’s something wrong, and issues are especially prominent if you upgraded to a newer Android version.
Follow these steps to reinstall WhatsApp:
- Open Play Store.
- Find WhatsApp and uninstall the app. You may also consider leaving the Beta program as there’s a chance that the current Beta has a bug. Stick with the stable version.
- Restart your device and install WhatsApp again.
- Check if the Drive backup is still not working.
6. Roll back to an older version of WhatsApp
Now, if the latest stable version provided on the Store is not working for you, you can switch to an older one (or newer one) with the APK installation. Just make sure to stick to APK-aggregate websites that are trustworthy.
Follow these steps to install an older WhatsApp APK on your device:
- Navigate to APKMirror and download an older APK version of WhatsApp. Alternatively, you can try any other version except the one currently installed on your device. Beta versions are also an option but we suggest avoiding them due to stability issues.
- Uninstall the app as explained in solution 5.
- Allow app installation from external sources.
- Install APK, sign in, and look for improvements.
With that in mind, we can call it a wrap. Thank you for reading and don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more articles like this.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in December 2020. We made sure to revamp it for freshness and accuracy.
