Save SMS on Android: how to archive them, how to export messages messages/sms on iPhone

How to export SMS conversations to iPhone

Unfortunately, most SMS applications – including those installed by default on phones, such as the essential Google messages – do not have a backup function. And the rare apps that offer this option, such as mood or pulse, generally reserve it for their paid version.

Save SMS on Android: how to archive them

Whether to transfer them to a new phone or simply to shelter them, you can perfectly save SMS from your Android mobile and thus recover your most precious messages.

  • With system backup
  • With sms to text
  • With SMS Backup & Restore

Even if SMS have lost their popularity in the face of many instant messaging of WhatsApp, Messenger or Signal, they are still widely used, all generations combined. Especially since we can send it without counting with current telephone plans, without needing a mobile internet connection or Wi-Fi. And if many texts – not to say most – are limited to harmless remarks, some are valuable, because they contain important, useful or confidential information that deserve to be kept – we can wish to keep traces of discussion with a loved one, by nostalgia. And of course, you can also want to find all these conversations in the event of a phone change or reset.

Unfortunately, most SMS applications – including those installed by default on phones, such as the essential Google messages – do not have a backup function. And the rare apps that offer this option, such as mood or pulse, generally reserve it for their paid version.

Fortunately, there are simple and free solutions to save – and even restore – SMS on an Android phone. The most radical method consists in using the complete backup function of the phone, via the services associated with your Google account – the one serves on Android – or the account at the manufacturer of your phone – Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, etc. The procedure is simple, but it encompasses all your data (SMS, apps, photos, documents, etc.)). To save only your texts, it is better to use specialized and free applications, such as SMS to text or SMS Backup & Restore, which offer more targeted functions. You can not only shelter your messages and restore them if necessary, but also consult them easily on a computer, which can be very practical.

How to save your SMS with account backup ?

If your SMS app does not allow backing and restoring your SMS, you can rely on solutions related to the manufacturer of your phone or Android. But it will be all your data that will be saved at the same time: SMS, photos, contacts, etc. There is no possible filtering.

  • Open your phone settings from the home screen or from notifications.

  • Press on The icon in the shape of a magnifying glass or the button To research. In the research field, type backup.
  • Research results are displayed. Press on Accounts and backup or an equivalent.

  • A new screen is loaded. You can then use the backup solutions specific to each mobile manufacturer.

  • If you change your phone, simply identify yourself with your Google account or the manufacturer’s account so that all your data is automatically restored.

How to save sms with sms to text ?

To easily and quickly recover SMS on an Android phone, the ideal is to use SMS to text, an old, minimalist and English free application, but very easy to use and terribly effective. It is no longer distributed on the Google Play Store, but you can recover it and install it easily in the form of APK. If you do not know how to proceed, read our practical sheet Install an APK file on an Android mobile. Please note, SMS to text only back up the texts and smileys of SMS, not the images or videos contained in MMS.

Install sms to text

  • Launch a web browser on your phone and download the file in APK format.
  • Then open your download folder with your phone file manager – which can be called files, my files or file manager, for example, depending on the brand of your mobile – to find the APK and install the app.
  • Press on SMS to text.apk To launch the installation.
  • An alert message appears to prevent you from blocking the installation. This is normal, Android blocks by default the installation of apk e coming by Google Play Store. Press on Settings To modify this parameter.

  • A new screen relating to the installation of unknown apps appears – the title and the presentation vary according to LS Telens. Activate the switch on the line Authorization from this application – or an equivalent.

  • A confirmation window appears. To push on Install.

  • Once the application is installed, press Open to launch it.

  • To work, SMS to text needs to access your contacts, SMS and storage. Give the requested authorizations and press Continue at the bottom.

  • It is possible that a message appears to inform you that the version of SMS to text has been designed for an older version of Android and that it may not work on your phone . It is not a problem, it will still work. Press on OK.

  • Finally accept the use license.

Save sms

  • After installation, launch SMS to text. Stripped not to say austere, the main menu of the app is both simple and clear. By default, no filter is applied. The app can save all the SMS it has found on your phone, indicating their number at the bottom.

  • To save all of your SMS in text format, press Export to sd card.
  • A small window entitled Save as appears. It indicates the location of the backup – by default, in the SMSTOTEXT folder located in the main storage space of your phone. The editable field indicates the name given to your backup file. By default, it is of the type SMS_ANNEMISE. Leave it as such or press the field to give it a more explicit name with the keyboard. Then press OK To start backup.

A mini window appears, indicating the progress of the operation, which is very fast. It automatically closes when the backup is finished.

One of the great advantages of SMS to text is to offer several options to refine to save it. You have two filters for this: one for conversations, the other for dates.

  • If you don’t want to keep a particular conversation, press Filter by Conversation.
  • The list of all your discussions appears. Select the one you want to save. The main menu reappears. You just need to give an explicit name to this conversation, to press on OK.

