What to do when Google Maps Timeline disappears

Check before reinstalling or clearing data

Open the correct account on the original phone and look at the same dates there. A new phone may not yet have the old device’s Timeline. If the old phone still has records, preserve them and review backup before resetting it. Reinstalling an app is not a substitute for a backup.

Use Google Maps to import an existing backup

Google’s Timeline help describes the backup control and importing data from another device. Choose the available device backup and verify its dates afterwards. Timeline Visualizer can inspect an exported JSON, but cannot restore it into your Google account. If neither the original device nor a usable backup retains the missing days, this website cannot reconstruct them.

Import and verify a backup

1. On the destination phone, open Google Maps → Your Timeline and select the cloud icon. Look for the old device under Your backups; being signed in alone does not mean a backup exists.
2. Choose that device, open More and select Import. Confirm the import, then check several old dates and the newest available day. Recent changes can take a few days to reach a backup.
3. If encrypted data is locked, use the original device that encrypted it. Open its Timeline backup control and re-enter the password when Google prompts you, then retry on the new phone. Deleting locked backups destroys those copies; it is not a recovery step.
4. If only some days are absent, check other devices and retention settings. An old saved export may preserve records for viewing, but this site cannot put them back into Google Maps. After a successful restore, export again: an earlier empty JSON will not update itself.

What to check

If backup was enabled, review the restore options in Google Maps. Avoid assuming a missing day can be recovered from a file that does not contain it.

• Check the original device and the Timeline backup screen in Google Maps.
• If an encrypted backup exists, follow Google’s import steps; an export alone cannot restore deleted records.

Further reading

• Google Maps Timeline Help

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