[GUIDE] How to restore / import Line chat history!

musschrott · Jul 20, 2019

I find the whole Line backup situation really frustration as well, it's a massive fail on Line and Google's part. To add insult to injury adb backup has recently been market 'deprecated' (https://www.xda-developers.com/adb-backup-and-restore-depreciated/), so this whole approach might not longer working with the next version of Android. Doing the backup has become harder with every new version of Android, I am considering to switch to iOS over that.

Zakowsky said:
I found the key entry and it is listed as TEXT NOT NULL, but I will just swap that out when I get the db from the new account after transferring...

I think you were only looking at the table structure, not the actual table data. I also find that somewhat counterintuitive with the SQLite tool. You have to right click on the table and select browse the data, to see the content. On that note, if anybody tries to merge other tables (e.g. chat) the table structure can be different even if you're using the same line version. I believe that is a result of Line upgrading/changing a table over time vs just creating it new. This makes it a little harder to merge the data, e.g. you'll have to name all rows you're using. This is not relevant for the setting though, has that table only has 2 rows.

Zakowsky said:
On the new phone I am going to install the same newer version that was on the old phone and then downgrade to the same as I did on the old phone. I haven't tested restoring the line.db on my set up, but as long as I downgrade it should be OK I figure. Thanks again and I will update on how it goes.

One thing I should have mentioned is that Line says, you should register your email & password before transfering. I'm not sure if that is still needed, but better safe than sorry.

musschrott · Jul 20, 2019

Actually, I just noticed that something is broke with my letter sealing.

At the moment, I have to disable it (and thus basically encryption) to message to other people. Trying later today to figure out what went wrong.

https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=76107579&postcount=124 might fix it.

Edit: Yes it worked, doing another backup, removing the ee2e files from the db and uploading it again did the job. Not sure what went wrong, I might have made a mistake when I copied around the files. Due to the way sqlite works, a database file might consist of 1-4 files, depending on the state it is in. I think I orginally forgot to delete all ee2e files and created a broken hybrid by copying over the files. Guess that also means copying ee2e or removing them might be more important than I thought.

Zakowsky · Jul 22, 2019

Well that could have gone better. So the target phone is an Xperia, which I found out has a funky way of enforcing a Read Only flag on directories it deems important for the user not to touch. So you can barely copy something to Android/data! Importantly, even with Line downgraded to version 5, I could not make a backup of the new database, which really shuts this down. Adb just exits. You can't even push files into this phone with adb half the time (even though it has been kept at Android 6). It seems to be some Xperia program that runs, because if you do it fast enough while it is booting up you can copy for a while. I know there are work arounds for it online, but what I wound up doing is installing Line version 8 on the new phone, which allows you to save all to a zip file, and use Google Drive. I transferred my account, then I restored from GD, then replaced the data directory with the one from my old data/jp.naver.line.android/ directory (folder by folder, because it stops you if you do too many), and managed to get maybe 20% of my old images showing up in the chats. And all the stickers work. But I can't see the logic of why some images and not others; it wasn't the age of the images and I never used Keep except to test it out a few times. I have all the images and movies backed up, I just wanted them in the context of the dialogue they relate to.

So with no way to pull out the database on the new phone (and restore doesn't work either), I am kind of stuck. Line has claimed enough of my time as it is, I might just go with what I managed to get. But maybe when I am less fed up I will go back to my old phone (which is going to stay in airplane mode so it doesn't get erased), and see if putting the 1000 images one by one into Keep and then transferring the data directory to the new phone will make more of them appear.

Take home message is to go to Line 8.19.2 and stay there, then you get both back up systems. Thanks again for all your help.

Edit: So the xperia only has MTP and not USB mode, probably why this is a problem. I don't like this new phone any more; I think I will go back to my beater Y6 and try and move the Line account back without nuking what was there. At least I can use adb with it....

musschrott · Jul 24, 2019

It should be even easier with Android 6, as you can change the android_id and avoid messing with changing something within db itself.
You could try to download the new phone file folder and compare it to your backup. Maybe files are missing. At one or two occasions I had the feeling like I uploaded the files and somehow they still weren't on the device. Uploading them again fixed it.

Which Xperia are you talking about? Sounds really that it wouldn't support these standard functions.

