How many times have you wished for the ‘Recycle bin’ feature in your phones? It would have made the recovery task so much simpler! Alas, this isn’t the case with your phones. But, there are simple ways to do so…
Consider this scenario, you are playing with your mobile phone, scanning the text messages, and deleting the unimportant ones. Your cell asks you if you indeed want to delete the message and you hit ‘yes’. Oops! that’s the moment when you realize, that you just deleted the message containing your exam schedule or some other extremely important data.
Accidentally deleting important text messages is a mistake that most of us make, more than often. However, you would be pleased to know that there is still a possibility of retrieving those deleted messages. Before you begin the task of recovering the deleted text messages, get yourself a USB SIM card reader and a SIM data recovery app.
In order to get back your deleted messages, the recovery software is one of the most recommended and widely used options. However, the software are not available free of cost, but the good news is, that there are free trials of the same that are available. You can download these free trials and check if the messages can be recovered or not in the first place!
If you get an affirmative answer, then you need to buy the recovery software.
Is it Possible?
Of course, it is possible! When a message is deleted, it is not instantly deleted from the system’s memory. The memory space that was allocated for that message, say 1kb, will be marked as empty, so that it can be used when the message memory is full. So, the message will be there in the system’s memory until the memory is full. This is the sole reason why recovery is possible.
Recover Messages from Smartphone
From iPhone
Messages once deleted from the iPhone cannot be recovered, is a myth. Of course, they can be recovered. Remember, whenever you connect your iPhone to your computer, iTunes takes the backup of the data that is currently on your phone. It is this backup which has all your messages intact, even after you have deleted them from your phone. The possibility of recovering the deleted messages from your iPhone is the highest when compared to other phones.
First and foremost, disable the “Sync” option in iTunes before starting the recovery, else it will create a new backup and the entire previous backup will be deleted. Go to ~/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup file location. Now, in the finder, press ALT/Option and click on Go. Now, choose the Library option from the ones that are displayed. Here, you will be able to see the backup data. However, to retrieve it, you will need a recovery software.
Here are the steps to be followed for Wondershare Dr.Fone (Mac), one of the data recovery software.
Step 1: After downloading the software, install and run it. Now, go to Recover from iTunes Backup File option. Select your iPhone and click on Start Scan.
Step 2: Once the scan is completed, all the iTunes backup content will be displayed as per their categories, for example, Music files in music folder, Image files in picture folder, etc.
Step 3: For message recovery, check the Messages option and click on Recover. The messages will be back to the location from where they were deleted. In case you feel the messages are very important, you can keep their backup on your computer as well.
Follow these steps for Technoshare iTunes Data Recovery software.
Step 1: Run the software while it syncs with your iTunes.
Step 2: Select your device from the list that is displayed and click on “Start Scan” option.
Step 3: A list of deleted files, phones, messages, that were present on your device when it was last synced with iTunes, will be displayed.
Step 4: Select the messages you want to retrieve and click on the “Restore” option. Save the files at an appropriate location in your computer.
The other method to recover the files is to connect your device to the computer. Then go to
File ⇒ Devices ⇒ Click on Restore from Backup.
* Remember to take a backup of all the data that you have, so that it will be useful in the future.
From Blackberry & Other Phones
If you have a blackberry and have lost only a few important messages, then go to the phone’s search section, and type the keywords or the title that you are able to recall from the lost messages. There is a possibility that the messages may be still present in the incoming message folder, outgoing message folder, or in any backup folders in the phone’s menu. In case you are a corporate user, your organization might have a backup of the messages that are sent from or received on your blackberry. In such a scenario, you can get the deleted messages from the server.
If you have a android phone, then you have very few options left with you. Try sending a new message to the same person again. This might show you the previous conversations that you have had with the person, including the deleted ones!
Recover Messages from Non-Smartphones
Follow the steps mentioned below to recover messages from any non-smartphone handset. The deleted messages will be restored to their original location.
Step 1: Connect your phone to the computer via USB cable or insert the SIM card into an external card reader.
Step 2: Choose your device and the memory location from the software’s menu that you have installed. Most of the software will give you a list of the deleted files.
Step 3: You can select the files that you wish to restore and click on the Restore option. The messages will be restored!
You need not be a geek or a tech expert to recover deleted text messages from your phone. By simply following the steps mentioned above, you can retrieve the lost data. Alternatively, you may turn to your service provider for help. However, most companies won’t comply unless you have a proper court order. Go for this option only if the information you lost is worth the trouble.