Database Info

how to back up messages

im having a trouble backing up my texts! i try to back them up, and once i flash a new rom, theyre all gone, even after restoring. im using the 4.0.3 ICS mms app from the market...

Dee Hos said:
im having a trouble backing up my texts! i try to back them up, and once i flash a new rom, theyre all gone, even after restoring. im using the 4.0.3 ICS mms app from the market...
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I've always used SMS Backup & Restore from the market, never had a problem with it and it's quick, even when you have 5,000+ texts to backup/restore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en

go SMS has an integrated backup feature

hd2k10 said:
I've always used SMS Backup & Restore from the market, never had a problem with it and it's quick, even when you have 5,000+ texts to backup/restore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en
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Click to collapse
+1
<insert witty signature here>

hd2k10 said:
I've always used SMS Backup & Restore from the market, never had a problem with it and it's quick, even when you have 5,000+ texts to backup/restore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en
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Click to collapse
I use this app for my daughter's phone. I don't care if mine get erased. For the number of her texts to restore, it takes quite a while for the phone to be usable because it takes a while for the message database to stabilize. But, it works.

I use SMS Backup +.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...1bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS56ZWdvZ2dsZXMuc21zc3luYyJd
Works great.
Automatically backup SMS, MMS and call log entries using a separate label in Gmail / Google Calendar. It is also possible to restore SMS and call log entries back to the phone (MMS not supported yet).
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Click to collapse
You can configure it to backup automatically, once an hour, once a day, etc. I set it for once a day so it doesn't tax my battery usage all the time.
It backs up to a free online account.

hd2k10 said:
I've always used SMS Backup & Restore from the market, never had a problem with it and it's quick, even when you have 5,000+ texts to backup/restore.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en
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Click to collapse
+1 Ditto
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using XDA App

Have you tried using an app in the market called My Backup Pro?

CZ Eddie said:
I use SMS Backup +.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...1bGwsMSwyLDEsImNvbS56ZWdvZ2dsZXMuc21zc3luYyJd
Works great.
You can configure it to backup automatically, once an hour, once a day, etc. I set it for once a day so it doesn't tax my battery usage all the time.
It backs up to a free online account.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been using this one also for over a year. I love how it backs up to my Gmail so that 1) I never lose my texts and 2) I can search through them in Gmail if I need to. It works great to restore and I haven't ever lost any when switching between roms or different phones. It also backs up my phone call log to Gmail.

Steve Jobs® said:
Have you tried using an app in the market called My Backup Pro?
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This is what I use as I prefer to have a local backup vs cloud based (data privacy reasons).

jayrod88 said:
This is what I use as I prefer to have a local backup vs cloud based (data privacy reasons).
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Click to collapse
I back my dialer storage up via TiBu, but it's only safe if you're returning to the same base or at least same android version. It backs up SMS/MMS and everything. I however use SMS Backup/Restore for everything else.

[Q] Issue restoring SMS/MMS with Titanium Backup

Went through about 16 pages in this section and couldn't find a similar question so here goes.
I'm having a problem restoring my SMS/MMS with Titanium backup on my N5.
This is what I've done so far to my N5
1) Rooted/Unlocked (CF-Autoroot)
2) Flashed TWRP in fastboot
Now I installed Hangouts 2.0 via an apk leak on my Samsung Captivate running CM 10.1.3. I also backed up my SMS/MMS with titanium backup to .xml.
On the N5, I have chosen to restore SMS/MMS from xml, and unfortunately nothing shows up in hangouts.
Is there a way to remedy this? Would it be better to restore from Hangouts to get the MMS/SMS back? Thanks all.