  • Whatever your choice for SMS (all or a conversation), you can add a filter by dates. Press on Filter by date, A new page is displayed with three choices. Press on Preset Range To choose a predefined period (last 7 days, last 30 days, previous months, etc.)). You can instead press on Start Date and on End date To define a start date and an end date in a calendar respectively.

Restore saved SMS

Of course, SMS to text allows you to recover your archived messages on a new phone.

  • Send your backup file by email to your new mobile and transfer it via USB.
  • Install SMS to text on your new mobile, as explained above.
  • Open SMS to text and press The three small points top right of the screen.

  • In the menu appearing, press Import sms.

  • Browse your phone’s storage space and press Your backup file.

  • An alert message appears because SMS to text must replace your default SMS app, the time to import messages. Accept by pressing YES.

  • Validate again by pressing on OK, on the next screen.

  • When the import is complete, SMS to text invites you to restore the original SMS app as default app. Accept by pressing YES.

  • Your old messages are now available in your SMS app.

How to save your SMS with SMS Backup & Restore ?

SMS Backup & Restore is undoubtedly the best -known messages backup application on Android. Free and in French, it is more complete and a little more complex than SMS to text. But, in addition to SMS, it also saves MMS and the call journal, send them to an online storage service like Cloud like OneDrive or Google Drive, and to program automatic backups. Having many options that we will not approach here – like the possibility of precisely choosing the conversations to be saved – it is logically longer to configure.

Configure SMS Backup & Restore

  • Download and install SMS Backup & Restore on the Google Play Store.
  • After installation, launch SMS Backup & Restore.
  • At the first use, the SMS Backup & Restore Home screen offers your first backup immediately. Press the green button Backup.

  • A new configuration screen appears. Press on Start now. Then grant access authorizations to the application when requested.

  • Leave the settings as they are to save your SMS and your call log. Press on Following at the bottom of the screen.
  • The next screen allows you to choose the destination of your archive. You have the choice between several online storage services. Activate the switch Next to the name of the service of your choice.

  • The service configuration screen is displayed. Press on Open a session up.

  • In the case of OneDrive and Google Drive, a menu appears to select the authorizations granted to the app. Check the front box Access only to the own SMS Backup & Restore folder, then press OK.

  • The following screens are used to identify you with the selected service with your username and password. Go to the end of the procedure. Back in SMS Backup & Restore, press Save To keep the settings.

  • The configuration screen reappears. If you wish you can also add a backup on other cloud services. In this case, activate the switch Next to the name of the service of your choice and renew the identification steps.
  • When everything is configured, press Following, down.

  • A new screen appears to automatically program backups. Press the frequency that suits you (for example Every week)).

  • To launch your first backup immediately, press Save now at the bottom of the screen.
  • You can then follow the progress of the backup, which is made very quickly.

  • When the transfer is finished, your backup is archived on the desired space.

Backup

  • To recover your messages and your call journal on a new phone, download and install SMS Backup & Restore on the new device.
  • Launch SMS Backup & Restore and grant the necessary authorizations when asked.
  • The SMS Backup & Restore SMS home screen appears. Press on The three features on the top corner left.

  • In the menu, press Restore.

  • A new screen is displayed. Select the location of your backup..

  • In the case of OneDrive and Google Drive, a menu appears to select the authorizations granted to the app. Check the front box Access only to the own SMS Backup & Restore folder, then press OK.

  • A new screen appears with the list of the latest backups made. Press on Restore at the bottom of the screen.

  • Download starts as confirmed by the menu which is displayed and which allows you to follow its progress.
  • A new menu appears explaining to you that the app must replace the application defined in the system to manage SMS. Press on OK, then on YES on the next screen.

  • When downloading your archive is finished, a new menu appears to inform you. Press on Close.

  • SMS Backup & Restore reminds you of the following screen to think about putting the app of your choice as a default SMS app. Press on OK.

  • It is enough to start the application of your choice for sending SMS and the system displays a message asking you to confirm whether this app should be used by default. Validate by pressing YES.

  • Your saved SMS and MMS appear in your app.

Save

With SMS Backup & Restore, you can easily consult a computer backup.

  • With your usual browser, connect to the online storage service on which you have made your backup.
  • Access the folder containing your archive and download the file to your computer. It is in XML format (text with ballsies).

  • To view the messages and photos contained in this file, the best is to go through your browser. Go to the special page of the SMS Backup & Restore site dedicated to this function. Everything is in English, but understandable.
  • In the page that opens, click on Select.

  • Browse your computer to the folder where you have downloaded your file, and validate by clicking on Open.
  • Wait until the file is loaded in your browser. The list of all saved conversations is then displayed in the left column of the page.

  • By default, the order of presentation is chronological, from the oldest conversation to the most recent, and throughout the saved period. You can modify these settings in the upper part of the browser.
  • To display the most recent first, click on The drop -down menu next to Sort Order and choose New Set.

