Where WhatsApp messages are copied on Xiaomi phone: a full guide to local and cloud backups

Have you ever wondered what happens to your WhatsApp messages when you reinstall an app or buy a new Xiaomi smartphone? Where do years of chatting, photos, and documents go? It turns out that the messenger automatically backs up — but not everyone knows where exactly that data is stored on devices with MIUI firmware.

In this article, we’ll take a look at all the possible WhatsApp storage locations on Xiaomi smartphones (including Redmi, POCO, and Black Shark models): from local databases in your phone’s memory to cloud copies in Google Drive. You’ll learn how to find these files, how to manage them, and what to do if copies disappear after a MIUI update or reset. And we’ll reveal a little-known microSD card backup trick that works even on newer versions of Android 14.

1. Local WhatsApp backups: where and how they are created on Xiaomi

By default, WhatsApp creates a local copy of your chats and media files every day at 2:00 a.m. This data is stored directly in your phone’s memory — and can be used to recover correspondence without an Internet connection. On Xiaomi smartphones, the path to the backup folder depends on the version of Android and the availability of a memory card.

Main storage sites:

• 📁 Internal memory: /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases — Here are files with extensions.crypt14 (for new versions; or.crypt12 (The file name looks like msgstore.db.crypt14.
• 📁 MicroSD Memory Card: If You Moved WhatsApp to Your Home SD-map through the application settings, the path will be similar: /storage/XXXX-XXXX/WhatsApp/Databases (where XXXX-XXXX — unique identifier).
• 🔍 Hidden folder: on some firmware MIUI (WhatsApp folder can be hidden, and to see it, turn on the display of hidden files in any file manager (for example, in the standard Files from Xiaomi).

Important: Local copies are not password protected (unless you have enabled encryption) MIUI This means that anyone who gets access to your phone or SD-The card will be able to copy these files and restore your correspondence to another device, and we recommend that you regularly clean old copies if you do not plan to use them.

2. Cloud backups in Google Drive: features on Xiaomi

Besides local copies, WhatsApp can save your messages to Google Drive – but there are a few nuances related to MIUI firmware:

1. Google Account Link: A copy is created only if you log in to Google Drive on your phone. On Xiaomi with China ROM, Google services are disabled by default — you need to install them manually through Settings → Additional → Google.
2. A free Google account only gives you 15 GB of space, which is about 2-3 full copies of WhatsApp with media files. Xiaomi with MIUI 14+ can set up copying only text (without photos and videos) to save space.
3. Automatic update: By default, a copy is created once a day, but only when connected to Wi-Fi. On some Xiaomi models (for example, Redmi Note 12 Pro).+) This rule can be changed in WhatsApp settings: ⋮ → Settings → chat → Backup.

⚠️ Warning: If you reset your Xiaomi phone to factory settings and don't restore your Google account with the same login to which the copy was attached, access to the WhatsApp backup in Google Drive will be lost.This is a common mistake by users who forget to link an old account after resetting.

3. How to find and manage backups on Xiaomi: step-by-step instructions

To view or remove old copies of WhatsApp on Xiaomi, follow this instruction:

Open a file manager (e.g., Xiaomi Files)

Go to the "Inner Memory" section or "SD-map"

Find the WhatsApp folder (if not, turn on the hidden files)

Open Databases Subfolder for Copies of Chats or Media for Photo/Video

Delete unnecessary files (e.g. old msgstore.db.crypt14)

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If you want to transfer copies to your computer for safe storage:

1. Connect Xiaomi to your PC via USB-cable (select File Transfer Mode in the Notification Curtain).
2. Open the WhatsApp/Databases folder on your phone and copy files with the.crypt* extension to your hard drive.
3. For additional security, archive the folder with a password (you can use 7-Zip or WinRAR).

⚠️ Note: Don’t rename your backup files! WhatsApp only recognizes them by their original name (e.g., by name, msgstore.db.crypt14). If you change the extension or add characters to the beginning of the name, the application will not be able to recover data.

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On smartphones Xiaomi with MIUI 14+ You can enable automatic cleaning of old local copies of WhatsApp. → Memory. → Cleanup → Settings → Autoclean and add a folder WhatsApp/Databases Exceptions, and then set up to delete files older 30 days.