Tried the same and failed. Seems to be a problem going from a touchwiz ROM to the N5 with TiBu.
The most recent beta of my backup pro was able to restore SMS and MMS media files but not group messages.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showpost.php?p=47182271&postcount=27
Someone posted that the handcent backup feature works as well, but no one has confirmed group messages are restored.
http://productforums.google.com/forum/m/#!searchin/hangouts/mms/hangouts/LFnU4ieifzM
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

jmelan said:
Tried the same and failed. Seems to be a problem going from a touchwiz ROM to the N5 with TiBu.
The most recent beta of my backup pro was able to restore SMS and MMS media files but not group messages.
Someone posted that the handcent backup feature works as well, but no one has confirmed group messages are restored.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Do you mean samsung device? I was running CM 10.1.3 on my captivate. Gonna read that other thread, thanks for the info!
Hmm, looking at my hangouts on Tibu.... the backup data says package version 1.2.018 (849105-30) (12018130)
However I know I installed 2.0 on my phone.... guess I'll be trying with another backup again?

Sorry, missed that. I guess it is not just touchwiz.
I updated my last post with the links with more info on the other options.
Sent from my Nexus 10 using Tapatalk 4

Update:
So I did another backup, getting the version to 2.0.122. Restored data on my N5 which prompted a reboot due to updating system data.
Upon reboot, all my SMS are now present in Hangouts! Even my "group" SMS. Not really keen on restoring system info to be honest due to possible issues, but it seemed to work. MMS, however aren't really working well... I see three bouncing dots for every picture.
Update2:
This time I tried to do what someone in the other post said. I backed up Hangouts, uninstalled hangouts, and tried to restore the app only. Unfortunately this led to a Titanium Backup hang. Upon forced restart, the Hangout app is back, but all the SMS/MMS are gone. Re-uninstalling and re-installing Hangouts with data this time and also getting another hang in Tibu... this is highly annoying. I guess I can always just get the SMS and save the pics on my other phone.

Are you kidding me? Tried to install Hangouts from the Play Store and it gives me version 1.2?
Either way, Titanium Backup isn't playing nice with restoring Hangouts as all it does is hang on me, even with indirect selected.
At least after I force a restart, the correct Hangout app is installed and perhaps I can work from there.
Might as well restore SMS from SMS Backup and Restore and then just save the pics on my old phone and transfer them over to the N5.

try not use hangout for text messages
I suggest you to try to not use hangout for the text messages and try another app, try now with the restore, it should work

has titanium backup been updated to support 4.4?
if you try restoring and it does not ask about setting the default SMS app to titanium backup then its not going to work.
4.4 only allows one app at a time to have access to the SMS database.
you can try sms backup and restore it has been updated to support 4.4

Bane99 said:
Is there a way to remedy this? Would it be better to restore from Hangouts to get the MMS/SMS back? Thanks all.
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Click to collapse
Sorry for the OT, but this link can be a help.

electric0ant said:
has titanium backup been updated to support 4.4?
if you try restoring and it does not ask about setting the default SMS app to titanium backup then its not going to work.
4.4 only allows one app at a time to have access to the SMS database.
you can try sms backup and restore it has been updated to support 4.4
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Click to collapse
I contacted titanium support a few days ago to ask this exact question but have not heard a response yet
TiBu definitely does NOT ask to be the default SMS app
Both handcent and my backup pro have been documented to work for SMS and MMS except for group messages but require paying for additional features.
-handcent may work for group messages but is untested, while my backup pro does not work
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

jmelan said:
I contacted titanium support a few days ago to ask this exact question but have not heard a response yet
TiBu definitely does NOT ask to be the default SMS app
Both handcent and my backup pro have been documented to work for SMS and MMS except for group messages but require paying for additional features.
-handcent may work for group messages but is untested, while my backup pro does not work
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
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you should use SMS Backup & Restore. that works for sure as it has been updated to support SMS for 4.4:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore
this will also help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=47104611#post47104611

+1 for SMS back up and restore. I would always have problems using titanium restoring if the ROM was slightly different. With SMS backup you dont have to worry about version unless it is brand new OS version but they are quick to support. Hence they already support 4.4.

