WhatsApp backup using cellular data refers to backing up your WhatsApp chats, media, and other data over your phone’s mobile data connection rather than over Wi-Fi. When you enable WhatsApp backups over cellular data, WhatsApp will periodically back up your app data using your cellular data plan whenever you don’t have a Wi-Fi connection available.
What gets backed up over cellular data?
WhatsApp can back up the following types of data using your cellular data connection:
- Chats – All your WhatsApp text messages and chat history.
- Media – Photos, videos, voice messages, and other media sent and received on WhatsApp.
- Settings – Your WhatsApp settings and preferences.
- Contacts – Your WhatsApp contacts list.
- Call history – Records of WhatsApp calls you’ve made and received.
Essentially, enabling WhatsApp backup over cellular data means all your WhatsApp data on your device can be backed up automatically using your mobile data plan whenever Wi-Fi is unavailable. The backup contains a copy of your messages, media files, settings and other app data from WhatsApp.
Why use cellular data for WhatsApp backup?
There are a few key reasons you may want to enable WhatsApp backup over cellular data:
- You don’t always have access to Wi-Fi to back up. Cellular backup ensures your data gets backed up regularly even when you aren’t on Wi-Fi.
- You have an unlimited or large cellular data plan. For some users cellular data may be cheaper or more convenient to use for backups than Wi-Fi.
- You want real-time offsite backups. Backing up over cellular rather than just Wi-Fi means your WhatsApp data is copied to the cloud more frequently.
- You are traveling or switching devices. Cellular backup ensures your WhatsApp data is backed up to your account as you travel and change devices.
The main advantage of using cellular data for WhatsApp backup is convenience – it happens automatically in the background without you needing to connect to a Wi-Fi network. Your data is continuously backed up using your mobile plan.
Cellular data usage for WhatsApp backup
The amount of cellular data used by WhatsApp backup depends on how much WhatsApp data you have to back up. Some factors that influence WhatsApp backup data usage include:
- Number of chats and media files
- Length of chat history
- Size and type of media files
- How often chats and media are backed up
WhatsApp states that after the initial full backup, incremental backups use less data as they only back up new and changed data since the last backup. Some estimated cellular data usage examples for WhatsApp backup:
| WhatsApp Usage | Estimated Backup Data Use |
|---|---|
| Light usage with mostly text messages | 5-20MB per month |
| Moderate usage with some media sharing | 50-100MB per month |
| Heavy usage with lots of media | 100MB+ per month |
As you can see, the data usage can range from a few megabytes for light users to over 100MB monthly for frequent sharers. The only way to know your exact cellular data use for WhatsApp backup is to monitor your data usage before and after enabling backup over cellular.
How to enable WhatsApp backup on cellular data
Enabling WhatsApp backups over cellular data is simple:
- Open WhatsApp Settings
- Go to Chats > Chat Backup
- Tap on ‘Backup Over’ and select ‘Cellular data’
You can also choose to back up only when connected to Wi-Fi in WhatsApp Settings. The cellular data setting for backups is disabled by default, so you need to manually enable it if you want to use mobile data.
Limiting cellular data usage
If you are concerned about WhatsApp backup using too much of your cellular data allowance, there are a few things you can do:
- Restrict backups to Wi-Fi only in WhatsApp settings
- Use WhatsApp’s low data usage mode which limits backup frequency
- Set a cellular data limit for WhatsApp in your device settings
- Manually back up WhatsApp over Wi-Fi when available to reduce cellular backups
- Check backup data usage in WhatsApp settings and disable if too high
Enabling backups only over Wi-Fi is the best way to avoid mobile data usage. But if you need periodic backups over cellular, the data saver options can help minimize your data consumption.
Troubleshooting WhatsApp cellular backup
Here are some common issues and fixes for WhatsApp backing up using cellular data:
Backups not happening over cellular
- Ensure you have enabled backup over cellular in WhatsApp settings
- Check for any WhatsApp updates that need to be installed
- Restart your device and manually trigger a backup
- Ensure date & time settings on your device are correct
- Try toggling Airplane mode to reset the cellular connection
Backups using too much cellular data
- Review large media files sent/received and delete unnecessary ones
- Restrict WhatsApp backup to Wi-Fi only in settings
- Enable WhatsApp’s low data usage option
- Check for any third party apps backing up unexpectedly over cellular
WhatsApp backup is slow on cellular
- Check your cellular signal strength and move location if poor
- Connect to Wi-Fi or try again when cellular signal improves
- Disable backups over slow cellular connections in WhatsApp
- Check for carrier throttling on cellular speeds
Conclusion
WhatsApp backup over cellular data provides a convenient way to continuously and automatically back up your WhatsApp data to the cloud. It ensures your chats, media, and settings are saved even when Wi-Fi is unavailable. But cellular WhatsApp backups can consume mobile data, so monitoring your usage and restricting backups to Wi-Fi when feasible is recommended. Overall, if configured properly, backing up WhatsApp on cellular data can provide a useful offline backup solution while traveling or whenever Wi-Fi access is limited.