Zakowsky · Jul 26, 2019

It's a Z5 Premium. The situation is getting even stranger. I was going to try again, and again couldn't copy from phone to the PC (Win 7) using Windows Explorer, with the phone connected in MTP mode, it keeps reporting an error. What I did find works is to use Xplore on my phone to copy to the PC. But once jp.naver.line.android was copied to the PC, I went to the directory (on the PC) and tried to move it and I couldn't, it said files not found. Then I tried to delete the folder from the PC and I also couldn't! There are two directories with dots at the end of their names that Windows say are no longer at that location. I even tried Unlocker, the permissions seem normal, and chkdsk can't even fix it. So now I have two undeletable directories on my computer because I copied this satanic data directory to it!

Shinkoku · Sep 11, 2019

Guys anyone knows how to restore thumbnails in certain Line chat, after Line app is transferred to another device?
I have line .zip backup of that chat (full, not only text), which restores chat - but it only restores text, somehow. No photos or even thumbnails. Instead of all photos I see "share" mark.
When I open .zip file on my pc, I see all photos and thumbnails are ok. Problem is that Line doesn't see neither photos nor thumbnails, and now I only have text mixed with those "share" marks, in my chat. Any way to restore it to the state it was?
I tried to simple copy files from the .zip backup into sdcard -Android - data - jp.naver.line.android - storage - mo - xxx. That xxx seemed to have couple of new photos I got after Line transfer, so I thought all photos should be placed there and it will work.
But it doesn't. Any ideas?
Don't get what's the point of that "all" backup, if it only restores text only, anyway. Where did all photos/thumbnails go??

teemo · Sep 11, 2019

Shinkoku said:
Guys anyone knows how to restore thumbnails in certain Line chat, after Line app is transferred to another device?
I have line .zip backup of that chat (full, not only text), which restores chat - but it only restores text, somehow. No photos or even thumbnails. Instead of all photos I see "share" mark.
When I open .zip file on my pc, I see all photos and thumbnails are ok. Problem is that Line doesn't see neither photos nor thumbnails, and now I only have text mixed with those "share" marks, in my chat. Any way to restore it to the state it was?
I tried to simple copy files from the .zip backup into sdcard -Android - data - jp.naver.line.android - storage - mo - xxx. That xxx seemed to have couple of new photos I got after Line transfer, so I thought all photos should be placed there and it will work.
But it doesn't. Any ideas?
Don't get what's the point of that "all" backup, if it only restores text only, anyway. Where did all photos/thumbnails go??

Same here. In Line v.9.2 there is no option to restore the zip from sdcard. If we could somehow roll back to a previous version...?
Maybe simply uninstall and restart the process with an old app ???

Shinkoku · Sep 11, 2019

teemo said:
Same here. In Line v.9.2 there is no option to restore the zip from sdcard. If we could somehow roll back to a previous version...?
Maybe simply uninstall and restart the process with an old app ???

Forgot to mention I have LIne 8.10 (and never used versions higher than that).
So technically I have that .zip file restore option, and the .zip file itself.
Problem is that this option doesn't work. It's supposed to be a "full" backup, but it still restores text only.
Instead of pics/thumbnails I get "share" or "!". Crazy.
Wonder if there is a way to restore it properly. Tried manually (described two posts above) but with no luck.
Line is so bad, how come people use it at all. Total garbage.

Jaggie · Mar 30, 2020

older version for android 10

musschrott said:
Using adb ... to downgrade the Line app (find an old line apk online, < 5.3):

hi there, on previous comments you mentioned the downgrade to older versions of line via adb
do you happen to know which older version works on android 10?
and secondly, how to specify the adb command to downgrade without removing the line data?
just in order to downgrade it....

musschrott · Mar 30, 2020

Jaggie said:
hi there, on previous comments you mentioned the downgrade to older versions of line via adb
do you happen to know which older version works on android 10?
and secondly, how to specify the adb command to downgrade without removing the line data?
just in order to downgrade it....

I don't know if downgrading with Android 10 works. ADB backup was marked as depricated, but I haven't found any info on actual changes.
It doesn't matter if the older version works, the only reason to install an old version is because it has a flag that allows to use adb backup (or rather, doesn't have the flag that disallows it). Due to changes in the DB structure an old version wouldn't work with your newer DB anyways.
The post you quoted has the downgrade without removing (-k = keep) data command.