electric0ant said:
you should use SMS Backup & Restore. that works for sure as it has been updated to support SMS for 4.4:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore
this will also help:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=47104611#post47104611
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Click to collapse
This.
As others have said, only one application can have access to the SMS database at a time. If Titanium doesn't ask to be set to default when you try to restore, then it's not yet been updated to work with 4.4. Being rooted and giving Titanium root access might be why you don't see an error at the time (because it's probably trying to overwrite data), but it still probably won't work the way it should.
Just use SMS Backup & Restore. It works flawlessly with 4.4, it's a super small footprint, the dev publishes the source so you can tell there's nothing going on with it that shouldn't be, and it does its job perfectly. I've used it for years, even on handsets that were rooted and where I used TB heavily.

hotleadsingerguy said:
This.
As others have said, only one application can have access to the SMS database at a time. If Titanium doesn't ask to be set to default when you try to restore, then it's not yet been updated to work with 4.4. Being rooted and giving Titanium root access might be why you don't see an error at the time (because it's probably trying to overwrite data), but it still probably won't work the way it should.
Just use SMS Backup & Restore. It works flawlessly with 4.4, it's a super small footprint, the dev publishes the source so you can tell there's nothing going on with it that shouldn't be, and it does its job perfectly. I've used it for years, even on handsets that were rooted and where I used TB heavily.
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Click to collapse
SMS Backup and Restore worked flawlessly for me. Unfortunately it only does SMS, not MMS (eg messages with pictures attached). But that's OK, it does the SMS part brilliantly.
In trying to preserve my handful of MMS, I also tried MyBackup Pro. That worked strangely - it does all the default app stuff, but all restored threads had, and sometimes the oldest message was 'on top' of the thread. That was fixable by selecting a thread and deleting any single message from the thread - suddenly the thread showed the correct dates and order.
So in the end, I did SMS Backup and Restore to move over my SMS (99% of what I had) and MyBackup Pro for only the MMS messages, which I then fixed by tweaking the threads as above.
[Regardless of above, I also decided not to use Hangouts for SMS/MMS (Hangouts introduced too many inter-dependencies and integrations for my tastes). Loaded 8SMS (a port of the non-Nexus KitKat Messaging app) instead, seems solid]

Go and clear data for Hangouts and it should show your text messages from TB. That is what I had to do.
Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

Just adding my two cents here. I was able to use SMS Backup + to back up both my SMS and MMS to my Gmail and then restore them. I then did what the previous poster said and went into the Settings > Apps > All > Hangouts menu and cleared all data. This brought all my messages up after I relaunched Hangouts.

Thanks everyone,
So I discovered that I had 3 total pictures in MMS that I wanted saved... So I went ahead and downloaded them on my cappy.
Then I just used SMS Backup and Restore, and all is good. Definitely not something I want to go about doing again. And for the love of all, do not uninstall Hangouts with TiBu. Play Store will just give you version 1.2, and Tibu hangs on restoring. Shutting off the phone and starting it up should show hangouts after and it's been working pretty well so far.

BKPhil said:
SMS Backup and Restore worked flawlessly for me. Unfortunately it only does SMS, not MMS (eg messages with pictures attached). But that's OK, it does the SMS part brilliantly.
In trying to preserve my handful of MMS, I also tried MyBackup Pro. That worked strangely - it does all the default app stuff, but all restored threads had, and sometimes the oldest message was 'on top' of the thread. That was fixable by selecting a thread and deleting any single message from the thread - suddenly the thread showed the correct dates and order.
So in the end, I did SMS Backup and Restore to move over my SMS (99% of what I had) and MyBackup Pro for only the MMS messages, which I then fixed by tweaking the threads as above.
[Regardless of above, I also decided not to use Hangouts for SMS/MMS (Hangouts introduced too many inter-dependencies and integrations for my tastes). Loaded 8SMS (a port of the non-Nexus KitKat Messaging app) instead, seems solid]
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Click to collapse
I use a PC program named Android SMS + MMS Transfer. Both SMS/MMS messages are supported.
Hope it helps.

