How to Recover Deleted Messages on iPhone without Backup

Deleting a very important text message can be overwhelming, especially when there seems to be no hope of retrieving the text message. While most text messages are random and unimportant, some messages are actually useful and they might contain sensitive information that would be needed in the future. Some text messages have sentimental or evidential value – they could be a romantic text message from a loved one or a receipt containing transaction details.

Text messages can be very important depending on how sensitive the information they contain is. Unfortunately, Apple does not provide its users with the option to retrieve text messages that have not been backed up on iCloud, Finder or iTunes. So it’s easy to panic over the possibility that a text message might indeed be lost forever.

You’re probably looking for a way to recover a message you deleted accidentally without having to use backup. Retrieving your deleted text messages on your iPhone without backed up data is almost impossible without the use of third party software. In this article, we will guide you towards the ways you can retrieve your text messages on iPhone without backup using third party software, through your cell service carrier, and by using non-synced iCloud iMessages on your other Apple devices like your iPad, MacBook or another iPhone that uses your Apple ID.

How do I Recover my Deleted Text Message without Backup

You can Recover your deleted text message through various methods that will be discussed in this article. Without having backed up data on iCloud, Finder, or iTunes, there are three ways that you can Recover deleted text messages on your iPhone. These methods includes the use of legit third party software, contacting your cell service carrier, or accessing your iMessages data that have not been synced on the iCloud through your other Apple devices.

Is it Possible to Recover Deleted Text Messages from your iPhone

Before you recover iPhone deleted text messages, you have to know that after you remove a message from your iPhone, the message doesn’t really get deleted. Because the deleted messages are technically marked for deletion by the system and hidden so that they become invisible to us. So deleted messages still stay somewhere on your iPhone and you can retrieve them as long as you find those marked and hidden messages files. That’s why you can recover deleted text messages and get them back from your iPhone.

How to find those marked and hidden messages files, and retrieve invisible text messages on your iPhone? Actually, there are three ways to retrieve lost or deleted messages on iPhone. If you have a previous backup saved with iTunes or your iCloud, you are able to restore your iPhone text messages from the backup. Otherwise, you will need to use a third-party iPhone data recovery software or SMS recovery software and restore the deleted message from your iPhone to your computer. Keep reading to learn more about each method.

Importance of Recovering Deleted Messages on iPhone

Recovering deleted messages on iPhone is important for several reasons:

  1. Essential information: Messages often contain important information, such as contact numbers, appointments, and business details that can be lost if not recovered.
  2. Memories: Messages often hold memories, such as special moments and important conversations, that are valuable and can be lost forever if not recovered.
  3. Productivity: Messages can be an important tool for communication and organization, and losing them can impact productivity and cause inconvenience.
  4. Sentimental value: Some messages may hold sentimental value, such as messages from loved ones, and losing them can cause emotional distress.

Overall, recovering deleted messages on iPhone is crucial for maintaining essential information, preserving memories, boosting productivity, and maintaining sentimental value.

How to Recover Deleted Messages on iPhone without Backup

  • Use USB cable to connect your iPhone to your Mac and launch Cisdem iPhone Recovery on Mac. Choose “Recover from iOS Device” option, this iPhone data recovery will detect your device. Once detected, the current device name, device type and iOS version will be displayed on the interface of the software.
  • Click “Start” button. From this moment, Cisdem iPhone Recovery starts to scan the whole files of your iPhone. After scanning, you can see all extracted files. Then choose “Messages” item to preview all found messages.
  • After you preview the messages, select the messages you want to recover. You can select all messages with one click. Then click “Recover” and a small window will pop up for you to choose the output file type. HTML, Excel, Word, Numbers, and Pages format are also supported. At last, click “Save” to save your recovered iPhone messages.

1. Through iMessages Syncing on iCloud

Apple introduced this feature where your iMessages are integrated with your iCloud and can be accessed through all your Apple devices including your MacBook, iPad, or another iPhone. This means that you might be able to Recover a deleted text message on your iPhone which has not yet been synced by searching for it on your other Apple devices. This method does not need any backup data even though it is related to iCloud. Note that this method of Recover can only work if the deletion of the text message is recent and iCloud syncing has not been done yet.