Unfortunately it is quite a task to move Line from one phone to another now, without root. (and afaik if you aren't already rooted, you can only get root by deleting everything)
1) downgrade Line on your old phone
2) backup data from your old phone
3) install Line on your new phone, migrate
4) downgrade Line on your new phone
5) backup data from your new phone
6) modify & merge the databases
7) upload the merged result to your new phone

I've documented the most important parts in https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=79929659 but it's not exactly an easy to follow step by step guide.

Ghisy · Apr 14, 2020

musschrott said:
Unfortunately it is quite a task to move Line from one phone to another now, without root. (and afaik if you aren't already rooted, you can only get root by deleting
everything)

Hi!

If you're rooted on both phones, what method should I use to move all my chats' history with media please? I used to use Titanium Backup and changing the device Android ID of the phone but it doesn't work anymore. LINE doesn't provide an individual backup file anymore either (used to be a .zip file, pretty convenient if not ideal). Honestly, this app is such a pain and a really bad user experience for back-ups.

Thanks for your help!

musschrott · Apr 15, 2020

Ghisy said:
If you're rooted on both phones, what method should I use to move all my chats' history with media please? I used to use Titanium Backup and changing the device Android ID of the phone but it doesn't work anymore.

Never did it myself, but Android ID changed from global to an App based system. Adjusting that value yourself (I found this after a short search https://xdaforums.com/android/apps-games/app-androidideditor-change-androidid-t3896146) plus the files from your Titanium Backup should work.

Pcsl · Feb 10, 2021

deadly616 said:
Use the sql editor from firefox add-on

for anyone who has TiBu backup, you can restore the chat history using the sql editor from the firefox add-on and also the jp.naver.line.android folder (all) from /data/data. Steps:
1. restore the TiBu backup
2. Don't open the Line app, instead use a root browser and copy the folder to your non-root directory, and copy it to laptop
3. Uninstall and reinstall Line (will need it for some settings configuration)
4. Login to the reinstalled Line, just go without the messages isn't restored
5. Copy the "new" jp.naver.line.android to your computer, name it with suffix _new (or anything on your choice)
6. Open those 2 folders with the sqlite editor on firefox
7. Look at the databases, naver_line, and settings
8. Take note of the value on anything that has "time" words on the left side of the table (for me, I copied the old folder, so i can just compare it)
*note: the "value" is a unicode timestamp, so you can search the time that is in the value to timestamp converter on the internet
9. Export the settings from the new folder (the one that you have logged in), I use the semicolon or pipe (|) as separator (or any symbols that is NOT in the table)
10. Delete the contents of the settings from the old file, replace it with the new file
11. Change the value of anything that probably have anything associated with the time that your app synced with server with the respective ones from the old folder (my last restore, they have different names, so I just restore with the "server sync" or anything that looks like the time from your line last connected to the internet, refer the timestamp), line thankfully stores messages in their server for a week (I think so, my last outdated backup restores until the last week, time gap, and the messages from TiBu backup)
12. If you have altered the name of the old folder, change it to jp.naver.line.android, and replace the folder that exists on the /data/data for that folder.
13. Open Line, and voila! You can access your backed up messages, the messages that you didn't receive during the process, and also the end-to-end encyption, which I figured out that you can't access that with *just* deleting the settings.

It's a bit complicated, but I think it's worth it, concerning that the naver_line settings won't regenerated by the app if deleted, so there is no timestamp, and you'll lose your messages that hasn't come in to your device, and also losing the end-to-end encryption feature, because the messages can't be decrypted at your device, and resulting an error (trust me, I have tried the sqlite delete settings from this thread, but I lost some messages and error messages because of the not working end-to-end encryption, so I managed to find this way)

Lemme know if there is any problem (pictures will be a great help)
Sorry for bad english, I'm Indonesian

I just want to add this works but don't forget to copy the value from the key "PROFILE_AUTH_KEY" of the new profile, I think that's the main setting LINE check to know if you are using your old or your new profile.

Also in some cases removing the shared_prefs directory inside jp.naver.line.android could help if after updating that key the app keeps crashing.

xAxB · Sep 18, 2021

musschrott said:
I don't know if downgrading with Android 10 works. ADB backup was marked as depricated, but I haven't found any info on actual changes.
It doesn't matter if the older version works, the only reason to install an old version is because it has a flag that allows to use adb backup (or rather, doesn't have the flag that disallows it). Due to changes in the DB structure an old version wouldn't work with your newer DB anyways.
The post you quoted has the downgrade without removing (-k = keep) data command.

