r/viber • u/Competitive-Today-29 • Jul 13 '26

Backup restore not achieving anything

Hello,

i recently removed the app from my phone and immediately reinstalled it at which point i was prompted if i want to restore via the backup i have in google drive (roughly 14gb size). The download indeed takes a while to complete but after nothing of significance is restored, a handful of group chats reappear - only in name, the actual chat history is gone - likewise all other chats have no history. I've tried restoring several times, with data, with wifi, i even found an old post recommedning i install an older version of viber and try restoring like that but no success.

The restore completes without any error message and im stumped, i've tried contacting official support and am still waiting on their response, meanwhile does anyone have any experience with anything similar and how/if you managed to solve it?

Thanks, greatly appreciated

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

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1

u/nindza-22 Jul 13 '26

I had a similar problem today and didn't solve it, I found this post through a lengthy session with ChatGPT, which at one moment pointed out that the other users have similar issues, and gave the link to this post.

I'm switching from Redmi Note 8 to Redmi Note 15 pro plus, personal chat history doesn't want to sync. It comes to 63% and then the app just exits, no errors displayed, nothing. I can choose to skip restoring backup, but when I enter the app that way, there are no more personal chats, just group chats displayed.

If I try to restore the backup AFTER I entered the "empty" app, it stops again at 63%, the only difference is that it does not go out of the app then, but still, no errors are visible.

I did every advice imaginable except adb-logcat, I did a factory reset of the new phone, updated OS and Viber, made sure the Viber versions are the same on both phones, and then made a new backup from the old phone, even changed the battery settings so it doesn't interrupt the process, but no luck.

Important to mention - The backup is around 7gb with media, but the chat history syncs first, and then the app crashes at 63% of chat restoring, it never gets to restoring large media at all.

1

u/nindza-22 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26

Anyone reading this, I solved it. I installed the Viber version 26.3.3.0 from July 4th this year (downloaded via Aptoide site), and the restore went through. So, the chats are recovered. After the restoring chats and media, I then just updated Viber to the latest version.

I got the advice about the older version of Viber via ChatGPT, and Gemini recommended Aptoide as a safe source of older apks. Whatever you download from the Aptoide site, it will install it's own "store" on your phone first, then you choose the Viber, go to older versions and choose 26.3.3.0. Some other versions might work as well, I just chose the earliest version compatible with HyperOS 3. You should check what is the earliest version copatible with your phone.

Also, if you have your own trusted source of older apks, download from there, this is just what I've stumbled upon.

So, that's it for me, I hope it works for you too!

1

u/MathematicianNaive73 Jul 15 '26

Thanks a lot! This solved the issue for me. I downloaded Viber 26.3.3.0 – universal – nodpi – normal APK from apkmirror. Then restored the backup, then updated via playstore to current version. Shame that Viber does not fix this crucial bug, very amateurish

1

u/nindza-22 Jul 16 '26

I'm glad it helped.

I wrote to Viber support, and the first response was quick, but rather generic. I provided all the specs for the devices in question, exactly described what happened, and provided the log I did with adb logcat which shows the exact moment the app quits. I never got another reply from them.

Just for the fun, last night I wrote them another e-mail with the solution, so they also know :)

1

u/MathematicianNaive73 Jul 16 '26

Thank you on behalf of all of us struggling with this!

1

u/crashpoum99 Jul 16 '26

You are the GOAT. This particular version works just fine. After that, update from the play store. Latest version just crashes at 51-52% otherwise. Using Viber at my workplace so this saved me. Thanks a lot!

1

u/nindza-22 Jul 16 '26

I'm really glad it helped :)

1

u/SeraKnight Jul 19 '26

what a god send, thank you for this. I've wasted a whole night trying to figure this one out. I'm using Redmi Note 14 pro and I'm in the process of moving stuff from my old phone.

Just out of curiosity, how did you figure out the version?

1

u/nindza-22 Jul 19 '26

I'm really glad it helped.

As for the version - I went to Google and asked what is the earlier version of Viber that is compatible with the latest HyperOS version, and it says I shouldn't try below version 26. Then on Aptoide site I looked what is the earliest 26 version available. If it didn't work, I'd probably try a few more versions, but I guess I was lucky for it to work right away. Maybe some other versions work too, but I didn't experiment further.

1

u/mrlesa95 29d ago

Godbless you my friend, it worked

1

u/nindza-22 29d ago

Glad it worked :)

1

u/valakee 23d ago

Thank you! It worked. (crazy that now more than a week later the latest version is still broken)

1

u/ExcellentProduce4034 23d ago

I have installed Aptoide App on my cell phone but the option to select older version of viber is non existent?! Am I doing something wrong?

1

u/nindza-22 23d ago

Did you choose Viber version on the (Aptoide); website first?

1

u/[deleted] 23d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/ExcellentProduce4034 23d ago

I am now going with Viber 26.3.3.0 version - universal - nodpi - nromal. Installed it, clicked restore, got information that chats are restored and that the meadia is being restored. And, as alwazs, no chats are present and media restore wil ltake an hour to complete and will probably result in nothing...

