j7nce

Q: iPhone sms backup and restore

Hi

 

Why does the iTunes backup function not include the backing up of the SMS messages on my iPhone or a facility to restore these in the event of having a new iPhone etc?

 

The only means of doing this seems to be through a 3rd party app which is not ideal, and i would much rather prefer to do this within iTunes.

 

If i wanted to upgrade my iPhone 4 to the new iPhone 5, i would essentially lose nearly 2 years worth of texts, which i would prefer to avoid.

 

Surely there must be some way to 'copy' these over from one iPhone to another.

 

I have a program called iPhone SMS which i have used to export all my SMS to my PC, but there is no ability to then restore these.

 

Anyone know of a way to do this or why Apple dont provide this within iTunes?

 

Thanks

iPhone 4, Windows 7

Posted on Sep 24, 2012 4:23 AM

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Q: iPhone sms backup and restore

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Ahmedlin,

    Ahmedlin Ahmedlin Jun 5, 2013 8:45 AM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 5, 2013 8:45 AM in response to j7nce

    If you have back up your text messages, you can restore from the backup.
    To restore information from a backup, use one of the following methods after connecting your iOS device to the computer with which you normally sync:
    1. Right-click (or Control-click) the device and choose Restore from Backup
    2. If you have a new phone, you can connect to iTunes and it will prompt to restore from your backup Solution from Apple.com: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1766

     

    If you have no backup for your data on iPhone, iPhone data recovery software is your last shot! I used Tenorshare iTunes Data Recovery and it worked well. It's easy to use. Just a few clicks you can get all your data back. Here is a step by step guide for you: http://goo.gl/FpOvb

  • by ios decipher,

    ios decipher ios decipher Jul 23, 2013 12:15 AM in response to j7nce
    Level 4 (2,950 points)
    Jul 23, 2013 12:15 AM in response to j7nce

    An iTunes back up does save the SMS messages as long as they were on the phone when the back up was made. You can even check the article http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4946 which clearlhy states SMS are saved in a back up. I personally aswel always have my SMS saved in my back ups I've restored from.

  • by crysta cook,

    crysta cook crysta cook Sep 13, 2013 8:12 AM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 13, 2013 8:12 AM in response to j7nce

    Hello, friend. You can choose to restore SMS form your iTunes Backup if you once backed up your iPhone data with your iTunes library. If yes, you can use a third party software to restore SMS from iTunes backup onto your new iPhone smoothly even without your old iPhone.

     

    <Link Edited By Host>

  • by ellenjune,

    ellenjune ellenjune Sep 13, 2013 8:15 AM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 13, 2013 8:15 AM in response to j7nce

    You could try this utility to backup your iPhone text messages to your computer. Once you have your iPhone text messages backed up, you would be able to restore iPhone SMS from backup.

     

    <Link Edited By Host>

  • by Mordoch,

    Mordoch Mordoch Jan 29, 2015 5:31 PM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 29, 2015 5:31 PM in response to j7nce

    hi,

    if you had an iTunes backup taken, try this: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1766

     

    it's always reccomended to take backups. itunes takes automatic backups if you ever plug it into your Mac/PC. have a look. you may have a backup, without you knowing.

     

    it may work, i havent tried this method.


    regards,

    Mordoch


    <Link Edited by Host>

  • by Erictom,

    Erictom Apr 7, 2015 5:45 AM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 7, 2015 5:45 AM in response to j7nce

    j7nce wrote:

     

    Hi

     

    Why does the iTunes backup function not include the backing up of the SMS messages on my iPhone or a facility to restore these in the event of having a new iPhone etc?

     

    The only means of doing this seems to be through a 3rd party app which is not ideal, and i would much rather prefer to do this within iTunes.

     

    If i wanted to upgrade my iPhone 4 to the new iPhone 5, i would essentially lose nearly 2 years worth of texts, which i would prefer to avoid.

     

    Surely there must be some way to 'copy' these over from one iPhone to another.

     

    I have a program called iPhone SMS Backup which i have used to export all my SMS to my PC, but there is no ability to then restore these.

     

    Anyone know of a way to do this or why Apple dont provide this within iTunes?

     

    Thanks

    As you backup your iPhone to iTunes, your SMS will be certainly synced to iTunes and you can restore them from backup.

