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How to Retrieve Deleted Text Messages on Android (5 Methods Introduced)

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"How do you retrieve deleted text message?"

"How to see deleted messages on Android?"

If you have accidentally deleted them on your phone, you might be wondering is there a way to retrieve deleted text messages. If you have an iPhone or iPad running iOS 16 or later, you can recover deleted messages from the Messages app itself. For Android users, the answer can be different. Read on to learn how to retrieve deleted text messages on Android.

a picture describing how to retrieve deleted text messages on android

 

Part 1. Can Deleted Text Messages Be Retrieved?

First you need to learn about one question: "Where are deleted text messages stored on Android?" or "Where do deleted text messages go?"

Deleted text messages can be stored in various places on an Android device, depending on the messaging app in use and the device's operating system. Some common locations include: phone's internal storage, your SD card, etc.

When a text message is deleted on an Android device, it is usually not immediately erased from the phone's memory. Instead, the space occupied by the deleted message is marked as available for new data to be written over it. Until new data is written over that space, it may be possible to recover the deleted message using specialized data recovery software.

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Part 2. How to Recover Deleted Text Messages on Android?

Next several methods are introduced on how to retrieve deleted messages on Android devices; if any interests you, don't hesitate to give a try.

Method 1. Undelete Text Messages via Coolmuster Lab.Fone for Android

There is a convenient way to recover deleted text messages using a powerful tool called Coolmuster Lab.Fone for Android. This software can scan your phone's internal memory and SIM card and retrieve the deleted messages in a few simple steps. You can also use this software to recover your contacts, call logs, photos, videos and more from your Android phone. It supports various Android brands and models, such as Samsung, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Sony, etc.

See the fantastic features of this tool:

  • Scan your Android device deeply and display the deleted and existing SMS and contacts in different colors for easy identification.
  • Allows you to preview the detailed information of each message and contact before recovery, such as name, phone number, email address, message content, date and time, etc.
  • Enables you to selectively recover the SMS and contacts you want and save them as HTML or XML files on your computer for backup or further use.
  • Provides some useful functions to manage your SMS and contacts on your computer, such as editing, deleting, adding, exporting, importing, etc.
  • Easy to use and has a user-friendly interface. You just need to connect your Android device to your computer via USB cable and follow a few simple steps to recover your SMS and contacts in minutes.

Here's how to get deleted messages back:

01Download and install Coolmuster Lab.Fone for Android on your computer. Launch it and connect your Android phone to the computer with a USB cable.

02Enable USB debugging on your Android phone and grant permission to the software to access your phone data. The software will detect your phone and show its information on the screen. Choose "Android Data Recovery" mode and select "Messages" from the data types.

select the types of data you want to recover

03Click "Next" to start scanning your phone for deleted text messages. After the scanning, you can preview and select the text messages you want to recover. Click "Recover" to save them to your computer in HTML or XML format.

recover messages using coolmuster lab fone for android

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Method 2. Retrieve Deleted Text Messages via GT Recovery

GT Recovery is a free app that can scan your device for deleted files and help you restore them. Here are the steps to use GT Recovery to restore deleted text messages on Android:

1. Download and install GT Recovery on your Android phone.

2. Launch the app and grant it the necessary permissions to access your device storage and SMS.

3. Tap on "Recover SMS" on the main screen of the app.

gt recovery user interface

4. Select the messages that you want to recover and tap on "Recover".

5. Wait for the recovery process to finish and check your messages app for the restored texts.

Note: GT Recovery may not be able to recover all deleted messages, especially if they have been overwritten by new data. To increase the chances of successful recovery, just stop using your phone as soon as you realize that you have deleted some messages and perform the recovery as soon as possible.

Method 3. Retrieve Deleted Text Messages via SMS Backup & Restore

SMS Backup & Restore is a free app allowing you to back up and restore your SMS and MMS messages to your Google Drive or local storage. It is a simple and effective way to recover your deleted text messages on Android. However, it only works if you have created a backup of your messages before deleting them. If you don't have a backup file, you may need to use other methods or tools to retrieve your messages.

Here's how to use it:

1. Tap on "Restore" on the app's main screen. You will see a list of backup files that you can choose from. Select the backup file that contains your deleted messages and tap on "Restore".

tap on restore on sms backup and restore's main screen

2. You will be asked to set SMS Backup & Restore as your default SMS app temporarily. Tap on "Yes" and then tap on "Restore" again. Wait for the process to complete and tap on "Close".

3. You can now check your messages app to see if your deleted messages are restored. You can also switch back to your original SMS app by tapping on "Change" on the app's main screen.

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Method 4. Retrieve Deleted Text Messages via Cloud Backups

If you have backed up your text messages to a cloud service like Google Drive or Samsung Cloud, you can easily restore them to your Android phone.

Here are the steps to do so:

1. First, make sure you have a stable internet connection and enough storage space on your phone.

2. Then, go to the Settings app on your phone and tap on "Accounts and backup" (or Cloud and accounts, depending on your device).

find accounts and backup in android settings

3. Next, select the cloud service that you used to back up your text messages, such as Google Drive or Samsung Cloud.

4. After that, tap on "Restore data" and choose the option to restore text messages (or SMS/MMS, depending on your device).

restore messages from google backup files

5. Finally, wait for the restoration process to complete and check your messages app to see if your deleted text messages are back.

Note: This method only works if you have previously enabled the backup option for your text messages on your cloud service. If you have not done so, you may not be able to retrieve your deleted text messages via cloud backups.

Method 5. Find Deleted Text Messages by Checking SMS Trash on Samsung

For Samsung users, there is a feature that lets you find deleted text messages within 30 days on Samsung phones. Just check the SMS Trash of your Samsung and restore the deleted messages.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Launch the Messages app on your Samsung device and tap on the three-dot menu icon at the top right corner.

tap on messages app menu

2. Select Settings from the menu and then tap on More settings.

3. Tap on "Delete old messages" and then turn on the option to keep deleted messages.

4. Go back to the Messages app and click the trash icon at the bottom left corner. You will see a list of deleted messages that are still stored in the SMS Trash of your Samsung.

find samsung message trash bin

5. Select the messages that you want to restore and then tap on the Restore icon at the bottom right corner. The messages will be moved back to your inbox or the original conversation.

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Conclusion

In the above parts you have learned about five methods on how to recover deleted messages on Android. If none of the methods could work, it is advisable to contact your service provider.

Just remember to act fast and avoid overwriting your data, and, to prevent losing your text messages in the future, you should enable backups on your phone. You can use Google Drive for Android or iCloud for iOS to automatically back up your messages and other data. You can also use other methods to save your text messages, such as emailing them to yourself or using a third-party app as Coolmuster Lab.Fone for Android that lets you export them.

If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to leave a comment below.

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