Before you tap restore
You need three things: a backup that finished, enough free space to unpack it, and a GB WhatsApp Pro install that can read that backup. A file from a different mod, or a Google Drive backup made only in official WhatsApp, often will not appear in the list.
If you are not sure a backup was ever written, stop and create one on a phone where the chats still open. When GB WhatsApp backup fails before a file exists is the step to finish first. Restoring cannot invent chats that were never copied.
Restore on a matching install
- Install the same GB line you backed up, not a different publisher’s APK with a similar name.
- Allow storage access before you verify the number, if the prompt appears.
- Choose restore when registration offers it. If you skip that screen, you may have to reinstall to see it again. Copy the backup file somewhere safe before you do.
Text can show up before photos. Stay on Wi‑Fi and let media finish. Do not clear cache in the middle, or those photos may have to download again from a server an old build can no longer reach. The first-launch prompt is also described in restoring chats the first time GB WhatsApp Pro opens.
If older chats would be overwritten
A restore replaces what is in the app with the backup. If this phone already has newer messages you care about, copy the current backup out before you test an older file. There is no undo inside the chat list.