Just had this same issue. I loaded a ROM and didn't like it. So I restored a Nandroid and attempted to restore my SMS/MMS (Messaging, XML), have a recent backup from 1/22, it asked me to make Titanium the default SMS app, restored, completed, made Hangouts the default app again, but when I go into Hangouts the last text I have is from end of December. I rebooted, cleared cache and data in Hangouts but no luck.
Not sure why this isn't working now. I had no issues bringing in my texts and MMS messages when I switched from my Moto Bionic to Nexus.
Would love to hear some other ideas.

Semi solved by selecting all hangouts, deleting them, and restoring my backup. Still feel there should be a better way. Anyone know if there's a db file I can delete in root explorer if I need to do this again? Or better yet there should be a way to merge the current and backed up msgs ...
sent from my hammerhead

Question: How to save text messages?

I am S-off and running my phone stock with root.
I've never had luck with backing up the Messages app so I'm asking for help.
I use Titanium Back up Pro. I also use Hangouts for SMS. Do I just backup the Messages app and hangouts? And then restore with data if I choose to run another stock ROM?
I'm thinking about Clean ROM or Bone stock. I like Sense and I like the stock feel. The only thing I really want is for my music that's on my SD card to play...
Anyway, anyone have luck keeping texts backed up? I need it for work...usually I've never cared about saving texts.
Thank you.
Sent from my HTC One M8

I use SMS Backup & Restore for my backups. I usually don't restore any of them, just keep a running archive.

I came from an AOSP room to the M8. On my old phone I started using SMS backup/restore but soon realized it wasn't saving my MMSs. Since then I started using restoring with the titanium SMS/MMS backup xml it was already making and it works just fine for me. Even from AOSP to stock Sense to Viper.

cntryby429 said:
I came from an AOSP room to the M8. On my old phone I started using SMS backup/restore but soon realized it wasn't saving my MMSs. Since then I started using restoring with the titanium SMS/MMS backup xml it was already making and it works just fine for me. Even from AOSP to stock Sense to Viper.
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Click to collapse
what are you saying its backing up?

Abe21599 said:
what are you saying its backing up?
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Click to collapse
Sms backup restore does exactly that. It backs up and restores your SMSs (text only messages). The titanium sms/mms xml option also restores my mms messages which conserves any pictures that were "texted" (read, mms) to me as well.

cntryby429 said:
I came from an AOSP room to the M8. On my old phone I started using SMS backup/restore but soon realized it wasn't saving my MMSs. Since then I started using restoring with the titanium SMS/MMS backup xml it was already making and it works just fine for me. Even from AOSP to stock Sense to Viper.
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The XML function in TiBackup is amazing. I've never used the app for anymore than freezing or backing up apps. This is perfect. Thank you.
Sent from my HTC One M8

Vpmsae said:
I would like to save text to computer and then I can open it without connect my phone
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Click to collapse
Look into Pushbullet. I can view notifications and text messages through a browser add-on on my computer.

I use this app. Works great for me as I use sense messenger on sense ROM and Google's for GPe ROM.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/...ore&pcampaignid=APPU_1_S6VhV76GGoGo-QGlmoaIBw

Wpaasgt said:
How to backup your text messages ? The first thing you should do is sign into Gmail . In fact ,you can use Samsung Phone Backup save phone messages to computer .
How to save text messages on android
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I use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.riteshsahu.SMSBackupRestore&hl=en
it worked from my m8 using Google Play edition ROM to my 10 using Sense

I've been using that app for about 3 1/2 years. First on my LG G2 and then G3 and now on the M8. And it works slick, it also backs up your call log too.
Sent from my HTC One M8 using XDA Labs

SMS restore?

