How To Recover Deleted Text Messages On iPhone.
Accidental deletion is one of the worst things that can ever happen to a smartphone user. Especially if you are using iPhone and accidentally deleted text messages on your device, recovering text messages from iPhone is too much of a problem for any user.
If you’ve already found yourself in a situation where you’ve lost or deleted your messages, you may be looking for ways to recover them. Despite all the limitations that come with an iPhone, there is really no easy solution to help you get all your deleted messages back.
However, this does not mean that there are no ways to recover messages on your iPhone at all. Indeed, there are several ways, including two official ones, that will help you recover your messages. Each of these methods has its advantages and disadvantages, but at least you have something to try and recover your texts.
Restore deleted text messages on iPhone using iTunes backup
If you’ve been using an iPhone for a long time, you’re probably familiar with iTunes backups. ITunes backup is a complete backup of all your files stored on your iPhone. The great thing about these backups is that they also contain copies of your text messages.
If you backed up your device with iTunes before deleting the texts, you can actually restore the backup and it will restore the deleted text messages for you.
However, there is one thing you should know. When you restore an iTunes backup to iPhone, it erases all existing content on the device. It then restores everything in the backup, including messages, to your phone.
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If you don’t mind going back to the time your backup was created and you have no problem losing your phone’s current data, this is actually the easiest way to recover text messages on iPhone.
- Connect iPhone to your computer with a compatible cable and launch iTunes. If you are using macOS Catalina, you will need to use Finder to complete the following steps.
- When it opens, click the Edit menu at the top and select the Preferences option. The iTunes preferences menu will open.
- On the settings screen, find the tab labeled “Devices” and click it.
- The Devices tab lists all devices that you back up using iTunes on your computer. Find your device and make a backup in the list. Then check the date next to the backup name to make sure it was created before deleting your messages.
- After making sure that the backup was created before deleting the texts, close the settings panel.
- Click the iPhone icon in the app, select the Summary option in the left sidebar, and click when restoring a backup available in the right pane.
- Select the backup you want to restore to your iPhone and click “Restore”.
It will first erase all content on your iPhone. It will then begin restoring files and other data from the backup you selected.
When the backup is fully restored, you will find that the deleted text messages have returned to the Messages app on your iPhone.
Restore iCloud Backup to recover deleted text messages on iPhone
iTunes isn’t the only way people back up their iPhones. iCloud is also the preferred option for many users to create full backups of their iOS devices, including iPhones. If this is where your iPhone’s backups are stored, you can restore one of these backups to your iPhone and restore your text messages.
Again, keep in mind that this will erase all data on your device. Then it will restore everything from iPhone backup including lost text messages.
If you have certain files that you don’t want to get lost in the process, copy them to the cloud storage or transfer them to your computer before following the next procedure.
- On your iPhone, launch the Settings app and tap General and then Reset.
- On the Reset screen, you will find options to reset various settings on your device. You want to find the “Erase All Content and Settings” option and click on it.
- Wait until iPhone is completely erased. When this is done, start the setup.
- When you reach the Apps & Data screen while setting up your device, find and tap the Recover from iCloud Backup option.
- You will need to select a backup from your iCloud account and it will be restored to your iPhone.
When the backup is restored and you are on your phone home screen, launch the Messages app and you will see that all deleted text messages have been restored.
Use third-party apps to recover deleted text messages on iPhone
The two methods above should do the job very well, provided you meet their minimum requirements. If you have backups before deleting texts and you are ok with deleting current data from your phone, this is the easiest way to restore messages on iPhone.
However, if you’ve never backed up or don’t want to lose your current device data, these methods may not be for you.
In your case, the best approach would be to use one of the many data recovery apps available on the market for your iPhone. Many of these apps allow you to recover text messages even if you don’t have any past backups. Moreover, these apps do not force you to erase data from iPhone before recovering messages.
The only downside to using these apps is that they do not guarantee that your files will be restored. However, it’s worth trying them if you don’t have any other ways to get your messages back.
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