Backup SMS from iPhone
Related Videos: How-To: backup and restore SMS & iMessages on a clean install (May 2024).
You can save your SMS on iPhone in several ways. We present three options.
iPhone: Back up SMS with iTunes
You can back up your SMS via iTunes so that you can get back to your iPhone in the event of data loss. If you want to read the messages or save them externally, follow the instructions in the next paragraph.
- Start iTunes and connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable.
- Select your iPhone in the top left of the screen and you will be taken to the overview.
- Activate the "This computer" option on the left and click the "Back up now" button.
- A full backup of your iPhone is then saved on the PC.
CopyTrans Contacts: backup SMS from iPhone
The free software CopyTrans Contacts only backs up up to 50 messages. If you want to export further messages, you need the paid version. As a rule, the 50 possible contacts should suffice.
- Download CopyTrans Contacts and start the EXE file. Installation is not necessary.
- Connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable and click the "Start" button in the program.
- Go to the "News" category at the top left and wait a moment for it to load.
- Select all the desired SMS messages and click on the "Selected export" button in the top left.
- Now decide on a desired format and choose the storage location.
- Tip: A single file is created for each contact. It is best to create a separate folder for the backup.
iPhone: SMS backup with iFunbox
In the following instructions we show you how to save your SMS with the free tool iFunBox. Since Apple keeps closing its system for security reasons, this way only works on older devices like the iPhone 3GS.
- Start the iFunBox program and connect your iPhone to the computer with a USB cable.
- Go to the "iFunbox Classic" tab above and click on "Raw File System" on the left (see photo).
- Navigate here to the following path: private / var / mobile / Libary
- You can now copy and save the entire "SMS" folder to your computer using drag & drop.
- Of course, you can save other data and folders in the same way (for example the address book "AddressBook").
- In general, be careful when working with iFunbox and it is best not to delete any files via the program.
In the next practical tip, we will show you how to transfer music to iPhone without iTunes.