Hey there--
My father passed away over a year ago. He was an iphone user too. From time to time I would re-read our last text message exchange. It's no longer there to read. Any help getting it back? Thanks, Bobby
iPhone 13, iOS 15
Hello Shiskabob16,
Thanks for your post to Apple Support Communities. Our condolences on the loss of your father last year. We very much understand how precious memories with loved ones are when they pass, especially conversations.
Recovering a lost text message will depend on a few factors. Let's gather some details to narrow down what can be done.
If the text conversation was green or SMS, this is a text that goes through your cellular provider specifically. We would have limited suggestions to restore that data. If the text conversation was in another messaging app (not Messages), we would recommend reaching out to that app developer to see if they have ways of recovering lost app data.
If this was from the Messages app, check to see if you have Messages enabled for iCloud. If so, your Messages should be synced through iCloud. If you have another Apple device signed in with the same Apple ID, you could check Messages there to see if that text conversation is still available.
Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud to see if Messages shows enabled.
Alternatively, if you had a recent iTunes backup and didn't use Messages in iCloud, you could restore the information from that backup. Keep in mind that restoring to that backup would have you lose any data on your iPhone from the time of the backup to today.
Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support
We hope you locate the conversation.
Take care.
Hello Shiskabob16,
Thanks for your post to Apple Support Communities. Our condolences on the loss of your father last year. We very much understand how precious memories with loved ones are when they pass, especially conversations.
Recovering a lost text message will depend on a few factors. Let's gather some details to narrow down what can be done.
If the text conversation was green or SMS, this is a text that goes through your cellular provider specifically. We would have limited suggestions to restore that data. If the text conversation was in another messaging app (not Messages), we would recommend reaching out to that app developer to see if they have ways of recovering lost app data.
If this was from the Messages app, check to see if you have Messages enabled for iCloud. If so, your Messages should be synced through iCloud. If you have another Apple device signed in with the same Apple ID, you could check Messages there to see if that text conversation is still available.
Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud to see if Messages shows enabled.
Alternatively, if you had a recent iTunes backup and didn't use Messages in iCloud, you could restore the information from that backup. Keep in mind that restoring to that backup would have you lose any data on your iPhone from the time of the backup to today.
Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup - Apple Support
We hope you locate the conversation.
Take care.
Recovering text message data from old conversation
