How to recover deleted SMS messages from an Android smartphone to restore and read them
You accidentally deleted an important text message and now you do not know how to restore it?
Deleting an SMS message from the mobile does not mean anything since it is possible to retrieve it in an extremely easy way, even if we are not an expert user.
If we accidentally deleted an SMS there is a 99% chance of recovering it.
The only problem is the time: if you want to retrieve a deleted SMS you really need to intervene quickly, before the portion of memory in which this was written is overwritten.
The longer you wait, the more you write data on your phone, the less chance there will be to retrieve the text message.
Let’s see together how to recover deleted SMS using the various programs for Windows and various Android apps designed for the purpose.
1) Preliminary operations
Before doing anything, we recommend that you follow the following steps, so as to prepare any Android smartphone to recover deleted messages via a PC with Windows:- Activate the USB debug option on the phone: to do so, enable the Android developer menu by going to Settings -> Phone Info, scrolling to the Build Number line and tapping it several times until the message “Now you are developer” appears.
In the settings, we enter the new menu and activate USB debugging.
– Connect the Android phone to the computer with the USB cable charger and make sure you have the appropriate Android drivers (those specific to the phone, otherwise they are good generic downloadable here -> ADB Driver Installer ).
– Make sure you have at least 50% of the remaining battery on your smartphone, as often some of the programs used can perform installations and changes after many reboots.
After these checks, we can use one of the recommended Windows programs below to recover deleted messages.
2) FoneLab for Android
One of the best applications we can use to recover deleted SMS is FoneLab for Android, available for download from here -> FoneLab for Android.
Once installed on the PC, let’s start it and click on Android Data Recovery, then we wait for it to correctly recognize the smartphone connected to the PC (remember to connect it from on and unlocked by any codes, PIN and password block).
Once the device is recognized, a connection request via USB debugging will appear on the smartphone; we confirm each window to provide the necessary permissions and wait for the program to scan the memory; at this stage there may be sudden restarts of the smartphone, do not worry it’s all normal.
At the end of the scan all the recovered files and data will be shown, including the SMS (Messages section ).
3) MobiKin Doctor for Android
Another PC program very effective in recovering the deleted data by mistake (including SMS) is MobiKin Doctor for Android, free download from here -> MobiKin Doctor for Android.
To retrieve text messages, open the program and wait for it to recognize the connected Android device; in this case a confirmation window will appear on the mobile phone, to provide the necessary permissions via USB debugging.
Once the device is recognized and connected, select the type of data to be retrieved from the menu (select Messages for text messages) and click on Next.
Even with this program there could be sudden restarts, do not worry and we move forward.
After a few minutes of scanning we will have access to all the deleted SMS messages not present on the device, ready to be copied in a safe place.
4) Jihosoft Android Data Recovery
Another valid program that we can use to recover SMS is Jihosoft Android Data Recovery, available for download from here -> Jihosoft Android Data Recovery.
Once installed and started, it will immediately start scanning the connected Android device and, once the access permissions via Debug are provided, the actual scan of the memory will start.
We wait patiently and do not worry about reboots, normal to access reserved memory sections and make a fast and effective recovery.
After some time the results will be shown, with the possibility to retrieve all the deleted SMS messages through the Messages menu.
5) Recover deleted SMS via app
If the Windows programs do not work or we do not have a PC available at the time of recovery, we can try some good apps designed to recover the smartphone data without going to the PC.
The only problem is that many of these apps work effectively only if we have root permissions enabled: there are apps that work without, but the recovery of SMS is not guaranteed.
For this section of the guide we will divide the app into two parts: apps that work without root and apps that work with the active root.
Below you can find the recovery apps that work even without root:
– SMS Backup & Restore
– Super Backup: SMS and Contacts
– EaseUS MobiSaver
Most of these apps require you to make a preventive backup of the SMS so you can retrieve them below; if instead we want to try to recover old SMS we will have to try EaseUS, even if there is little chance of recovery.
If we have active root permissions, we can use many more apps:
– EaseUS MobiSaver (deep memory scan)
– Dumpster
– GT SMS Recovery
– SMS Recovery
– Super Recovery & Restore
Using one of these apps we will be able to recover deleted SMS by mistake without even using a PC.
If we do not know how to root on the Android phone, I suggest you read the following guide -> Make the Android ROOT to have the cell phone free and unlocked (programs and guide).