Want to back up chats from WeChat to computer? WeChat for Windows or Mac is the desktop versions which can help you send and receive messages on computer just like you send and receive emails using a email client on desktop or laptop computer. The bigger screen of computer and more versatile physical keyboard can make you type much faster. Similar method can also be found to send and receive text messages from Android phone on computer. With a desktop client, you will be able to chat with WeChat friends or mobile phone contacts using a PC or Mac computer. The WeChat computer versions can also help you back up chat history from mobile phone to computer. So you can restore chat backups from computer to mobile phone when you have deleted or lost important data on the phone.
How to Back up WeChat messages from Android to computer?
You will need to download WeChat for Windows or WeChat for Mac on to your PC or Mac computer first. Click here for the Windows version downloading and this link for WeChat for Mac. We will use the Windows version in this demo to show you how to backup WeChat chat history from phone to PC. If you are on Mac, you will find they differ in appearance and the WeChat backup feature can’t be found in WeChat for Mac at this moment. Tencent company may add this feature in future upgrade. For now, if you like to export WeChat chat history, you can scroll down to the bottom of this guide and visit the linked article about WeChat chat history and files transfer from phone to computer via WeChat for Web.
Run WeChat on PC, you will be prompted to log in WeChat. Click Login button in WeChat for Windows, you will need to confirm your login on phone. After that you will be login WeChat on computer. If it is the first time you login a WeChat account on PC or Mac, you will be required log in using Scan QR Code. You need to use WeChat to scan QR code on computer in order to authorize the connection of your WeChat account from your mobile phone. See this tutorial to scan QR code using WeChat on Android phones. It works almost the same on Android phone. When you are logged in WeChat for Windows, you will open the chat window in WeChat for Windows. You can start chatting with your WeChat friends right on your computer. However in order to back up chat history from WeChat to computer, you need to connect up your phone to computer via USB.
Here are the steps to back up WeChat messages from Android to PC:
Step 1. Click the Settings icon from the left bottom corner of WeChat for Windows to open the Settings window.
Step 2. Click Chat Backup in WeChat Settings.
Step 3. Click Backup on Phone button to save your chat history from WeChat to computer.
Step 4. Authorize the chat backup of WeChat from Android phone and you are done. A copy of your chat history in WeChat for Android will be saved to computer.
Now your chat history will be saved to PC. You can go to restore the backups to mobile phone if you like. However the WeChat backup on computer is not readable with other software. You can’t open and read them in Windows or Mac system. And some media files sent or receive in WeChat can’t be saved, such as Sight videos. If you like to back up these data, you will need to download and use third party software tools. See this guide to save WeChat Sight videos to phone and computer.
Alternative way to back up WeChat messages from Android to computer
If you want to selectively back up any WeChat messages, photos, videos, Sight videos from Android to your PC or Mac, or if you want to copy your WeChat messages and files from Android to computer without any software, or back up WeChat data from Android to computer as readable files and documents, you can refer to this guide to back up WeChat messages and files to computer via WeChat for web.
WeChat 6.3.31 backup failure
If you are using old versions such as WeChat for Android V6.3.27 or earlier, you should be able to back up chat history from Android to PC without following problem. Based on some users’ feedback and our own test, it seems to be some problem with the WeChat for Android version 6.3.31 backup. If you have upgraded WeChat to this version, you may run into below error on PC when trying to backup chat history from WeChat for Android V6.3.31 to Windows computer. We may have to wait for the fix in the next upgrade of either WeChat for Android or WeChat for Windows.
latest wechat desktop sucks on backup. it no longer allow backup via usb connection, only via wifi. If PC doesn’t have wifi connection, the backup function will be useless. will move permanently to whatsapp since whatsapp had catchup on critical functions that I need from wechat + whatsapp support end to end encryption which makes it more secure than wechat. Good bye wechat and RIP.
Sorry if this has been asked before.
I backed up my chat history from my phone to my Macbook, but I can’t see the chat history using the Macbook App. If I send a message on my computer, it also shows up on my phone, but if I send a message on my phone, it doesn’t show up on my computer, even after backing up the history to the computer. How can I view my chat history on both my phone and computer? Thanks.
Matt, I’ve just spent hours researching my problem and you seem to have better knowledge than almost anyone I have come across.
I recently lost 3 yrs of chat history with one contact, but only her for some reason, almost as if I selectively deleted. She however, still has her full history and I’d like to see how to get that history back over to me. Ideally, she archives or backs up just the history with me (not all), and then I can somehow import it. Most apps however only allow me to import if I login as her.
Worst case, can she export her history into some sort of searchable file, even if just text?
She has iOS, I have Android.
I’d happily pay for this solution, please email me. Thanks!
hi, your email was received. I will reply your email soon.
Hello! Here is the thing:
1. I backed up chat logs on pc as shown in instruction. Was have to use my laptop due my desktop have no wifi.
2. Moved log archive to pc due this laptop is working tool – not a storage.
3. Updated firmware on phone – lost all data.
4. Logged in wechat on a clean phone with sms code – it asked me to change password.
5. Moved logs back from pc to laptop in same folder.
6. Tried to restore logs on phone, but wechat said “No backup to be restored”
7. Tried “Manage Backup” and show exact folder with archive is said “No backups yet”
How can i restore this archive back to my phone?
What if I want to back up a second history?I tried it was told that it will overwrite my old back up.I don’t want it to remove my old back up…Anyway to do this?
You can firstly copy the existing WeChat backup files to a new location on your PC, check out these steps to create and save multiple WeChat backups on computer.
Thank fr the info~But now my phone reset itself.The chat data is still in my phone but the Wechat app can’t read the data and there’s no chat history in my wechat app.Is there anyway to get it back?
Just open wechat manage storage and it just cleared my tencent file data.I guess it deleted the chat data…Anyway to get it back?
What kind of chat data file do you have on the phone? was any WeChat data backup saved on your PC using WeChat for Windows? if not, you may need to find and use a Wechat data recovery tool, such as this one, to scan your phone and see if the lost WeChat chat history can be found. note that if the deleted data has been overwritten by new data saved on the phone, you can’t get them back even with a recovery tool.