Before beginning, make sure that your other Apple device is on airplane mode so that iCloud syncing can be prevented. You can then begin by opening “iCloud” settings which you can find in “Apple ID” in the “Settings” app on your iPhone and enable the “Messages” option. “Reset” your iPhone and switch it back on, then restore your deleted text messages via iCloud.

  • Does not need backed up data.
  • Official and secure method of recovery.
  • Simple and fast recovery.
  • Needs a secondary Apple device.
  • Low guarantee of success.
  • Needs internet connection.
  • Might not work on newer iOS.

2. Using iTunes

This works only if you automatically back up your iPhone to iTunes.

  1. Connect your iPhone to the Mac with which you sync it and open iTunes.
  2. You should see your iPhone in a box at the top right corner. Select your iPhone.
  3. Check the date when your last backup is created. If you want to restore your iPhone to your previously created backup, click “Restore backup”.
  4. All the data you previously backed up will now replace the data on your phone. It will take a few minutes. As long as you have backed up your messages before you delete them, they should now appear in the normal messaging list on your iPhone.

You can also use Cisdem iPhone Recovery to recover iPhone text messages from iTunes backup files, using Cisdem iPhone Recovery is more convenient and faster for you to recover deleted files from iPhone including iPhone 8 or iPhone X, follow below steps to use this iPhone data recovery to retrieve deleted text messages from iTunes backup.

  1. Launch Cisdem iPhone Recovery, and choose “Recover from iTunes Backup File” mode, then select an iTunes backup file to recover and click “New Scan”.
  2. After this application deeply scans your files, you can select “Message” and click “Recover” to recover text messages you deleted before.

Requirements for restoring deleted messages on iPhone from iTunes Backup:

  1. A computer with iTunes installed and updated to the latest version.
  2. A USB cable to connect the iPhone to the computer.
  3. An iTunes backup of the iPhone containing the deleted messages.
  4. The iPhone should be turned off during the restore process.
  5. The iPhone should be in a stable and working condition.
  6. The iTunes account used for backing up the iPhone should be the same as the one used to restore it.
  7. The backup should not be encrypted, otherwise, a password would be required to restore it.

Step by step guide to restore deleted messages on iPhone from iTunes Backup:

  1. Connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable.
  2. Launch iTunes on your computer.
  3. Click on the “Device” icon and select “Summary.”
  4. Click on “Restore Backup” in the “Backups” section.
  5. Select the backup that contains your deleted messages from the list of available backups.
  6. Click on “Restore” and wait for the restore process to complete.
  7. Once the restore is complete, disconnect your iPhone from your computer.
  8. Check your iPhone for the recovered deleted messages.

Note: Restoring from an iTunes backup will overwrite all data on your iPhone with the data from the backup, including any new messages or changes made since the backup was created. Make sure to backup your iPhone before restoring from iTunes.

3. Contacting Your Cell Service Provider

Cell phone service providers keep records of text messages that have been sent or received by you for a short period of time. These records usually are not available for long and can only be accessed before they are erased or overwritten by new data. If your text message was deleted recently, you can try contacting your cell service provider through their customer care.

They won’t just simply release the records to you. A series of questions and information like your name, email address, residential address, identity number or social security number will be asked of you so that your identity can be verified, before they can consider releasing the records of your text messages. However, if you are successful, you will be able to retrieve that very important text message that you accidentally deleted.

  • Private and secure.
  • No internet connection required.
  • Too many formalities involved.
  • No guarantee of success.

4. Using a Third Party Recovery Software

If every method you’ve tried does not work and your deleted text message seems to be gone forever, your last option might be to try using a third party iPhone recovery software to restore your messages. These third party software can search through your iPhone and access deleted data that are still lingering in the phone’s flash memory before being overwritten by fresh data.