Unfortunately it is quite a task to move Line from one phone to another now, without root. (and afaik if you aren't already rooted, you can only get root by deleting everything)
1) downgrade Line on your old phone
2) backup data from your old phone
3) install Line on your new phone, migrate
4) downgrade Line on your new phone
5) backup data from your new phone
6) modify & merge the databases
7) upload the merged result to your new phone

I've documented the most important parts in https://xdaforums.com/showpost.php?p=79929659 but it's not exactly an easy to follow step by step guide.

It is crazy, but LINE is THE reason I seldom upgrade my phone and THE reason I root my phone (there are maybe 2-3 other things I take advantage with root, but I wouldn't go out of my way to root a phone for them).

I am just wondering if you have some insight on how the process might have changed in the last two years.

I found a guide here (under the ROOT 2020-06 reply) dated which I am trying to follow, since it is based on a newer version of Android and a newer version of LINE (LINE has forced me to update perhaps 2-3 times). I'd like your thought as to whether the guide makes sense, and how one might try to restore photos (something the guide mentioned, but didn't explain as the person didn't do himself).

I noticed (though I am not sure since when) is that we can no longer even temporarily disable Letter Sealing, which renders some of the other replies in that thread obsolete.

One potential difficulty I am having is that I am going from Android *6* (see that part about not buying new phones?) to Android *11* so I suspect that the hurdle is going to be particularly high. When I went from an even older phone to Android 6, it is pretty straightforward by using Titanium Backup and changing the device ID, but I am wondering that after the way ID works post Android 8, how that might affect it.

And I am also wondering how feasible it is to get the photos over. Though this is a bit less of a priority..

YandereSan · Apr 19, 2022

Instructions for how to restore LINE in 2022 (requires root):

1. Restore LINE via TWRP or TitaniumBackup.
2. If app hangs on launch, use root to delete /data/data/jp.naver.line.android/shared_prefs
3. If app still doesn't work, open /data/data/jp.naver.line.android/databases/naver_line and empty the settings table. Proceed to open LINE. It should prompt you for login but will still retain chat history.
4. If letter sealing is broken and won't verify on PC client, navigate to /data/data/jp.naver.line.android/databases and delete all files that start with "e2ee".

You can try to edit the naver_line database and altering your PROFILE_AUTH_KEY inside settings, but personally I've never gotten this to work. What works for me 100% of the time is emptying settings and logging back in.

Caveats:
1. You may lose your recent non-downloaded images.
2. You will have to redownload your stickers and themes, but your ordering should be retained.
3. This may or may not break Firebase Cloud Messaging (formerly GCM). Easiest way to test this is to sign into the PC client and wait to receive a notification on your phone. If the push is successful, then all is well.

Hope this helps someone. LINE is by far one of the biggest and most pain in the ass apps to carry over from device to device. I realize you can back up chat history via Google Drive, but it often leaves out deleted users, etc.

Eosforon · Apr 23, 2022

This guide is still usable with most recent LINE (12.6.0) and Android (12), I managed to completely backup everything chat plus media. You don't have to change anything else than the naver_line file setting subsection, so no need to change any other files in the database folder.

From version 9.x LINE can backup the chats on google drive but it is a raw and subpar feature since you will loose all the other data except than text. So that guide is required if you want to keep all the data (stored under /sdcard/Android/data/jp.naver.line.android) and the connections to database that record all the chats (stored in the root requiring naver_line file under /data_mirror/data_ce/null/0/jp.naver.line.android on current Android).

