how to recover imessage history

I finally did it. (Recovered my iChat history/iMessage history on my Mac from my old backup files)

What you need:

1. Your Time Machine back up of ~/Library/ or your old computer that you want to port the chat history from.

2. Your new Macbook Pro, cleanly installed.

What you do:

QUIT the MESSAGES APP

1. Go to ...path to your old home folder/Library (For me it is on a removeable disk so I had to do Finder-> Go -> Go to Folder-> type in "/Volumes/Old Macbook Pro/users/name/Library"

2. Open a separate Finder window, go to ~/Library (Hold down option and click on Go in Finder)

3. Locate the following folders in ~/Library (ON THE NEW MAC):

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat

~/Library/Message

~/Library/Preferences

4. rename

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat -> ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat_old

~/Library/Message -> ~/Library/Message_old

5. Find all the files in ~/Library/Preferences that contains the string "iChat" or "iMessage" and cut them into a separate folder. Be sure to remember where you copied them from!

6. Copy /Volumes/Old Macbook Pro/users/name/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat to your ~/Library folder

7. Copy /Volumes/Old Macbook Pro/users/name/Library/Message to your ~/Library folder

8. This step is trickey: Copy all the files that contains "iChat" or "iMessage" from /...path to backup/Library/Preferences/ into the corresponding directory in ~/Library/Prefrences

9. DO NOT START THE MESSAGES APP and restart your computer

10. Open Messages, your old chats should all be there.

My computer: rMBP 15" Late 2013

My OS: Mac OSX Mavericks

HI,

iChat through to iChat version 6 stores Saved Chats ( A setting in the Preferences) to a folder in your Home Folder/Document/iChats

Since iChat 4 the iChats folder has contained Date and Timed folders (if you turn Off iChat then when you tunr it on for a second Session there will be a new folder - otherwise there is only one).

In Messages the Saved Messages are saved to ~/Library/Messages/Archive in the same Date and Time format

To access them you have to use the Finder > Go Menu > Go to Folder and enter the Path above into the Dialogue box.

Separate to this iMessages are stored in a chat.db data base that is also in the ~/Library/Messages folder.

It is this bit that allows you to see the "history" to any iMessages conversation on a Mac.

Of course it will not show until you send a Message to a contact. I have not tried if the Contact is unable to respond - the iMessage tends to have to been Delivered for the process to work.

On the iPhone the "Saved" Messages are the ones you don't delete.

There is a limited time frame that a device that has been Off (or using a different Apple ID) can Sync conversations that it has not received.

I have collected iMessages up to two days later on my Mac after using my iPhone on a hotel Wifi whilst away.

I have not tried it for longer periods.

9:12 pm Saturday; September 28, 2013

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mountain Lion 10.8.4)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad
"Limit the Logs to the Bits above Binary Images."  No, Seriously

Hi Ralph Johns,

thanks for your info! It helped me (together with the note from hyp) to recover my iMessages data back after a Clean Install of Mavericks.

- the data were in a Time Mashine backup

- Messages.app was not running

- copied the folder /Users/USERNAME/Library/Messages from the most recent backup from before the Clean Install to my Desktop (option-click to the item after locating it with "Enter Time Mashine")

- replaced the same folder in the new (cleanly installed and therefore empty) ~/Library folder with the one from the backup

- did a reboot

- opened Messages.app and had all data back.

Great!

Hi,

If...

you have linked Mac and iPhone they should sync.

There are provisos though.

Basically an iMessages is duplicated at the server and uniquely sent to each device.

If one device is Off line the iMessages servers keep trying.
However there is a Time Limit on this although a precise time is difficult to say.

Lets say an iMessages is delivered to the iPhone and not the Mac.

I have done this when I have been away.

My latest tests have given me the Sync updates up to 7 days later.

I have seen posts here that say longer (one claimed 9 day and another 11 but both were posted after an issue with the iMessages servers).

If a message has been delivered on the iPhone it is deleted on the Servers.

If there is still one for the Mac still waiting it can only be received by the Mac.

It really depends what you did during the 4 months.

The upshot is they are no longer on the iMessages sever and you cannot get iMessages copies of this on to your Mac. (You can send the whole text as a file from the iPhone but it will have not formatting).

There are utilities out there to extract them from the Backup made in iTunes of your iOS device.

9:50 p.m. Wednesday; August 5, 2015

I had to do a clean install and a rebuild due to invalid hard links which a clean install and restore from Time Machine didn't solve.

I created a manual backup - painful and not perfect - to supplement an assumed-reliable Time Machine backup after my usual clone got clobbered by the invalid hard links.

I followed much of the advice in the solution found to be best but with not quite so many steps as I've only ever used iMessage.

In case it helps here's how I did it...

Cleared out ~/Library/Messages

Copied contents of ~/Library/Messages from Time Machine backup to Mac

Restarted Mac - this sorting out the index - not doing so and starting Messages simply bringing a blank sheet up

...my only loss being two messages which arrived before I learned of and implemented the solution.

Hi,

iChat is pre Mountain Lion

However Messages (Mountain Lion and later) and iChat store (if you set it to do that) .ichat files.

These are in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Messages/Archive for Messages since Yosemite.

If you had iChat before it stored the Saved Chats in ~/Documents/iChats (i.e in a folder called iChats in Documents)

iMessages are stored by default in the chat.db items in ~/Library/Messages which also has the Attachments folder (for pics and files that are transferred to you)

This Thread is about using Messages on the iPhone.

