An American freeware that gained massive importance within the past few years and emerged out to be one of the most used messaging platforms across the globe is WhatsApp. Since its inception in 2009, this cross-platform messaging service allows users to send messages in text and voice format. And, with the latest improvements, it has also included sharing documents, location, videos, website links, etc.
Being available all over the world, you can communicate without anyone, without any boundaries. Further, you do not need to pay any extra charges to use the features, and based on the latest statistics about 2 billion active users are using WhatsApp to communicate with their friends and family who live in different areas/countries. All you need is a stable Wi-Fi connection to get fast and secure messaging.
Furthermore, you can even use it as a calling application that also supports group video calling. The most interesting fact is that being a multi-platform application it is available for Android as well as iOS users. You can now browse WhatsApp and check your messages on a laptop, computer and tablet. Simply download the application on the requisite device either from the Play Store or Apple Store or from the official website.
WhatsApp has end-to-end encryption that makes it a safer option than any other messaging apps to convey your thoughts and feelings. So, send over a voice message without hesitation or fear of messages getting leaked.
Now, if you are using WhatsApp on a daily basis, then you cannot ignore the fact that accidents are bound to happen. You can unintentionally delete a text/voice message or find the sudden disappearance of a WhatsApp chatbox, out of nowhere.
These incidents are nothing new, they can happen with any user and many have even reported such sudden disappearance of messages or chats or voice/audio files. But, what we need to know is how you can recover them or what are the causes behind such an incident. Thus, you can prevent them in the near future.
Causes of sudden voice message deletion on WhatsApp
On a daily basis a large chunk of data dust accumulated on your WhatsApp application. WhatsApp understands that this data includes messages from your friends, family members and might even involve important official work. Thus, it has provided you with a backup feature that keeps the record of all the incoming and outgoing media, which includes text, voice, photos, audio files, and videos.
Because, nobody likes to experience data loss, as this can be pretty frustrating. Not getting the important audio or voice message when required can be indeed annoying. So, without further ado, let’s get to see why this occurs in the first place.
Error in the settings: If you fail to keep a proper backup or configure the WhatsApp settings, then there are possible chances that you may lose your WhatsApp conversations. Further, there can be a glitch in the OS, that is causing the disappearance of messages.
Minor Accidents: If you must have dropped the phone, it can lead to any hardware damage, thus your current WhatsApp messages are inaccessible. While backing up, your data plan must have been over. Or, the microSD card where all your default backup gets saved might be corrupted, due to a virus or malware attack.
Additional Reasons: If you have taped on the “Delete for Everyone” option, then this can be the prime reason behind the loss of audio messages. Moreover, due to lack of storage, the audio files are not saved. Leading to deletion of MP3 files. Lastly, factory resetting the device can also lead to the removal of all messages including WhatsApp voice messages.
Where do all the audio files get stored?
Every day various types of audio files are interchanged through WhatsApp and each of them varies in their interface. The list includes — MP3, MP4, MOV files, voice recordings, audio recording, MKV, AVI, 3GP, and more. However, they all get stored on the SD card. You can locate these files, by navigating to the File Manager. This is the usual format is — /storage/emulated/0/VoiceRecorder/my_sounds/filename.
Now, if you have any third-party applications to record audio, then they must be saved in any other folder and in a different format.
What is the “Delete for Everyone” Feature?
WhatsApp keeps on updating its features from time to time. And, a few times back it introduced the “Delete for Everyone” feature which is considered to be the most innovative feature to date that WhatsApp could have added to the list.
If you have accidentally sent a message that was not meant for the person or for that group, then this app is there to save you from getting embarrassed. With just a single click you can remove the message before the person even views it. The most interesting fact is that by using this feature you can not only delete text messages but also audio, videos, photos, Gifs, and even documents.
How to Recover Deleted Whatsapp Voice Messages
WhatsApp has provided the users with an incredible feature to save every conversation and that is Backup. You can set the automatic backup option, through which every day a backup copy of all your chats gets saved on your phone’s memory. Furthermore, you can also save a copy of the backup on your Google Drive or iCloud. The basic advantage of implementing this setting is that even if you uninstall WhatsApp you won’t lose your messages.
How to Backup chats on WhatsApp?
For chat backups, you need to go to your WhatsApp application, tap on the three vertical dots present at the top of the chat bar which is the More option. Then, go to the WhatsApp Settings and then tap on Chats, and moving forward select Chat Backup. Finally, tap on the Backup Now option. Either you can choose to backup your messages daily weekly monthly after you set it to automatic. Or, you can do it manually every day, and save a backup copy on your phone.
So, wherever the fear of losing your valuable data strikes, you can restore them back whenever you want, from these backup files.
When it is time to recover, here lies the difference between iPhone and Android backup features. From the very first day, when you install WhatsApp, the iPhone users will get a prompted message to restore WhatsApp from a backup, unusually saved in iCloud.
But, in the case of Android users, you may find it a bit hassle prone. If you use an SD card, then all your backups are getting saved there. So, if you buy a new phone, you need to insert the micro SD card, and then restore your WhatsApp conversation.
Restoring on WhatsApp doesn’t depend only on text messages, it can be audio, videos, images, and even documents. So, if you have accidentally deleted those text messages, then there is nothing to fret about. We are going to share viable solutions here.
Method 1: If you have a proper backup of WhatsApp chats on Drive or iCloud
Do you have a regular backup of all your WhatsApp chats on Google Drive or iCloud, then you can proceed with the steps.
At first, uninstall the application. Go to the application menu, select WhatsApp, and press on Options. Then, tap on Uninstall and you will get either OK or Uninstall options, tap on it and your WhatsApp application will be gone.
Next, you need to install the application again on your phone. If you are using the Android version, then open the Play Store application. Go to the search bar and look for the WhatsApp application. From the search list tap on the WhatsApp Messenger icon, select the Install option, and wait. It will take a few minutes, do not interrupt the process.
For an iOS user, the process is quite similar, but you just need to go to the App store, instead of Play Store
Now, after installing the application on the same device and using the same number that you used previously, sign in.
During the sign-in process, WhatsApp will automatically ask you with the prompt, either to restore all your old chats or skip the process. Now, tap on Restore, and select the Google Drive or iCloud ID where you have saved the backup. Thereafter, wait for a few minutes till the process gets complete. Navigate to your WhatsApp application and check, you will get all your deleted messages back, and that includes the audio messages, too.
