Troubleshooting / files and photos
WhatsApp export too large or missing media?
Check three different stages: what WhatsApp exported, what arrived on your device and what the browser can process. Each stage can produce a different kind of missing photo or failed download.
Reviewed · Threadkeep
Step by step
Inspect the source package
Confirm you saved a .txt or .zip, not a sharing link or phone backup. Check whether the expected images exist inside a copy of the archive. A filename mentioned in the transcript does not establish that the file was included.
Check the transfer
Compare the source size with the copy on this device. Let cloud placeholders finish downloading. If a sharing app delivered only some files, retain the source and transfer a complete copy by an appropriate method.
Read the import warning
A size or ZIP-integrity rejection is different from a warning that a photo could not be matched. Use the stated reason. Changing a file extension does not change its contents or fix a damaged archive.
Separate import from PDF limits
A successful preview does not imply that every message or photo fits the PDF exporter. Inspect the current limits below. Try a narrower reading selection or an appropriate HTML copy while retaining the full source.
Verify a smaller test
Use the fictional sample or a text-only export copy to check the conversion path. If that succeeds, compare the problematic archive rather than repeatedly deleting source data. Open any final download independently.
The current import limits
The current implementation accepts a selected file up to 100 MiB. ZIP inspection limits the package to 2,000 entries, 32 MiB per uncompressed entry and 256 MiB total uncompressed content, with a maximum compression ratio of 100. Transcript text is limited to 32 MiB. These are Threadkeep checks, not WhatsApp export guarantees.
Encrypted ZIPs and unsupported compression are rejected. A damaged or inconsistent archive may also fail inspection. Keep the original and try obtaining an intact export rather than turning off protections or renaming a database file to .zip.
- Supported selected file extensions: .txt and .zip
- The image-preview checks use an 8 MiB per-image ceiling and up to 12 previews
- Limits describe tested processing boundaries, not a promise that every file below them will succeed
The current PDF limits
The PDF exporter caps selected messages at 25,000 and images at 40. Individual image files are limited to 8 MiB, and the estimated combined resource budget is 48 MiB. A smaller number of large photos may therefore be harder to render than many short text messages.
These limits protect the browser from excessive resource use. For a readable selection, narrow the date range or use fewer supported photos if the available controls allow it. Keep the full source separately. A larger device can help with ordinary memory pressure but does not remove the application's limits.
Missing, unmatched and unsupported are different
A missing photo has no file bytes in the selected export. An unmatched photo may be present but its name does not correspond to the transcript reference. An unsupported attachment may be present in a format the PDF cannot render. Changing layouts cannot solve all three cases.
Inspect a copy of the archive and compare filenames without changing the originals. Keep videos, voice notes, documents and other unsupported attachments with the source. The PDF is a reading copy, not a promise to reproduce every type of attachment.
When to stop retrying
If an archive repeatedly fails an integrity check, get another source copy while the original conversation remains accessible. If an important message was never exported, do not assume that a paid converter can recreate it. Check current WhatsApp guidance before making any account or device change.
Use the fictional sample to distinguish a general browser problem from a particular source problem. Close other memory-heavy tabs if needed. After any successful conversion, inspect the result around the problematic message or photo, not only the first page.
Questions
Why does the preview work but PDF download fails?
Import inspection and PDF generation have separate resource limits. The PDF exporter limits message and image counts and estimated memory use. A preview can therefore succeed for a file that cannot be rendered as one PDF.
Can Threadkeep recover a missing photo?
No. First check whether the photo is actually included in the export, then whether its filename matches the transcript. If the bytes are absent, the tool cannot retrieve them from WhatsApp.