Connecting to a person again will tend to make Saved Chats supply a "history" to connection to AIM and Jabber Buddies (also Yahoo and Bonjour actually)

The Chat.db item do the same job for iMessages whether you Save Chats or not.

Messages 9.x in El Capitan cannot open iChat 1 version of .ichat files.

The exception is if you Deleted them.

Then you cannot get them to show in the app again.

Mousing over the Side Bar and using the x that shows up only dismisses the Conversation (iMessages) or Chat (Buddy List connections) from view.

Reconnecting to the same person will show th "history".

8:47 pm Thursday; May 19, 2016

Hi,

In Yosemite iMessages are stored in one place in chat.db items in ~/Library/Messages. There are three of these chat.db items.

The Saved Chats are in ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.iChat/Data/Library/Messages/Archive

These may or may not included your iMessages depending on your Save settings.

As you probably know the ~/Library/Containers.... route is used to Sandbox some of the Apps and provides a Read/Write route to certain items (mostly .plists) that is different from the plain route to where they are stored.

This dos not apply to the archive folder - it just seems it is tucked away in th Sandboxed area.

This can mean you have to double check you Own all the folders from ~/Library down the the Messages one and the Archive itself.

Also double check that you have Read and Write Permissions on each folder as well as the Transferred files.

Repeat for the ~/Library/Messages and each Chat.db item.

Moving the folder that they were stored in in Messages beta to the ~/Library/Messages seemed a good idea at the time as it also read the ~/Documents/iChats folder as well.

Since then things have slowly become more and more hidden with no apparent reason.

I can think of no reason to sandbox the Archive of Save Chats but not the iMessages databases.

Of course there are Terminal ways of changing the ownership of these but I tend not to use Terminal myself.

8:43 pm Friday; March 20, 2015

Hi,

I do it like this.

I have an external Hard Drive that is at least twice the size of the internal one.

I enable Time Machine and let it do the Back up - it takes a longish time the first time.

It can then be used when you do the CMD + R at the start up point as a source for the Restore.

Another way not using that source is to "Restore" the OS from the Internet - Apple Basically. The app will find this and download an Install it without touching your Users Folder. Nor will it remove apps you have Installed.

Time Machine can also be used in everyday function to Restore items in Folders.

Lets say you have loose Pics in the Pictures folder that are not in iPhoto or Photos (depending which you have).

Lets say you select some and Delete them by accident.

You can go back to that folder and use the Time Machine icon in the Dock and it will Launch and changing to a staggered window view.

each "tab" you can see is a date in the backups.

An arrow set on the right allows you to "go back in time". It will move to the date with the last changes to the folder you are looking at.

You can select the items you want and hit the Restore button and they will be brought forward to the current window.

Other than that it will depend on why you think you need to Restore and what you hope to gain from it.

Messing with individual parts of the Home Folder/Library can be fraught as far as Messages is concerned.

9:55 pm Friday; December 4, 2015

Hi,

On the Mac, if you are Saving chats on Close (this includes end of Session quitting of the app) then you should Be able to see this in the Recent Items list in the File Menu.

The number of Recent Items can be increased/Decreased by the number set in System Preferences > General pane.

This used to be different numbers for Applications, Server and Documents but now it is one setting.

Saved chats are "documents" of Messages

If it is an iMessages it depends what you mean by "deleted".

Generally speaking if you remove that chant from the Messages window when you or that Contact connect to each other again the "history" will re-appear.

However there are settings in the File Menu that does remove the chat/Conversation more permanently.

8:57 pm Tuesday; February 18, 2014

 iMac 2.5Ghz 5i 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 Couple of iPhones and an iPad

If you have ever backed up your data to iTunes or iCloud.You can recover deleted imessages within several steps.

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414

If you did not back up data, you'd better use some recovery toos to recover imessages from iPhone directly.

You can recover deleted imessages by following:

1: Connect iPhone to computer.

2: Tick the selection of Restore from iCloud Backup.

3: Sign in your iCloud account.

4: Locate the latest backup and restore it to your iPhone.

5: Enter any passwords required during the process.

6: When the recovery is over, you can check your iMessages on your iPhone.

kzzly wrote:

I've been trying to recover my chat history for 2 weeks, this is how I could finally do it:

http://www.justapple.com/2013/10/27/messages-chat-history-saving-mavericks-weve- got-fix/

This actually worked, thanks so much for your help!!

Your iMessages may be stored in iCloud backups, so you can try to recover deleted iPhone iMessages history via iCloud backup recovery:

Tap on settings > iCloud > Storage & Backup > Manage Storage > Device Name > Check the backup's created date.

Before recovery, you should know that once you choose to restore your device with iCloud backup, all your data in your device will be replaced by the contents in the backup.

Good luck.

DS.

Hi,

The "History" you Restored will not include the 1 months after that.

The Servers don't keep the iMessages that have been delivered and as they have been delivered within that month you can not get them.

It works like this:-

An iMessages is sent to either your iPhone Number ID or the Apple ID.

If they are linked then the server "duplicates" the iMessages so it can be delivered to all registered Devices.

It then Pushes as the process is called the iMessages to each device individually.

Once the iPhone has it's "Copy" it is deleted from the iMessages server.

As the Mac can be Off line more often than the iPhone it keep trying until the Mac accepts the iMessages then that too is deleted from the server.

The iPhone cannot access "waiting" Mac version ones or vice versa.

8:00 p.m. Tuesday; October 6, 2015

Maybe you could turn to some third party recovery software. Google it and you will find Macgo Mac iPhone Data Recovery is on a three month giveaway. Don't miss it.