How to Retrieve Deleted Text Messages from Another iPhone

Are you finding ways to recover deleted text messages from another iPhone? This detailed passage will give you 4 ways to make it. And you can even transfer text messages from iPhone to iPhone without any Apple ID limitation.

Kathy by Kathy Updated October 17, 2023
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Do you know how to retrieve deleted text messages from another iPhone?

Accidentally deleted some text messages on an old iPhone. Any way to recover them to my new iPhone?

- Question from AT&T Community Forums

Can you retrieve deleted text messages from another iPhone?

Text messages on an iPhone allow users to send written messages, whether casual, personal, or professional, to others, enabling them to share information about their learning, work, life, or other news.

text messages

Sometimes, you might accidentally delete important information from your old iPhone and want to recover it on your new iPhone. Then figuring out how to achieve this becomes a headache, but don't worry, there will be 4 ways for you to make it efficiently.

How to retrieve deleted text messages from another iPhone

From this part, you can achieve the process on iPhone directly. Alternatively, you can restore deleted messages from your iCloud, iTunes, or Finder backup, whether you're using a Windows PC or a Mac.

recover messages

It's important to note that when using the first method to recover deleted messages, your current data on the new phone will not be replaced. However, if you choose to restore messages from an iCloud, iTunes, or Finder backup, the existing data on the new phone will be overwritten.

Method 1. Retrieve text messages on iPhone directly (iOS 16 or later)

The simplest way to recover deleted messages is by directly using the Messages app on your old iPhone. However, this method is only applicable to iPhones running iOS 16 or higher.

How to retrieve deleted text messages on iPhone

Step 1. Open the Messages app, tap Edit on the conversations page and then click Show Recently Deleted.

Note: If you've enabled Message Filtering, you won't see the Edit button. In this case, you should tap Filters on the conversations page.

Step 2. Select the targeted conversations, then tap Recover > Click Recover Messages or Recover [Number] Messages to finish the task.

recover messages on iPhone

Note: You can only retrieve messages and conversations that were deleted in the past 30 to 40 days. If a message was deleted prior to your update to iOS 16, or a newer version, it's not recoverable.

Transfer retrieved text messages to another iPhone without Apple ID limitation

After the process, you can try to transfer your retrieved text messages from old iPhone to your new iPhone. Then FoneTool will be your best choice to make it.

yes Preview and selective transfer: You can preview and choose specific text messages or all messages in the Messages app to transfer.
yes No Apple ID limitation: FoneTool helps you easily transfer data between different Apple IDs.
yes Super-fast transfer speed: All data can be moved in a very short time. For example, thousands of text messages can be transferred in a couple of minutes.
yes Data security assurance: The transfer only depends on USB cables, so you don’t need to worry about any data leakage.

So why not download it on your Windows PC and try this handy tool to transfer your text messages right now?

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Step 1. Connect the old iPhone to your computer with a USB cable then launch FoneTool. If this is the first time you've connected your device to the PC, you'll need to tap Trust on your iPhone.

Step 2. Click Phone Backup > Choose Selective Backup and tap on Get Started.

selective backup

Step 3. Click the Messages icon to select the text messages you need to transfer, then choose OK to continue.

choose messages

Step 4. Click Backup Storage Path to select the storage path and tap on Start Backup to begin.

back up messages

Step 5. Once the process is finished, unplug your old iPhone and then connect your new iPhone to computer. Go to the Backup History screen and click the Restore option to move your messages.

restore backup

Note: With this selective backup feature, you can also protect text messages from disappearing in your inbox.

Method 2. Restore iCloud backup to another iPhone

iPhone users can automatically back up their text messages using iCloud. Thus, you can get lost data back from your iPhone through your iCloud backup. Now you can follow the steps below to learn how to retrieve deleted text messages on iPhone 13/14/15.

Step 1. Turn on your new iPhone and initiate the setup process. If you have already set up your new iPhone, then you need to swipe all data on it first. (Go to Settings > General Reset > Choose Erase All Content and Settings.)

Step 2. In the Apps and Data screen, choose Restore from iCloud Backup > Sign in to your iCloud account and select the most recent backup to restore.

restore from iTunes backup

Method 3. Restore iTunes backup to recover (For Windows)

If you're unable to access your iCloud backup using the previous method, you can manually restore your iPhone backup using iTunes on your computer.

Step 1. Connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable > Launch the iTunes application on your Windows PC > Click the iPhone icon in the top left corner.

Step 2. Click Summary, and tap the Restore Backup button under the Backups section. Then select the targeted backup and click Restore in the pop-up window to finish the process.

restore itunes backup

Method 4. Restore Finder backup to recover (For Mac)

For Mac users, you can restore your lost text messages from the Finder backup.

Step 1. Open your Mac and connect your iPhone to it with a reliable USB cable > Launch the latest version of Finder.

Step 2. Click the iPhone in the left panel and then choose Restore Backup > Choose an iPhone backup you want to restore and click the Restore button to start.

restore backup

That’s are all about how to get deleted text messages back on iPhone with a Mac.

Conclusion

Now, hope you can know how to retrieve deleted text messages from another iPhone. These 4 ways mentioned above can finish the process using various tools. And if you need to back up your iPhone data on Windows without iTunes/iCloud, then FoneTool’s full backup feature can give you more excellent experience.

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