  • by Poulttterre,

    Poulttterre Poulttterre Apr 29, 2015 6:35 AM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 29, 2015 6:35 AM in response to j7nce

    To transfer anything not purchased from the iTunes Store, you need to use a 3rd-party utility.  Here are two that will do the job:

     

    http://www.ecamm.com/mac/phoneview/

     

    http://www.wideanglesoftware.com/touchcopy/download.php

  • by SherryKurt,

    SherryKurt SherryKurt Jul 1, 2015 9:43 PM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jul 1, 2015 9:43 PM in response to j7nce

    In my opinion, there are many ways to backup iPhone sms backup and restore. For instance, iTunes helps you do that. You can do iPhone SMS backup in this way: open iTunes and connect your iPhone to the computer. Select "Backup" to "This computer" or "iCloud" as you like and all your iPhone will be backed up. If you want to restore your data, just choose a restore.

  • by jerricabird,

    jerricabird jerricabird Aug 7, 2015 3:07 AM in response to crysta cook
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 7, 2015 3:07 AM in response to crysta cook

    crysta cook wrote:

     

    Hello, friend. You can choose to restore SMS form your iTunes Backup if you once backed up your iPhone SMS with your iTunes library. If yes, you can use a third party software to restore SMS from iTunes backup onto your new iPhone smoothly even without your old iPhone.

     

    <Link Edited By Host>

     

    You can choose iCloud or iTunes to back up your SMS and you can restore those backup files with them also. Here I want to figure out iTunes backup and iTunes restoring:

    At first, connect iPhone to computer.

    Open iTunes on PC.

    Select iPhone icon on the screen.

    Press"Summary"tab and tick "This computer" to select "Back up Now".

    Once it is finished, you can check it from "Edit">"Preferences">"Devices" to view the backup files.

    Then, if you connect your iPhone to computer next time, and trust it. Move to select "Summary" to "Restore backup".

    That is useful to handle simialr issue about iPhone/iPad/iPod backup.

  • by Holy True,

    Holy True Holy True Aug 20, 2015 2:30 PM in response to j7nce
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 20, 2015 2:30 PM in response to j7nce

    Can I use something like SMS Backup & Restore (an Android app) in iOS? It automatically backup all SMS at predefined destination over WiFi, like DropBox or Google Drive? Like every day at 23:00?

  • by NihonMichael,

    NihonMichael NihonMichael Jan 11, 2016 6:46 AM in response to Holy True
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 11, 2016 6:46 AM in response to Holy True

    yay! Someone else who gets it. As someone who has been using and depending on Android tools to AUTOMATICALLY backup/recover/synchronize texts (doesnt matter what youre using; its web enabled afterall), and BROWSE my text messages from phone/computer after phone for YEARS, this is my biggest gripe with Apple iphones. That I must plug my device into a computer, actually perform a backup, then having to recover it.  That is, after I download the itunes trash.  I can go back to texts from years ago and see them using my android, who they were, date/times, , etc etc.  Not on an iphone!

     

    Right, SMS Backup % Restore, the free android app was awesome. However, the reason i switched to iphones was... i was not returning an android phone every 6 months.

  • by EmmaNoah,

    EmmaNoah EmmaNoah Jan 20, 2016 1:33 AM in response to Erictom
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jan 20, 2016 1:33 AM in response to Erictom

    Erictom wrote:

     

    j7nce wrote:

     

    Hi

     

    Why does the iTunes backup function not include the backing up of the SMS messages on my iPhone or a facility to restore these in the event of having a new iPhone etc?

     

    The only means of doing this seems to be through a 3rd party app which is not ideal, and i would much rather prefer to do this within iTunes.

     

    If i wanted to upgrade my iPhone 4 SMS to iPhone 5, i would essentially lose nearly 2 years worth of texts, which i would prefer to avoid.

     

    Surely there must be some way to 'copy' these over from one iPhone to another.

     

    I have a program called iPhone SMS Transfer which i have used to export all my SMS to my PC, but there is no ability to then restore these.

     

    Anyone know of a way to do this or why Apple dont provide this within iTunes?

     

    Thanks

    As you backup your iPhone to iTunes, your SMS will be certainly synced to iTunes and you can restore them from backup.

    Sad but true, not supported iOS 9.3 with iTunes 12.

  • by Beth12345678,

    Beth12345678 Beth12345678 May 23, 2016 6:09 AM in response to NihonMichael
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    May 23, 2016 6:09 AM in response to NihonMichael

    did you ever find a solution to this?  I'm still looking for an iOS app that works like android's SMS Backup +.  I need to keep my messages (with photos) for custody issues with my child.  i would have never switched to the iPhone had I known I couldn't easily backup my text messages with date/time, sender, and photo attachments.  Any help you can give is much appreciated!!