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easiest way to backup/restore text messages

G

GenderFi

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 18, 2012
196
0
I'm trying to find the easiest way to backup and restore just the text messages on the iPhone 5. I don't want to jailbreak it nor do I want to spend too much money on a 3rd party program. I appreciate any suggestions.

TIA
 
Last edited:
backup to icloud and it saves everything on your phone in the current state it is in....text, call log, apps
 
GenderFi said:
I'm trying to find the easiest way to backup and restore text messages on the iPhone 5. I don't want to jailbreak it nor do I want to spend too much money on a 3rd party program. I appreciate any suggestions.

TIA
Click to expand...

Easiest way - backup and restore via iTunes.
 
It's wierd but when I got my 5, all my texts and voicemails were there upon activation. And I was transferring from AT&T to Verizon. Even more odd is the fact that I deactivated the AT&T line 2days before I got the Verizon5. The lady at the Verizon counter said VM and texts reside at apple and that they would be on my new phone, sure enough they were.

Then my original phone went down, and the replacement didn't have anything at all. I went back to see if they knew how to get them back (given my prior experience) and nobody at the store had a clue what I was talking about.

I may have just gotten incredibly lucky the first time somehow.

Edit: now I see the above post that makes sense. I didn't restore from iCloud the second time around.
 
Sorry I didn't specifiy but I'm looking to backup/restore JUST the text messages.

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mattopotamus said:
backup to icloud and it saves everything on your phone in the current state it is in....text, call log, apps
Click to expand...

Tried iCloud but I didn't see an option to restore just the texts and it took forever to backup.
 
hmm, not sure if that is an option. You may have to restore and then just manually delete everything else. If you do a restore and then go to settings ....general....restore all settings. That will keep your text but make settings default. Then it is just a matter of deleting apps/pics
 
im looking at doing the same thing too with my 5. i have text messages alway back from iphone 3-3gs-4-4s, now i wanna just start fresh but keep my text messages.
 
pixelwix said:
im looking at doing the same thing too with my 5. i have text messages alway back from iphone 3-3gs-4-4s, now i wanna just start fresh but keep my text messages.
Click to expand...

If you want to save them to a Mac, there is a program called PhoneView that lets you do that (and a lot more).
It's worth whatever it was i spent on it. (I don't recall it being very much, but it does a lot more than JUST save texts and was worth it to me).
I know there are comparable programs for the PC, just not familiar enough to recommend one.
 
looking to start fresh on my iphone too but only restoring messages.

i don't think phoneview can restore messages back to the iphone, it can archive it and allows you to view them from your mac.





Mliii said:
If you want to save them to a Mac, there is a program called PhoneView that lets you do that (and a lot more).
It's worth whatever it was i spent on it. (I don't recall it being very much, but it does a lot more than JUST save texts and was worth it to me).
I know there are comparable programs for the PC, just not familiar enough to recommend one.
Click to expand...
 
itunes and texts

getting a few mixed responses by searching online but if i backup my iphone 4 with itunes (don't have cloud as i have an older OS on my mac and my iphone 4) will it restore my texts when i sync the iphone 5 to itunes?
 
chitown82 said:
getting a few mixed responses by searching online but if i backup my iphone 4 with itunes (don't have cloud as i have an older OS on my mac and my iphone 4) will it restore my texts when i sync the iphone 5 to itunes?
Click to expand...

When I upgraded my 3Gs to iPhone 4 in 2010 and again last month when upgrading iPhone 4 to iPhone 5, I made a current backup of the old iPhone and immediately used that backup to restore my new iPhone. Everything transferred, including all text messages (even carrying over to the iPhone 5 the ones that had originally been on the iPhone 3Gs.) I had to restore from backup twice because initially I wasn't given the choice of using the most recent backup; after that first restoration, I clicked the dropdown arrow next to the iPhone name in iTunes & immediately restored again and was given the opportunity to choose the newest saved backup. Seamless & quick.

I always use iTunes, not iCloud.
 
awesome. thank you!

lelisa13p said:
When I upgraded my 3Gs to iPhone 4 in 2010 and again last month when upgrading iPhone 4 to iPhone 5, I made a current backup of the old iPhone and immediately used that backup to restore my new iPhone. Everything transferred, including all text messages (even carrying over to the iPhone 5 the ones that had originally been on the iPhone 3Gs.) I had to restore from backup twice because initially I wasn't given the choice of using the most recent backup; after that first restoration, I clicked the dropdown arrow next to the iPhone name in iTunes & immediately restored again and was given the opportunity to choose the newest saved backup. Seamless & quick.

I always use iTunes, not iCloud.
Click to expand...
 
Recovering unread text messages

I just got my iphone 5 today after not having a phone for about a month. I sold my iphone 4 and thus have had my "phone" off or inactive for about 4 weeks. I know friends sent me text messages over the coarse of those 4 weeks, but after turning my new iphone on i haven't received any of those messages. i am on at&t. is there a way to get those unread messages that were sent during this time where i didn't have a phone?
 
How to Save IPhone Text Messages to PC

I have struggled with any EASY way to do this. I am in real estate, and as such, everyone conducts a lot of the day-to-day business via text messages. Part of my risk reduction requirements include saving all my client and transaction communications. Through this forum, someone mentioned a program: AllYourTexts.com. It's exactly what I was looking for. Download, update and sync plus a lot more features. Check it out!
 
boze9999 said:
I have struggled with any EASY way to do this. I am in real estate, and as such, everyone conducts a lot of the day-to-day business via text messages. Part of my risk reduction requirements include saving all my client and transaction communications. Through this forum, someone mentioned a program: AllYourTexts.com. It's exactly what I was looking for. Download, update and sync plus a lot more features. Check it out!
Click to expand...

Checked it out. Seems it mainly let's you get the texts onto your computer, but not back to the phone which is what a lot of people are looking for.
 
Easy way to backup SMS!

"Allyourtexts.com" is an awesome way to back up your SMS messages from your iPhone to your computer. After researching a few options, I found this to be the most straightforward program. All the program requires is for you to sync your iPhone with your computer, and then you're off and running! Simply select your iPhone within the program prompt, and you can save the file as is, or copy it to a Word document like I did. Hope this helps!
 
I'm in a similar situation now. I want to restore my phone (battery life is atrocious) but there are text messages that I need on the phone. Has there been a proven way that works with exporting the messages from the phone and then importing them back on after the restore?
 
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