Restoring WhatsApp chats from iOS 26 backup to iOS 18.5

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Level 1

4 points

Restoring WhatsApp chats from iOS 26 backup to iOS 18.5

I need some help please.

I upgraded to iOS26. For various reasons I can't use it, some of the things I need to work don't. SO I rolled back to iOS18.5. Once there I realised my WhatsApp chats are not being back up. The last time they were backed up was 2014.

So I went back to iOS 26 from an iCloud back up and restored WhatsApp. I then turned the chat back up on so it is now being backed up.

I rolled back to iOS 18.5 thinking I would be able to restore WhatsApp from the backup I just created but it still only sees the 2014 backup.

So in summary. I want iOS 18.5 but need the WhatsApp they have in my iOS26 backup. How can I get them?

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Whatsapp iCloud restore

Posted on Jul 18, 2025 03:06 AM

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Answer 1

Niel

Community+ 2025

Level 10

739,619 points

Jul 18, 2025 05:24 AM in response to Jon_J

Upgrade to 26, back up to a computer(not iCloud), make a copy of the backup file, rename that to end with .zip, open that normally, and access the files from there.

(260813)

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Answer 2

Jon_J Author

Level 1

4 points

Jul 19, 2025 01:11 AM in response to Niel

Thanks for the response. Will I be able to restore Whats app fully when i reinstall iOS 18.5 from the computer based back up?

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Answer 3

Niel

Community+ 2025

Level 10

739,619 points

Jul 19, 2025 05:50 AM in response to Jon_J

You'd need to reload the files into WhatsApp manually(if it offers an option to do that) or wait until Apple releases a version of 26 you won't downgrade from.

(260821)

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