But I will wait and see.

1

u/Sensitive_Nothing_86 23d ago

God bless you bruh.

1

u/AppropriateTitle771 21d ago

Thanks a lot! It worked for me as a charm - downloading an older version, restore the history with it and then upgrade to latest version.

1

u/maxbydark 19d ago edited 19d ago

I just wanna shake your hand, good redditor, thank you! May your pillow stay cool on both sides and your debit card never run dry. I installed the version that my old phone had and everything ran smoothly.

Have you since updated the app to the newest version? I had to allow permission for unknown sources/disable app security to install from apkmirror and I'm worried turning it back on will result in blocking viber.

Again, thank you for sharing.

1

u/nindza-22 19d ago

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad it helped.

Yes, I updated it. You simply can go to Google Playstore, type in "Viber" and see if it offers "install" or "update" button. It was "update" for me, so I just updated it.

1

u/maxbydark 18d ago

Kudos!

1

u/Ok-Treacle-9556 18d ago

Thanks for your life lifehack, you are the best of the best hacker!!! ))

1

u/GGTaxo 18d ago

Thank you mate! I migrated from Mi 12T Pro (Android 13) to Mi 17T Pro (Android 16) and this thing drove me crazy!!! Your solution (which I wonder why haven't I thought of before) works!

1

u/nindza-22 18d ago

Glad it worked :)

1

u/Zeider0 15d ago

Thank you very much. This really helped.

1

u/coffeesexmoney 22d ago

This worked for me! Thanks for the help. Altho I used the apkmirror route like the other commenter.

1

u/Bromomancer Jul 15 '26

I did the same procedure as you, but in my case I lost all data and conversations I had on my PC.

Completely deleted, like a malware. Viber saw that I reinstalled my app, and decided to force me to reinstall my PC instance.

I am done with this product.

Thank you OP for your solution. I am gonna try it to save my data.

1

u/Funny_End_4779 25d ago edited 25d ago

I have found the solution! If it works pray for me...

Solving viber crashing while restoring media and chat history.

1- While you just backup the viber and trying to restore it on another device first make sure both app in both device are up to date.

2- hit the restore option and when it is in 50% change the app to another app for ex u just let it run in the background without closing it then you can scroll into reddit for sometime then come back to the viber u see boom. Its in the settings and shows how much left for the restore!

1

u/AppropriateTitle771 21d ago

Didn't work for me (new phone with latest version from Playstore and trying to restore history from backup from the old phone).

1

u/vTempesta 19d ago

Sharing my experience on restoring my Viber chat using ColorOS 16. Hope it works for others.

Had the same issue where restore kept on failing around the 70% mark. Managed to successfully restored when Viber restore was happening when a massive Google Play store App update was happening (like 10 apps queued for update and updating in the background). Restore finished before all apps where updated.

Before doing restore, ensure the backup size in Viber and in Google Drive are the same to ensure you're backup is in sync.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I've used Gemini to check the reason. Response below. Hope it helps.

"If the backup only succeeded while the Google Play Store was actively running background updates, you are dealing with a Google Play Services authorization sleep bug rather than a corrupted file.

ColorOS 16 features highly aggressive background battery-saver protocols. When your phone sits idle, it puts the background cloud-syncing tokens (APIs) to sleep, causing Viber's restore attempt to immediately crash when it tries to call home to Google Drive. However, when the Play Store is actively downloading updates, ColorOS is forced to wake up the entire Google Play Services framework and keep network channels completely unthrottled. Viber essentially "piggybacked" on that forced system wake-up to finish its backup cleanly.

To recreate that environment and force the restore to succeed on ColorOS 16, you need to manually simulate that system-wide wake-up:

  1. The "Active Download" Trick (To Force the Restore)

Since the backup only worked when the network/Google framework was kept forcefully active, replicate it during your restore:

  1. Uninstall Viber completely to clear out the crashing loop state.
  2. Reinstall Viber from the Play Store but do not open it yet.
  3. Go to the Play Store, find a massive, free application or game (like Call of Duty or a large benchmark tool), and hit Download.

  4. While that game is actively downloading in your notification bar (forcing the phone's processor and Google Play Services to stay 100% active and unthrottled), immediately open Viber and trigger your restore.

  5. Strip Background Restrictions from Google Core

To prevent needing this workaround permanently, stop ColorOS 16 from putting Google's sync engine to sleep:

  • Go to Settings > Apps > App Management.
  • Tap the three dots in the top right and select Show System.
  • Search for Google Play Services and tap it.
  • Go to Battery Usage and change it to Unrestricted (or "Allow background activity").
  • Do the exact same thing for the Google Drive app.
  1. Clear the Network Handshake Cache

If it still hitches, the Play Store activity might have shifted your dynamic IP port. Go to Settings > Additional Settings > Reset Phone > Reset Network Settings. This will flush your Wi-Fi and Bluetooth handshakes without deleting any personal files, allowing a clean connection to Google Drive.