Wrong password or Back up again to read your history
If Chatcove cannot open your backup, it shows one of two messages. "Wrong password" means the iPhone's backup password changed since Chatcove saved it, so you enter the new one or reset it. "Back up again to read your history" means the backup on your Mac is older than the saved password, so you just back up again.
Everything stays on your Mac. Neither fix sends your password or messages anywhere.
The cards and buttons on this page are those of Chatcove 0.1.7 or later. On 0.1.6 or earlier, see the last section.
Which message do you have?
Section titled "Which message do you have?"| Message | Pill | What it means | Go to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wrong password (the card under "WhatsApp history") with the button Fix password | Wrong password | The saved password does not open this backup, so the iPhone's backup password was probably changed (after a reset, or in Finder or on another computer). | The saved password does not match |
| Back up again to read your history with the button Back up again | Wrong password | The backup on this Mac is older than the backup password Chatcove saved, so it was made with the iPhone's earlier password and cannot be read with the new one. | Below |
| Password needed on the Backup encryption card | Password needed | Encryption was turned on outside Chatcove and Chatcove has no password for it. | I already use a password in Finder |
In one-click export, the first case shows the card "The saved password does not match" instead, and every stopped card carries the pill Stopped.
"Wrong password": the saved password does not match
Section titled ""Wrong password": the saved password does not match"Click Fix password. It takes you to the Backup encryption card in the Password mismatch state, with two options:
- I know the password: type it and click Save password.
- I do not know the password: reset it on the iPhone with Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Reset, Reset All Settings. No data or messages are deleted.
Full steps: The saved password does not match and Forgot your iPhone backup password?.
"Back up again to read your history": the backup is older than the password
Section titled ""Back up again to read your history": the backup is older than the password"Chatcove compares the date of the backup on your Mac with the time it saved the password. If the backup is older, it was made with the iPhone's earlier password. Common ways to get here:
- Chatcove just turned encryption on, and you chose Use existing backup instead of backing up.
- You used Save anyway on a password, then tried to read the old backup.
- You reset the iPhone's settings, then tried to read a backup from before the reset.
This is not a wrong password, so Chatcove does not flag your saved password and does not send you to a password form. The fix is a new backup:
- Click Back up again.
- Keep the iPhone unlocked and plugged in, and enter its passcode when it asks.
- When the backup finishes, Chatcove reads your history with the saved password.
In one-click export, the error card's button is Back up again and it backs up first, then reads. In step-by-step mode, Back up again starts the backup in the step above, and the WhatsApp history card resets when it completes.
If the new backup is also rejected, Chatcove then does flag the password and shows the Password mismatch card, so there is no loop.
On Chatcove 0.1.6 or earlier
Section titled "On Chatcove 0.1.6 or earlier"Older versions only show Wrong password, under a Backup encryption card that still says On and verified, and Fix password runs the same failing read again. To get out:
- Reset the backup password on the iPhone: Settings, General, Transfer or Reset iPhone, Reset, Reset All Settings. No data or messages are deleted.
- Quit Chatcove and open it again.
- Plug in the iPhone, unlock it, and tap Trust when it asks.
- Click Back up again on the main one-click card ("Export your WhatsApp history"), not in the step-by-step view, which can hang after a backup on 0.1.6.
- If it hangs, quit Chatcove, open it again and click Use existing backup.
See Forgot your iPhone backup password? for what the reset does and does not change.