Given how rapidly the Messages app can fill up with texts, images, videos, and other files, it’s a good idea to clean up the app every now and again to free up space on your iPhone. There’s also a setting in Texts (Settings > Messages > Message History) that allows you to have messages automatically deleted after a certain length of time.
But what if you accidentally erase a critical message? With a little luck and our help, you should be able to recover it. In this post, we’ll show you how to recover lost or mistakenly deleted texts on your iPhone using few easy approaches.
You might be able to restore the texts if you took an iCloud backup of your iPhone before deleting them. Here’s how to get your deleted texts back.
- Toggle to your name/picture at the top of Settings.
- Tap Backups after selecting iCloud > Manage Storage.
- You’ll be given a selection of backups to choose from; press one to see when it was saved. Look for one that was stored before you removed the message and relates to the proper device (s).
- Even if you discover a compatible backup, keep in mind that you’ll need to restore your iPhone to factory settings before utilising the older backup to set up your iPhone. Any data added or system changes made since the backup will be lost, so make sure you preserve copies of any more recent files separately.
- Go to Settings > General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings to return the iPhone to factory settings. It will take a few minutes to complete this task. When the phone starts up, it will walk you through the typical setup; when prompted to choose a backup, make sure you select the proper one.
Because it does not need a complete reset, this solution is great if it succeeds. It does not, however, work for everyone. In some countries and for certain phone operators, iCloud simply does not store up SMS texts for unknown reasons.
- So go ahead and try the first two steps to see whether you’re one of the lucky ones, and if you’re not, move on to the next way.
- Use your Apple ID and password to access iCloud.com.
Select Text Messages from the drop-down menu. - Look through the messages to locate the ones you’re looking for.
- Now navigate to Settings > [your name] > iCloud on your iPhone.
- Turn off Text Messages (or double-check that it’s already off).
- A popup will appear. Keep On My iPhone is the option to choose.
- Re-enable text messaging now.
- Wait after you’ve tapped Merge. The deleted text messages should resurface on your iPhone within a few minutes.
