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ICQ stopped working on June 26, 2024. As of August 18, 2026, the official service cannot retrieve server-stored chats or contacts. You may still be able to save information already on an old computer, in a backup, or in previously exported files—but protect those files before opening or converting them.
Protect the data you already have
Start by preserving the original, not by trying recovery utilities on it. An old client or incompatible program can modify a database, and a failing drive can become harder to read with repeated use.
- Stop using the old ICQ installation if possible. Do not uninstall it, reinstall an older client over it, or run database repair tools on the only copy.
- If the data is on an old hard drive, make a full drive image before browsing it. If that is not practical, copy the entire ICQ profile and related data folders to another drive.
- Make two independent copies of the recovered files. Keep one untouched; work only on a duplicate.
- Record the computer and operating system, ICQ version if known, account UIN, backup date, original file paths, and any password or encryption details you know.
- Keep one copy offline and another in a separate location. Use reputable tools, and avoid uploading private message databases to unknown services.
Historical ICQ releases used different layouts. An old ICQ FAQ lists folder names such as 2001a, 2000b, 2000a, db99, newdb, and db as examples for contact-list and history data; other folders could hold chats or received files. These are clues, not universal paths. See the historical ICQ FAQ.
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Search old computers and backup media for “ICQ,” the account UIN, and those historical folder names. Check external drives, backup discs, old exported documents, and folders used for downloads or received files. Preserve the whole profile rather than copying just one file that looks like a history database.
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Export locally stored message history
Use the original client if it still opens
If the existing client opens without altering or demanding a server connection, use its history view and any save, export, or copy function it provides. Save important conversations individually if bulk export is unreliable. Menus and storage differed by ICQ version, so no single menu path applies to every old client. Keep the original database alongside any export.
Use Miranda NG only with local data
Miranda NG documented a way to download server history by right-clicking a contact, but that was a pre-shutdown procedure. It cannot retrieve chats from ICQ now. Miranda NG may still help view or migrate a surviving local database, depending on its format and the available protocol support. Its project remains available at miranda-ng.org, but current software availability does not mean ICQ servers are active.
For a relevant Miranda setup, a 2024 third-party guide describes Settings → History → Message export, followed by choosing a format and destination; it also reports a profile-relative MsgExport folder. Plugin behavior can vary. Check the documentation for the installed plugin and test with one conversation on a duplicate profile before exporting more. See the Miranda export guide.
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Use plain text or HTML for easy reading, JSON or CSV when you need structured data, and PDF as a convenient viewing copy. Keep the original database too: an export may omit metadata or attachments. Miranda’s database format and schema can vary; do not assume every file is SQLite or edit records directly.
Save the contact list separately
“Contacts” may include more than a name: a UIN, display name, nickname, group, email or phone fields, authorization status, profile details, and notes. If the list survives in an old client or database:
- Use an address-book or contact-list export if the client offers one.
- If it does not, copy the visible entries into a spreadsheet. Preserve at least the UIN, display name, group, available email or phone fields, and notes.
- Take screenshots or print the list to PDF as a visual backup, and compare them with the spreadsheet.
- Ask people you can still reach to confirm their current email address or messenger account.
Historical ICQ documentation indicates that later versions also stored contact lists on the server, while local files varied by release. The server copy is no longer a recovery option. A UIN or display name does not guarantee that the person can still be identified, and exporting contact details is not the same as importing them automatically into another messenger.
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Recover photos, files, and other attachments
Search local received-file and sent-file folders, backup media, and the folders where you normally saved downloads. Include images embedded in conversations, voice messages, and screenshots of messages whose attachments no longer open. Record file names and dates so you can associate them with a conversation or contact.
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- An attachment already downloaded to a device or backup: potentially recoverable from that local copy.
- A file referenced only on ICQ’s servers: generally unavailable after shutdown.
- A broken attachment link: does not establish that the file can still be downloaded.
Miranda NG’s 2024 instructions described adjusting Settings → Events → File transfers → Download cloud files automatically only if their size is less than X kilobytes to handle larger cloud files while ICQ access remained available. That historical method cannot restore server-hosted files now.
What no longer works
The official ICQ site says the service stopped working and points visitors toward VK Messenger and VK WorkSpace: ICQ’s current page. ICQ’s shutdown date was June 26, 2024, according to TASS’s report. A visible website is not a working account service.
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Miranda NG’s forum follow-up confirms that after shutdown, the authorization server was unavailable and re-importing through it was impossible: Miranda NG forum discussion. There is no verified current official ICQ export workflow for a dead account. A historical browser extension or third-party backup tool should not be treated as official or guaranteed; it cannot recreate data that exists only on the discontinued servers.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Troubleshoot common recovery problems
The database will not open
Do not keep trying different programs on the original. Identify the client and approximate version that created it, preserve another copy, and test compatible viewers on duplicates. If the data has legal, family-history, or evidentiary value, consider a digital-forensics professional rather than consumer repair software.
The old client crashes or asks to connect
Legacy clients may fail because of unsupported operating systems, missing runtime libraries, obsolete authentication, damaged data, or compatibility issues. Preserve the installation and profile first. If testing is necessary, use a duplicate or an isolated virtual machine; do not repeatedly launch the only original installation.
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Contacts appear, but conversations do not
Contact-list and message-history storage were not necessarily in the same files or folders. Preserve the entire profile and search backup media for additional database folders, exports, and downloaded files rather than assuming the visible list contains the history.
Only browser data or a UIN remains
Save visible pages, screenshots, print-to-PDF files, and any browser data you can still access, but treat them as fragments, not a complete archive. A UIN alone cannot query the retired service. You can ask former contacts to check their own archives and use other channels to rebuild current contact details.
Build an archive you can use later
Keep the untouched source database, readable exports, structured exports where available, and attachments in a clear folder structure. Add a short manifest listing the source computer, account UIN, date copied, client and version if known, file paths, and export formats. Preserve at least two copies, including one offline copy. Do not rely on a PDF or spreadsheet as the sole archive if the original database survives.
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Can I recover ICQ chats after the shutdown?
Only if a copy survives locally, in a backup, or in an earlier export. Chats that existed only on ICQ’s servers cannot be retrieved through the official service after June 26, 2024.
Can I still log into my old UIN?
ICQ’s service has stopped working, so a UIN does not provide access to the retired account or its server data.
Is Miranda NG official ICQ software?
No. Miranda NG is a separate project. Its documented ICQ server-history download procedure applied before ICQ shut down.
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