4.Where do messages go when you reinstall WhatsApp on Xiaomi

Many Xiaomi users are facing a problem: once WhatsApp is deleted and re-installed, the correspondence is not restored, although local copies are available.

• 🔄 Phone number mismatches: If you install WhatsApp on a new number, the app won't offer to restore old chats, it will create a new database.
• 📱 Reset settings without backup. Factory reset (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting Settings: All local WhatsApp files are deleted if a copy has not been created in Google Drive.
• 🔐 Encryption MIUI. Some models (such as Xiaomi 13 Ultra) have enabled hardware encryption of the WhatsApp folder.
• ⏳ If a local copy is older than 7 days, WhatsApp can ignore it and create a new database.

To avoid data loss:

1. Before deleting WhatsApp, check the date of the last local copy in the Databases folder.
2. If the copy is fresh (created less than a week ago), just reinstall the app and follow the recovery tips.
3. If the copy is old, copy the file msgstore.db.crypt14 to your PC, then rename it to msgstore.db.crypt14.current and return it back to the Databases folder.

5 How to Transfer WhatsApp Messages from One Xiaomi to Another

If you bought a new Xiaomi smartphone (for example, Xiaomi 14 instead of Redmi Note 11), transfer WhatsApp correspondence can be done in several ways:

Method 1: Local copy (without the Internet)

1. On an old phone, copy the WhatsApp folder (including Databases and Media) to a memory card or PC.
2. Insert the memory card into the new Xiaomi or copy the folder to internal memory.
3. Install WhatsApp on your new phone and log in with the same number.
4. The application will automatically find a local copy and offer to restore the data.

Method 2: Google Drive (Internet required)

1. On an old phone, create a fresh copy in Google Drive: WhatsApp Settings → Chat → Backup → Create a copy.
2. On the new Xiaomi, log in to the same Google account.
3. Install WhatsApp and follow the instructions for recovering from the cloud.

⚠️ Note: When transferring via Google Drive, make sure that the new phone has enough free space – media recovery can take up to 10-15 GB. On Xiaomi with a small amount of memory (for example, Redmi). 10C 64GB) is better to use local transfer.

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On Xiaomi smartphones with MIUI 13+, you can speed up the transfer of WhatsApp via App Cloning (Settings → Apps → App Cloning), which allows you to temporarily run two copies of WhatsApp on the same phone and manually transfer media files between them.

6. Frequent backup issues on Xiaomi and their solutions

Xiaomi users often encounter errors when working with WhatsApp backups, and here are the most common ones and ways to fix them:

If none of these methods worked, try using third-party utilities to extract data from backups, such as:

• 🛠️ WhatsApp Viewer (to view.crypt* files on PC).
• 🛠️ Dr.Fone – WhatsApp Transfer (for transfer between devices).
• 🛠️ iMazing (to create full backups) iOS/Android).

⚠️ Note: Using third-party software may violate the privacy of your data. Before using it, check the reviews of the program and download it only from official sites. MIUI Some utilities may require you to disable Privacy Protection in Settings → Additionally. → Confidentiality.

7. How to protect WhatsApp backups on Xiaomi from outsiders

Because local copies of WhatsApp are stored in the open, they can be easily copied or stolen to protect your data:

1. Encrypt the WhatsApp folder. On MIUI 12+, you can do this through Settings → Privacy → File Encryption. Select the WhatsApp folder and set a password.
2. Use two-factor authentication. In WhatsApp settings, enable Two-step verification (Settings) → Account. → Two-step checks) and install PIN-code.
3. Limit access to the file manager. In Settings → Applications → Files → Permissions, disable access for unreliable applications.
4. Clean old copies regularly. Store only the latest local copy and delete the rest through Settings → Memory → Cleanup.

If you sell or transfer your Xiaomi to another person, you must:

• 🔄 Delete all local copies of WhatsApp (Databases and Media folders).
• 🔐 Sign out of your Google account to prevent the new owner from accessing your cloud copies.
• 📱 Perform reset to factory settings (Settings) → The phone. → Resetting settings).

FAQ: Answers to Frequent Questions About WhatsApp Backups on Xiaomi