How to backup and restore messages in Signal app – Guide
Signal has grown from a relatively unknown app to one of the top free apps in many countries, including India. The large influx of new users to the open source app is due to WhatsApp’s new terms of service and privacy policies. He has seen an increase in downloads as users search for alternatives to WhatsApp. This comes as WhatsApp announced that it is updating its terms of service and privacy policies effective February 8, 2021. Users who do not agree with its new policies will not be able to use the app, the company said in an app. notification.One of the most useful features The WhatsApp feature that Signal is missing is the ability to create a cloud backup of your chats. Unlike WhatsApp, Signal only provides local backup. In this post, we’ll take a look how to back up and restore your messages in Signal.
How to backup and restore messages in Signal app
Backup signal messages on old Phone
With Signal open, select the three vertical dots in the upper right corner of the screen and choose “Settings”. Select “Chats & Media” and scroll to the last option, “Create Backups”. If this is your first backup, a pop-upup will appear titled “Enable local backups?” with a 30-digit number. This code is what will be used to encrypt this backup so that only you can restore these messages. However, this code will not appear again, so please take a screenshot of the page and store it somewhere safe. a professional tip I found that if you want extra security, copy this code into a password manager. This method is a much safer option than storing a screenshot as it will be encrypted using the same protection that defends your passwords. Also, if you are using a phone running Android 8.0 Oreo or newer, you can autofill the code when restoring your messages. After copying the password, select the checkbox and choose “Enable Backups”. The pop-up will disappear and a loading bar will appear below “Create Backup”. You’ll know the backup is complete when this bar disappears and is replaced by the date and time of the last backup.
Download sign on new Phone
With the backup complete, you will need to download Signal to the new device if you plan on transferring the messages. Locate Signal in the Play Store and download the latest version for the new phone. Please be aware that if you supported up your messages while using the beta version of Signal on your old phone, you must install the beta version on the new phone. If you try to restore using the stable version, you won’t be able to do so until you install the beta version. If you are trying to restore messages on the same phone you will need to uninstall the Signal app as the restore can only take place during the initial setup of the Signal app.
Transfer encrypted backup to new Phone
Backups are stored locally on your internal hard drive. phone. So you need to find a way to transfer the file to the new phone. You can upload it to a cloud service like Google Drive. However, if you are concerned about privacy, you can transfer the file directly to your new phone using any of our recommended file sharing apps. Anyway, you need to find the backup file first. Open the built-in file manager (or use a third-party app) and navigate to the following folder: Old phones you can replace “Internal Storage” with “sdcard”, but the rest of the file path is the same. Files are time-stamped starting with the date and time they were created (time is listed in 24-hour format). The format for labeling the file is as follows. Using any of the methods mentioned above, or any other way you prefer (like Bluetooth or USB), transfer this file to a new one. phone’s download folder.
Restore messages (secure way)
There are two methods at this point that you can use to restore your messages. There is a quick way and then there is the safer way. Let’s start with the most reliable method. Open the Signal app in the new phone and start the initial setup process. It will ask you to enable permissions and enter your phone number. Follow the instructions until finished up on the Signal main screen and navigate to the “Create Backup” option in Step 1 (Settings > Chats & Media > Create Backups). Again, select “Create Backup”, check the box and choose “Enable Backup”. Don’t worry about saving the code this time as you won’t be using it to restore any messages. Now uninstall the Signal app. Using a file manager, go back to /Internal Storage/Signal and see if a folder called “Backups” is there. Open this folder and delete the backup file stored in it. Find your “real” backup file in the Download folder and move it to your Signal backups folder. Reinstall Signal from the Play Store. This time, upon accepting the permissions, you will be taken to a new screen titled “Restore from Backup”. Choose “Restore Backup” and enter the numeric code you copied earlier. Complete the initial setup and when you return to the main page you will see all your messages.
Restore messages (quick way)
The other way to do this is after transferring the backup file to the new phone, open a file manager application. The default folder will be Internal Storage. Create a folder here titled “Signal”. Inside this folder, create another folder titled “Backups” (note that the word is capitalized and plural instead of singular). Move the transferred backup file to this folder and open the Signal app for the first time on this device. After accepting the permissions, you should see the “Restore from backups” screen. Select “Restore Backups” and enter the password you copied in Step 1. Follow the rest of the instructions and your messages will be successfully restored.
Final note
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