Unlike emails, the text messaging app on your phone doesn't have a trash can, making it indeed a traumatic experience when you realize you just deleted a crucial SMS accidentally. What would you do in that case? How do you recover text messages? Is that even possible? Well, it is. Today, we'll teach you how to retrieve deleted text messages on Android!
Though Android doesn't have a system-wide recycle bin yet, you're not doomed when you accidentally delete data and need to recover it. If you take the right action at the right time, recovering your lost data is possible.
How to recover deleted text messages on Android – The Real Truth
Learning how to retrieve deleted text messages on Android starts somewhere: taking the right action as fast as possible. However, you also need to know something about how data deletion works on Android.
Like your computer, anything you delete on Android isn't gone as soon as you delete them. They're usually hidden somewhere, waiting for the final deletion/recovery signal from the system.
Most times, the deleted files lurk around the system, invisible and ready to be replaced. Once you do more stuff on your device that requires the addition of new files, the trashed ones get replaced.
So, the perfect thing to do to increase the chance of retrieving lost text messages on your Android phone is to stop using it right away. Turn on Airplane mode to stop receiving new texts that might override the deleted ones.
How to retrieve deleted text messages on Android using recovery software
The fastest and the most reliable way to recover lost text messages on Android is using data recovery software. Now isn’t the time to keep searching your phone, expecting the accidentally deleted texts to restore like magic.
Instead, grab an Android data recovery software like Dr. Fone, FonePaw, or Tenorshare UltData to search the nook and crooner of your phone for the deleted text.
Any of this software is easy to use After setting up the data recovery software on your computer, the procedure is pretty simple... You’ll only need to enable USB debugging on your phone and connect it to your PC using a USB cable.
Here's how to retrieve deleted text messages on Android using Dr.Fone data recovery software on your PC:
- Setup Fone on your PC and launch it.
- Enable USB debugging on your Android phone
- Connect your phone to the computer with a USB cable
- Select Data Recovery on the Dr.Fone interface
- Click on Recover phone data in the side panel
- Select Messages in the next window, then click on
- In a few minutes, Dr.Fone will confirm and analyze your phone for the deleted SMS messages.
- After that, you’ll see a preview of all the retrievable text messages.
- In the Messages tab, select the messages you want to retrieve.
- Click the Recover button to start.
- Finally, you can open the Messages app on your phone to confirm the restoration, after which you're free to disconnect your phone from the PC.
That’s how to retrieve deleted text messages on Android. That should work in most cases if you take action before the deleted message gets replaced. However, most recovery software isn’t free; be ready to pay a token if you want to recover deleted messages on your Android phone.
How to retrieve deleted messages by getting in touch with the phone carrier
It’s nothing new that many network providers usually store your text messages and other vital data before deleting it from their system. That means you might recover your deleted texts even if the data recovery software didn’t work for you.
However, it’s not a solution in most cases, as most network providers won’t release such information without genuine reason. And in this case, accidentally deleting the text isn't anywhere a tangible reason to convince your network provider.
However, contacting them may help in extreme cases. For instance, they could help you retrieve the deleted SMS if they need it as evidence in a court of law.
Retrieving deleted messages on Android by contacting your carrier is pretty slim and impossible in most cases. But it never hurts to ask. Try your luck.
Final Thoughts:
Salvaging deleted SMS messages isn’t easy. Just ensure it doesn’t happen again.
Whether you're trying data recovery software or contacting your carrier provider, it isn't an easy job to recover lost texts on mobile phones. And seven out of ten times, it's impossible.
If the solutions cited above worked for you, that means you're super lucky. And if not, we're sorry. Either way, the best thing to avoid such a mess next time is to prevent it from happening.
By preventing it from happening, I mean you should get away to back up your text messages all the time. Since you're on Android, that's pretty easy. You can opt for Android Backup using the Google Drive storage tied to your Google account.
Besides saving and sharing files, Google Drive can help you back up vital data, such as SMS, call logs, app data, and many more. Just set it up at once and lay your mind to rest.
Here’s how:
- Launch the Settings app on your phone.
- Scroll down a bit and tap Google
- Click on Backup
- Turn on “Backup to Google Drive”
- Finally, tap on Backup Now to initiate it for the first time. And if you wish, you could turn on “Backup using mobile data” to ensure you're always backed up.
However, the problem with backing up your texts and other data with Google Drive is that you can't restore them without erasing your device first. If that isn't normal for you, try backing up your text messages with third-party apps like Autosync, Buggy Backup Pro, G Cloud Backup, Migrate, etc.
Stay guided.
