From Universal Analytics to GA4: what you lost on 1 July 2023 and how to recover the history

If you recently opened Google Analytics and saw the charts flatline somewhere in the summer of 2023, you didn't break anything. On 1 July 2023, Universal Analytics (the classic version, the one with "UA-" in the code) stopped processing new data. A year later, in the summer of 2024, Google shut down the old interface entirely, and the historical data there is no longer accessible.

The real problem isn't that a report stopped. It's that many business owners relied on those numbers to compare this year with last year — and now GA4, the new Analytics, looks completely different and starts "from zero" on the day it was installed. In this article I'll explain clearly what was actually lost, what can still be recovered, and how to rebuild an honest comparison between years without fooling yourself.

What exactly happened on 1 July 2023 (and why 2024 matters)

There are two different moments people mix up:

• 1 July 2023 — Universal Analytics stopped collecting new data. From that day, no visit to your site entered the old reports anymore. In practice, UA "froze".

• 1 July 2024 — Google also closed access to the UA interface and its historical data. Whatever you didn't export by then can no longer be recovered from your account.

So if you see numbers up to summer 2023 and then nothing, that's normal. And if, now in 2026, you can't find the old account at all, it's because Google deleted it for good, not you. The good news: GA4 (the new property) has probably been collecting data for a while, even if you never looked at it.

Why GA4 looks like it started from scratch

GA4 isn't a simple redesign — it's a different way of measuring. Universal Analytics thought in "sessions" and "page views". GA4 thinks in "events": every click, scroll, form or video is a separate event.

Because of that, two things matter:

• GA4 only has data from the day the property was created. If someone installed GA4 for you only in, say, summer 2023, you won't have anything before that, no matter how hard you look.

• The numbers don't line up perfectly with the old ones. "Users", "sessions" and "bounce rate" are calculated differently. Don't panic if the numbers look smaller or larger — it's not an error, it's a different measuring tool.

What can realistically be recovered

It depends on what you did before the shutdown. Check, in order:

• Old exports — if you or someone on your team ever saved reports as PDF, CSV or Google Sheets, those numbers are gold. Search your email, Drive, and any "monthly report" folders.

• Looker Studio (formerly Data Studio) — if you had a report connected to UA, you might still see values stored in versions or screenshots. The live connection is dead, but anything saved statically can help.

• Google Search Console — data here is kept on a rolling window of a few months back, so it won't give you the old history, but it's an independent source for search traffic going forward.

If you have no export at all, the honest truth is the raw UA data can't be brought back. No one can "recover" it from Google — anyone who promises that is misleading you.

How to compare years correctly from now on

You can't glue the UA past on top of GA4, but you can build a clean comparison going forward:

• Use GA4 as your zero point. From the install date, you have a coherent series. Compare the same months across years (June with June), not mixed periods.

• Keep old exports separate. If you saved UA numbers, use them only as context ("two years ago we had roughly this many visits"), don't mix them into the same chart as GA4 — they're measured differently.

• Add independent sources: Search Console for search, and for real customers, how many called or messaged you on WhatsApp. Traffic is useful, but enquiries and bookings are the money.

Think in trends, not decimal-point numbers: is it up or down, where do people come from, which pages keep them.

What we do at MPO when we take over a site

When we build or take over a site, we set up GA4 correctly from the start and connect it to Search Console, so you have a clean baseline from day one — not a year later, when you realise the data is missing.

We work remotely across the country, we prepare a free demo before you pay anything, and pricing is transparent with no hidden "setup" fees. We explain in plain language what we measure and why, so you look at three or four numbers that matter, not a dashboard full of charts nobody uses.

If you're stuck with an Analytics that stopped, or you're not sure what your site is even collecting, message us on WhatsApp. We'll look at what you have together and tell you honestly what can be saved.