How to Recover Deleted WhatsApp Messages on Xiaomi Smartphones: All Working Methods

Deleted an important WhatsApp message on a Xiaomi, Redmi or POCO smartphone — and now you don't know how to get it back? — The situation is familiar to many: accidentally tapping, resetting, or even a virus could erase your correspondence history. Fortunately, Android device owners have several ways to recover lost data, from standard backups to little-known tricks with the file system.

In this article, we will discuss 5 proven methods that work on all Xiaomi models (including Redmi Note 12, POCO X5, Mi 11, etc.), regardless of the version of MIUI. Importantly, the effectiveness of each method depends on whether autosave was enabled, how long it took after deleting and whether the phone was reset to factory settings.

1. Recovery via Google Drive (official method)

If your Xiaomi has a Google account attached and WhatsApp has backup enabled, the chances of returning messages are as high as possible. The messenger automatically saves chat history to the cloud once a day (or on schedule).

• 📱 Condition: backup must be created before the messages are deleted. If you deleted the chat after the last backup, the data in the cloud is already missing.
• ⏳ Retention period: copies are kept for up to 1 year (unless you change the settings) Old versions are rewritten with new ones.
• 🔄 Limitation: when restored, all current messages in the app will be replaced by data from the backup.

To restore the correspondence:

1. Remove WhatsApp from your smartphone (via Settings → Apps → WhatsApp → Delete).
2. Reinstall the messenger from Google Play.
3. When you first start, enter the same phone number that was used earlier.
4. When the system prompts you to restore a history from Google Drive, click Restore.
5. Wait until the process is complete (it can take up to 30 minutes depending on the amount of data).

⚠️ Note: If you have already created a new backup after deleting messages (for example, when reinstalling WhatsApp), the old version will be lost. → chat → Backup copy.

Make sure there is enough space on the phone (at least 2GB free)

Connect to stable Wi-Fi (recovery eats up a lot of traffic)

Use the same Google account as when creating a backup

The battery charge must be at least 50%-->

2. Local recovery from the WhatsApp folder (no cloud)

Even if the backups in Google Drive are disabled, WhatsApp automatically saves local backups in the phone’s memory.These files are stored in the /sdcard/WhatsApp/Databases folder and updated every night at 2:00 (if the app wasn’t working at that time).

First, check for backups:

1. Connect your smartphone to your PC or use a file manager (such as Mi File Manager).
2. Go to the path of internal memory → WhatsApp → Databases.
3. Look for files such as msgstore.db.crypt14 (up-to-date) or msgstore-YYYY-MM-DD.1.db.crypt14 (old copies).

If you have files, do the recovery:

1. Rename the current file msgstore.db.crypt14 to msgstore.db.crypt14.bak (in case of an error).
2. Select the desired backup (by date) and rename it to msgstore.db.crypt14.
3. Remove and reinstall WhatsApp, as in the method with Google Drive.
4. When requesting a recovery, select Restore from a local copy.

⚠️ Warning: If you cleared the cache or formatted internal memory through Settings → Memory, local backups could have been deleted, and then it won't work.

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Before reinstalling WhatsApp, turn off the automatic update of the app in Google Play to avoid version conflicts.

3. Use of third-party utilities (for experienced users)

If standard methods didn't work, you can try specialized data recovery software that scans the phone's memory at the file system level and sometimes finds deleted messages even without backups.

• 🛠️ Dr.Fone (Wondershare) - supports Xiaomi and restores not only WhatsApp, but also other messengers.
• 🔍 Tenorshare UltData – works with encrypted backups.crypt14 It allows you to selectively restore chats.
• 📱 EaseUS MobiSaver is a simple interface, but requires root rights for deep scanning.

Instructions for Dr.Fone:

1. Install the program on your PC and connect Xiaomi over USB (enable Debugging over USB in Settings → About Phone → MIUI Version (click 7 times) → Additional → For Developers).
2. Select the Data Recovery mode of WhatsApp.
3. Follow the instructions of the memory scanner.
4. After analyzing, select the desired messages and export them in.html or.txt format.

Note that these programs often require root access, which can take away Xiaomi’s warranty, and there’s no guarantee that deleted messages will be found, depending on whether they’ve been overwritten by new data.

4. Recovery through MIUI Backup (system backup)

MIUI’s proprietary firmware has a built-in backup feature that can store app data, including WhatsApp. If you’ve ever created a backup through Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset → Local Backup, try recovering from it:

Steps to recover:

1. Go to Settings → Additional → Backup and Reset.
2. Select Restore from backup.
3. Find the backup created before deleting messages (orientate by date) in the list.
4. Check WhatsApp and start the process.
5. After recovery, restart the phone.

This method has limitations:

• ❌ Bekap MIUI Not always retain the full chat history – sometimes only the app settings are restored.
• ⏱️ The process can take up to an hour (depending on the amount of data).
• 🔒 If the backup is encrypted, you will need a password set when it was created.

⚠️ Attention: Restore the system backup MIUI If you add new chats or media files to WhatsApp after you create a copy, they will be lost.

Once a week.

Once a month

Only before resetting the settings

Never do.-->

5. Manual extraction of messages from database files (for technical users)

This method is suitable for those who are ready to work with SQLite databases and have experience with ADB or Termux. WhatsApp files store messages in an encrypted database, but it can be decrypted and read manually.

You'll need:

• 🖥️ Computer with Python 3 installed and pycryptodome library.
• 📁 File. msgstore.db.crypt14 (phone-copy).
• 🔑 Encryption key (can be extracted from root-access phone memory).

Step-by-step:

1. Download WhatsApp Key Database Extractor.
2. Connect Xiaomi to your PC and copy the file msgstore.db.crypt14.
3. Run the script in the terminal: python whatsapp_decrypt.py -k your key -f msgstore.db.crypt14 -o msgstore.db
4. Open the resulting msgstore.db file via DB Browser for SQLite.
5. Go to the message table – all messages are stored there.

The encryption key is unique to each phone and changes when you reinstall WhatsApp, and if you haven't saved it in advance, you can only extract the key from the rooted device via ADB:

adb pull /data/data/com.whatsapp/files/key

💡

This method is the only way to read messages if all backups are lost but the database files are still in the phone's memory, but it does require technical skills and does not guarantee 100% results.

6. Calling for WhatsApp: When Nothing Helps

If all of these methods fail, the last chance is to contact WhatsApp support, and unfortunately, the company’s official policy is that they do not restore deleted messages to users, but in exceptional cases (for example, a server failure or an error in the application), support can help.

How to make a request:

1. Open WhatsApp and go to the ⋮ → Settings → Reference → Contact us.
2. Describe the situation: Enter the date of deletion of messages, phone model (Xiaomi), MIUI version and WhatsApp.
3. Attach screenshots (if any) with errors or backup confirmation.
4. Send a request and wait for a response (usually within 2-5 days).

What not to write in support:

• ❌ Requesting to recover messages at any cost is technically impossible without backups.
• ❌ Threats or emotional messages (this will slow down the processing of the request).
• ❌ False information about the phone model or app version.

In most cases, support will reject, but sometimes it can provide server logs that help you understand why the recovery failed, a method that should only be used if the messages are critical (for example, related to work or legal issues).

FAQ: Frequent questions about WhatsApp messaging recovery on Xiaomi