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Transfer SMS from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5

I have just bought the new iPhone 5 and I am having problems transferring my SMS from my iPhone 4.

My iBook is too old to plug in my iPhone 5 so I have had to use my parents laptop instead.


Can anyone tell me if my old SMS can be transferred to my new phone and if so how can I do this?

I have tried, but have had no luck

iPhone 5, iOS 6

Posted on Oct 13, 2012 1:50 PM

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Posted on Oct 13, 2012 1:59 PM

You have to back up the old phone, the restore the new one to this backup. (The backup will contain your messages.) See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2109. Note: this will revert all settings and data to those contained in the backup, not just your messages. If you have any other data on your phone now that is not on your old phone that you want to keep you will need to save this first.

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Oct 13, 2012 1:59 PM in response to Gem733

You have to back up the old phone, the restore the new one to this backup. (The backup will contain your messages.) See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2109. Note: this will revert all settings and data to those contained in the backup, not just your messages. If you have any other data on your phone now that is not on your old phone that you want to keep you will need to save this first.

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May 27, 2013 3:27 AM in response to Gem733

To transfer sms, photos, contacts and apps from one iPhone 4 to iPhone 5:


1. Connect two iPhone to PC.


2. Choose the category list of iPhone 4 that you need to export files


3. Check the files that need to export in the Content Panel and click "Transfer file(s) from device to device" button


4. All the checked files from your iPhone 4 can be transferred to iPhone 5.


And there are two articles about transferring files from iPhone to iPhone:
How to transfer sms from iPhone to iPhone
How to transfer or backup SMS from iPhone to Mac

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Jan 5, 2014 11:34 PM in response to Wallali

You can backup to iCloud, sign in the same Apple ID on your new iPhone.

Then the SMS will restore to the new one.

This will ensure that not only just your messages but all your data will be transferred over to your iPhone 5.


If you don't want to overwrite any messages on your new iPhone.

You can read the guide:

How to transfer text messages from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5

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Transfer SMS from iPhone 4 to iPhone 5

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