This method is not very secure as you might be making your iPhone vulnerable to external malware or permanent data loss so this should only be a last resort decision in case all other methods have turned out unsuccessful. It is advisable to research on these softwares and only use the ones that are legit and have good positive reviews. Some legit third party softwares include Cisdem, iMobie PhoneRescue, OmniRecover, and iPhone Data Recovery.

  • Cisdem Recovery Software

To use ‘Cisdem’ to recover your data, download the Cisdem iPhone Recovery software on your MacBook and connect your iPhone to the computer. On the recovery app, click on ‘Recover from iOS device’ and the system will detect your connected iPhone.

The details of your phone will appear on the screen. Tap on ‘Start’ to prompt Cisdem to begin scanning your phone’s data. You can then see all the extracted files and choose ‘Messages’ to view all extracted messages. If the deleted message is there, you can click on it and ‘Recover’ it to your iPhone through html, Excel, Word, or Pages formats. Click on ‘Save’ to save the text message you just recovered.

  • iMobie PhoneRescue Software

For ‘iMobie PhoneRescue’, download the application to your PC or MacBook and launch it. You can then connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable and click on ‘Recover from iOS’ in the software and tap on the arrow at the bottom of the screen to continue. Choose the Messages category to scan deleted text messages on your iPhone. The text messages will appear after the scan is done and then you can mark the data you want to recover and click on ‘To Device’ option to restore them to your iPhone.

  • OmniRecovery Software

To recover deleted text messages through ‘OmniRecover’, download the software on your computer and open it. Connect your iPhone and choose the ‘From Device’ option and you will see the details of your device on the screen. Click on your device and allow this software to scan your data by clicking on ‘Next’. Choose the ‘Messages’ category and after a scan, you can see your deleted text messages which you can choose to recover to your iPhone.

  • iPhone Data Recovery Software

You can make use of ‘iPhone Data Recovery’ software to restore your deleted text messages by downloading the application on your PC or MacBook and installing it. Launch the software on your computer and click on ‘Messages’ and ‘Message Attachments’ on the homepage. Connect your device to your computer using a cable and choose ‘Recover data from phone’. Your iPhone will be scanned through your files and you will be able to view and recover the extracted deleted text messages.

  • Simple and fast methods.
  • Easy access to lost files.
  • Affordable and versatile.
  • Needs a secondary device (‘PC or MacBook’).
  • Insecure method.
  • High risk of external malware.
  • High risk of permanent loss of data.

Your deleted text messages have hopefully been recovered using any of the methods described above. It is not easy losing important files on your phone accidentally especially when there is no backed up data that you can access. This is why any loss of important data should be prevented in the future by ensuring that your important data like your media and text messages are regularly backed up to your iCloud, iTunes or Finder. This will assure you that no data is permanently lost when you accidentally click on that “Delete” button.

Step by step guide to use third-party data recovery software to recover deleted messages on iPhone without backup:

  1. Download and install the software on your computer.
  2. Connect your iPhone to the computer using a USB cable.
  3. Launch the software and select the “Recover from iOS Device” option.
  4. The software will scan your iPhone to detect deleted messages.
  5. Once the scan is complete, preview the deleted messages and select the ones you want to recover.
  6. Click the “Recover” button to save the selected messages to your computer.
  7. Disconnect your iPhone from the computer and transfer the recovered messages back to your device if needed.

Note: The specific steps may vary depending on the software you use, so it is important to follow the instructions provided by the software manufacturer.

Conclusion

Text messages are normally backed up along with other important data when your iCloud backup is turned on. This makes it easy to recover deleted data by simply restoring the backup that contains said data. However, some people don’t have access to iCloud backup.

When a text message is accidentally deleted and you are the type of person that does not use iCloud or other backups, it’s easy to assume that there will be no way to recover that deleted text message and it might be lost forever. Recovering deleted text messages without needing backup is possible even though it might be difficult with less guarantee of success.

In this article, different methods of recovering your deleted text messages without backup were discussed in detail and hopefully, you were able to utilize these methods to recover that very important text message.

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