I'm having some trouble restoring my SMS from nexus 5 to S6. I've tried using SMS backup and it only restores a small handful of SMS. Not sure if it's an issue with my Nexus or S6. I also tried Helium, but it doesn't seem to be working on my S6.
Anyone experience this? I'm non rooted.

moot1 said:
I'm having some trouble restoring my SMS from nexus 5 to S6. I've tried using SMS backup and it only restores a small handful of SMS. Not sure if it's an issue with my Nexus or S6. I also tried Helium, but it doesn't seem to be working on my S6.
Anyone experience this? I'm non rooted.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
One of the reasons I love to root. No limitations on what apps you can use. I use Titanium Backup for this, wifi, bluetooth etc backup.
Tried Helium and ya it didnt work for me either.
I would suggest SMS Backup for non root but you already did that.
You could install a third party SMS app like Chomp SMS, GoSMS etc... as some of them have a feature to create a backup of you messages and MMS too. Then install that same app on the S6 and move the backup you made with it over to the S6, then restore. Save the backup to your cloud service then download it back to the S6., or wifi direct it to the s6, however.

tenxo said:
One of the reasons I love to root. No limitations on what apps you can use. I use Titanium Backup for this, wifi, bluetooth etc backup.
Tried Helium and ya it didnt work for me either.
I would suggest SMS Backup for non root but you already did that.
You could install a third party SMS app like Chomp SMS, GoSMS etc... as some of them have a feature to create a backup of you messages and MMS too. Then install that same app on the S6 and move the backup you made with it over to the S6, then restore. Save the backup to your cloud service then download it back to the S6., or wifi direct it to the s6, however.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the recommendation on another 3rd party app. I'll give that a shot!! And yeah, I would root right away on my s6, but I kinda want to see how Samsung Pay plays out, and decide if it's something I'd use. Anyways, really appreciate the suggestions.

[Q] Restore 50k SMS from my Old HTC Butterfly? Help?

Hello Guyz,
Hope you are all doing well..
I'm a new migrant to Xperia Z3. The phone processing is awesome. But the problem is.
I have 50k+ msgs in my old phone (HTC Butterfly) and I want them in my new Xperia Z3 too (for reasons like "Memories")
I cannot transfer it in complex ways because I cannot root my phone for another year(as warranty gets void)
I tried basic methods like using "SMS Backup and Restore" app.
-> It took me 2 full days of processing(running in the background always) to restore those 50k msgs but after 100% restore all the effort went into vain as it only restored the msgs I sent, but not the msgs I received.
That did suck.
Are there any neat methods to transfer? I'm really dying to know some method.
I could use "Helium" (Non-Root Method) but the pc software isnt recognizing my Xperia Z3.
Any small help could be very helpful. I think the main problem in the number of msgs to be transferred. Please suggest me something keeping the msg count in mind.
Thanks in advance guys!

maybe u could try SMS Backup+
it backup your sms online, in gmail account
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zegoggles.smssync

abracs said:
maybe u could try SMS Backup+
it backup your sms online, in gmail account
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.zegoggles.smssync
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I have read in reviews that it fails when there are huge sms threads. So I dont think it would work for me as of now.

Update: I have tried Helim(Non-Root) also..
It shows Restore completed successfully, but not even a single message is restored.
Any suggestions?

iPriDvI said:
Update: I have tried Helim(Non-Root) also..
It shows Restore completed successfully, but not even a single message is restored.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Super Backup. I generally try a lot of different ROMs and do a lot of backup/restore jobs of SMSes.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.idea.backup.smscontacts&hl=en
I am not sure if it will work with your amount of SMSes as I don' have more than 2,500 SMSes.

i use SMS Backup& Restore, been using it for 4 years or more, never had an issue, well maybe MMS do not get restored. That said I have over 50K of messages, so i doubt you will have issues with this.
A kind reminder, since you've already tried using another application, i would advise you to factory reset your phone just in-case there are going to be "doubled," before using the suggested application ive mentioned above. Ive ran to a similar problem before with another application where the messages do not show up after the restore, but it is actually there just that you cannot access it somehow.