So the main steps are:

to have root on both old and new phone after the magisk installation with TWRP,
to enable the LINE account password or facebook autentication and to disconnect the old phone from internet to prevent data deletion during the next steps,
to create on the old phone the /data/ backup downgrading to line 5.2 or without downgrade just using Titanium Backup and the /sdcard/Android/data/jp.naver.line.android/ full backup exactly at the same time,
to install the same LINE version on the new phone and login using the SIM and the network in order to create the new /data/ (at this point you can still open LINE on the old phone but NEVER reconnect it to internet or it you won't be able anymore to see anything than a dialog asking you to delete all the data),
to disconnect the new phone too from any network in order to prevent any new message collection,
to modify the old naver_line database that will be then restored, using the SQL editor in order to attach only the new setting table to the old database,
to restore on the new phone the /data/ backup downgrading to line 5.2 or without downgrade just using Titanium Backup (usually App+Data restore stuck in a loop so simply restore Data after manual apk install of the current LINE),
to copy the /sdcard/Android/data/jp.naver.line.android/ full backup
to open the new LINE and check if the photo and video in the chats are visible (thumbnails) and it is possible to open them (image),
if chat text is there but not the images, you can repeat the steps correctly and don't panic since you still have the possibility to recheck backups on both phones until you won't connect them to internet.

The naver_line could be copied with a root explorer back and forth without any need to modify the adb backup archive. If you want to modify the line.ab file take into account that you could require abp.jar instead of abe.jar, but the commands are the same.
In case you get stuck on step 10 take a look very well inside the naver_line database with the SQL editor: in the table chat messages you can see any single message sent, even the images or other data. Any entry in the database has an ID so you can check an image you can see on the old phone that in the new should be inside the /files/chats/ subfolder having the same chat_id and named as ID without any extension.

If you open the ID you should see the same image you have on the old phone and everything is correct, otherwise if the ID in the database is different from the image in the /sdcard/Android/data/jp.naver.line.android then something hasn't happened properly during the steps and it's better to repeat carefully. Pay much attention no message should arrive between the naver_line backup and sdcard backup.

Hope it will help anyone still fighting with this messy app, it took me a lot of testing to figure out it. That's why I wrote it for the future, I will surely forget at the next (third) iteration and surely LINE still won't have a decent backup process in app.

dimm0k · Apr 23, 2022

wish I had known earlier... really a damned shame - used to love this chat app, but now I dread using it because there's just no guaranteed way to save one's photos/media let alone the chat history itself. saving LINE via TiBackup I could never get it to restore properly and even using LINE's own chat backup that **** seems to be flaky. had to wipe my phone recently, but luckily - or so I thought, I had LINE's backup in place. upon restoring it, a backup made a few days before the wipe, I noticed the last few months were missing from one chat. wtf!

spambayes · May 26, 2022

Huge thanks to all those who have contributed to this thread and kept it updated.

I need to back up and transfer a LINE install from a S9 running Android 7 and LINE v11.21.3 to a Note 10 with Android 11.

My question is: Is it still possible to do it at all without root?

I had done it via rooting and modification of SQlite database before the S9 and that was quite a while back.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to root the current phones and the default in-app backup via Google Drive is just a bare-bones text file, not the full-media version I am after.

Would anyone have a non-root solution that is up-to-date?

Ghisy · Jun 8, 2022

Eosforon said:
This guide is still usable with most recent LINE (12.6.0) and Android (12), I managed to completely backup everything chat plus media. You don't have to change anything else than the naver_line file setting subsection, so no need to change any other files in the database folder.

Hey, does your guide still work with the latest version of LINE (12.8.0)?

little-endian · Jun 18, 2022

Pcsl said:
Also in some cases removing the shared_prefs directory inside jp.naver.line.android could help if after updating that key the app keeps crashing.

Guess it's worth to skip-read back in forum posts once in a while as fast forward to June 2022, this did it for me, so you shall be my saviour!

After spending about two days with this piece of crap software what Line technically is (unfortunately extremely widespread and popular in Asia and especially in Japan) with force close here and splash screen doodling there despite copying myself clumsy and stiching obscure SQL-databases together, finally the braindead patient could be sucessfully reanimated.

Uargh, I really wonder what kind of retarded developers at "Naver" are responsible for this mess. Not only are they apparently still incapable of providing a decent backup function (which one would actually expect to be provided system-wide by Android itself to be fair, however Google isn't much better here), but they also make it especially difficult and painful to backup anything beyond a few recent chats in the first place. That in conjunction with tenshousands of distributed files in even more subfolders after some years of usage which one can manually copy and shift around, totally insane.

I wish the Line developer team to lose their phones, all their content while being in urgent need to lookup some chat or images from the past. Maybe then they may get a glimse of how ****ty and moronic it is.

[GUIDE] How to restore / import Line chat history!

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