  • To select a specific period (for example, last year), click on Range date Then on both boxes JJ/MM/AAAA To fix the dates fans a calendar. Then click on Reload higher on the page, to apply your settings.

  • To browse a conversation, click on her name In the left column.
  • The right part of the window by displaying four columns: the first specifies if it is a message received (receive) or sent (smells), the second indicates the date and time, the third the name and the Correspondent phone number, and last the content of the message, with text and photos.

  • To recover a particular photo, click on Download under the thumbnail.
  • To print conversation, with all messages and photos, click on the link Print Going up at the top of the page.

How to export SMS conversations to iPhone

You want to send your SMS messages to the computer ? You can do it directly on the iPhone. Otherwise, other methods do the trick by offering more options. Let’s take stock of the best export solutions.

Audrey Jeunet last update on: 04/17/2023

Even with the emergence of instant messaging applications, users always use SMS. This is the ideal tool to pass information in any condition. And to hide or personalize messages, everyone exports them to the computer. On the latter, changes become easier. Fortunately, the iPhone supports export. Nevertheless, this functionality remains very basic. You can therefore favor more efficient software. Let’s take a look at these solutions.

  1. Via the SMS transfer option
  2. Export SMS conversations iPhone
  3. Export SMS iPhone to Android

1. Export iPhone SMS conversations via the SMS transfer option

It is possible thanks to the link of the Idevices that Apple introduced into its devices. From the settings, you can export the SMS ones from the iPhone in real time. First, you will have on the mac the complete history of your messages. Then you can read the SMS received instantly and even answer them. This of course requires the launch of the Imessage on the Mac application, without forgetting to connect the iPhone and the computer to a WiFi network.

The weak point of this solution is selective sorting. Indeed, you cannot select the messages to export to the Mac. It allows you to send everything at the same time. In addition, it is possible to save SMS on the computer. Later, you can consult or print them. Below the steps to follow.

  • Access your iPhone settings> Click on messages and then on SMS transfer
  • Choose the device to export iPhone messages

Export of iPhone messages

2. Export SMS conversations iPhone to PC/Mac

Having the privilege of selecting messages to export is a real privilege. Finding SMS by contact or date is also a big advantage. Sometimes users want to transfer a small part of a conversation to the computer. This is not possible directly on the iPhone. It is therefore necessary to ensure by Anytrans. This program offers several interesting features. Which allows him to gain the preference of users.

  • It is compatible with PC and Mac but also with all versions of the iPhone. The software interface allows everyone to easily enjoy it.
  • Indeed, you only have to click on the type of data to be transferred from the home page.
  • For messages, Anytrans gives you several choices to backup on the computer. You can, for example, do it in TXT, HTML or PDF format.
  • The software also gives the possibility of launching an impression directly and without the need to recording the conversation. Several interesting options await you with this solution.

We recommend that you download Anytrans as soon as possible. Then you must follow the following approach.

  • Launch anytrans by connecting your iPhone to the computer> Click on Messages

Choose messages

  • Preview and select the messages you want to transfer> Click the PC button in the top right corner to transfer messages to PC.

Select iPhone messages to save

Select iPhone messages to save

3. Export iPhone SMS conversations to Android

Several users are increasingly asking for an export solution for iPhone SMS to an Android. Frequent change in mobiles is the main cause. In this situation, going through the transfer to a computer is not worth much. Anydroid is software that supports the hot connection of two phones.

  • It allows you to export the iPhone SMS conversations to an Android device. The principle is simple. Connect the two mobiles to the same wifi source.
  • Then, on the software, choose the transfer module to Android. Several types of data are moveable with Anydroid.
  • You will also find the full list when triggering the transfer. The user is invited to check the type to transfer and start the operation. All your messages will be copied to the Android phone in a few minutes with of course the different details such as the recipient number or the date of reception.
  • On the iPhone, nothing will be touched. If you want to eliminate SMS, you will have to do it directly on the device. Anydroid offers several interesting features.

You can discover them by downloading it. Here are the steps to follow.

  • Connect the iPhone and Android phone to PC then launch Anydroid> Click the button Go to Android then on iOS to Android.

Choose iOS to Android

Choose iOS to Android

  • Check the messages and click Next to start export

Transfer iOS messages to Android

Transfer iOS messages to Android

Conclusion

To export your iPhone messages to the computer, we recommend that you use anytrans. However, if you think about going to Android. It will then be necessary to use Anydroid. The two software has confirmed their effectiveness in data transfer.

Anytrans – Export SMS conversations on iPhone

  • Transfer more than 3000 photos from the iPhone to a laptop in less than 32 seconds.
  • Transfer all photos such as film, photo flow, photo sharing, etc.
  • No damage to the image and will be kept in the original quality.
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