How to recover deleted SMS on iPhone and Android: three ways. Recovery Software

If you think that after you delete a message from your smartphone, it immediately disappears into oblivion, in most cases you are still mistaken! We will tell you how to recover deleted SMS on the gadgets of two popular platforms.

Three ways to recover messages

SMS messages could disappear from the memory of your phone in different ways: you recklessly deleted the necessary information, the child played with the smartphone, accidentally chose the wrong command, the device "malfunctioned" and erased them itself. Can I recover deleted SMS? Yes, this is done in several ways:

1. In many phones, both ultramodern and obsolete models, there is a special folder - "Deleted Messages", "Trash". It is possible that your SMS is now lying there. However, for such folders the self-cleaning function is most often used - unclaimed information is permanently deleted from them automatically once a day, week, month, depending on the settings. Therefore, you need to start looking for missing SMS there as soon as possible.
2. Many mobile operators on their servers store the entire archive of call history, customer messages. This is done for security purposes - once this information will help to solve the crime or to make someone else’s alibi. But no one can guarantee you that the operator will share with you the data from such an archive.
3. The use of special software is sometimes the only way that can recover deleted SMS on the phone. Most often, this application is an SMS reader - restores messages from the cache. But with this method, you also need to hurry - as soon as the cache is full, all information from it will automatically be deleted. To delay this moment, try to use the gadget less actively - turn off the Internet, close applications.

And now we will share with you programs that will help you in recovering lost data.

Recovery via Android Data Recovery

As you understand from the name, this program is designed to help owners of "androids", puzzled by the problem "Deleted SMS - how to recover?" The software is simple and intuitive to use, has rich functionality - with its help you can restore not only messages, but text notes, deleted contacts, photos or videos.

How to recover deleted SMS using Android Data Recovery, read on:

1. Download and install the application on your PC.
2. Now take care of the phone - we need to activate the developer mode in it for further manipulations. In the "Settings" find "About the device", stop at "Build number".
3. Now you need to click on “Build Number” until the “Debug (Developer) Mode is activated” window pops up.
4. In the same “Settings”, find “Developer Settings” and make USB debugging active.
5. Connect the smartphone to the computer through the cable.
6. Launch Android Data Recovery. After the program recovery wizard connects to the phone, activate the process by pressing the "Start" button.
7. On the screen of some phone models, you need to confirm the permission of the program to work with the gadget's memory.
8. Scanning will take some time. Those SMS that the program was able to recover will be visible in the window highlighted in orange.

How to recover deleted SMS via android database?

On Android phones, SMS messages are not stored on a SIM card, but in a special database. If you delete the message, it will disappear only from the "Messages" menu item, but will be stored in the mmssms.db file for some time. You can find it through the file manager of the device. But only if you have root privileges.

The Sqliteman application will help you read the messages stored on the specified database file.

SMS recovery on an iPhone with Enigma Recovery

It is possible to recover deleted SMS on iPhone4 and later models using a third-party software called Enigma Recovery. The process is no more complicated than on android:

1. Download and install the program. Both paid and free versions are available.
2. Connect the gadget to the PC using a cable. After that, click on "Recover from iOS Device".
3. The program will begin scanning the smartphone and creating a database.
4. After completing work, a report on the recovered files will be displayed on the PC screen. Click on Continue.
5. In the next window, select the "Messages" folder. To look at the restored deleted data, click on "Show only deleted data".
6. The "Export" button will help return SMS to the iPhone.

Recover deleted SMS using iTunes

If you are looking for how to recover deleted SMS messages on iPhone without downloading extraneous software, then you can try to restore the backup copy through "iTunes":

1. Open iTunes on your computer, then connect your phone via a USB cable to your PC.
2. Click on the icon of your phone in the window - the "Overview" tab will open.
3. In "Backups" click on "Restore from copy". In case of such situations, we recommend using the "Create a copy" command later.
4. Confirm in the pop-up window which device you are working with.
5. In the next window you need to enter the date when the lost SMS was still in the gadget's memory.
6. Click Restore. As soon as the program completes the process, what it was able to recover will again appear in the menu of your smartphone "Messages".

Additional recovery methods

If everything written has turned out to be useless for you, we’ll list a few proven programs that will help solve the question: “I deleted SMS - how to recover?”.

For Android : SMS Backup and Restore, FonePaw, Dr. Fone, GT SMS Recovery.

For iPhone : Primo iPhone Data Recovery.

Any problem is easier to prevent than to solve. In order not to be afraid that your SMS from an accidental action or malfunction of the device will sink into oblivion, it is best to activate the backup of this data to the "cloud", from where you can get it at any time.