Does anyone know how to retrieve old text messages on an I Phone 5 SE? Mine only has messages going back to September of last year and I need some messages from July.

I'm watching this thread, 'cause I'd like to know how to do that, too.

Also, I'd like to know how to move audio files from the phone to a computer or other storage device like a thumb drive. I have some unbearably cute messages from grandchildren that I want to preserve for posterity. . .

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Does anyone know how to retrieve old text messages on an I Phone 5 SE? Mine only has messages going back to September of last year and I need some messages from July.

Can't do it.

In settings > messages > Keep Messages

You have the option to set your phone to keep forever, 1 Year, or 30 days. I keep mine set up at "forever" but delete from time to time as they take up quite a bit room after a while.



To save a Voice Mail, simply open the VM and click the box with an arrow through it at the top right. From there you can select to email an MP4 of your voicemail to yourself.

Something to try.
Go to Spotlight Search in your General settings and make sure messages is selected.
Go back to the home screen and swipe right to bring up a search screen. Type words from the messages you're looking for. I've been able to pull up some old messages that don't show up anywhere. I've pulled back deleted data this way.
Maybe a bug, the version of IOS I was using or maybe a iCloud setting, but just about anything dating back at least a few years would show up.

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:
I'm watching this thread, 'cause I'd like to know how to do that, too.

Also, I'd like to know how to move audio files from the phone to a computer or other storage device like a thumb drive. I have some unbearably cute messages from grandchildren that I want to preserve for posterity. . .

When you plug an Android phone into a computer, it acts just like any other storage device. You can create, move, and remove files...basically just like a flash drive. Can't you do that with an iPhone? Moving audio files and movie files is the same. With my file manager on my phone, I have a pretty organized file hierarchy with My Documents, Pictures, Movies, Songs, Work Docs, Taxes, etc.

Makes transferring files to the computer super easy. You can even use the search function on your PC just like if you were searching for files on your hard drive.

Certainly the iPhone allows that...no?

quote:

Certainly the iPhone allows that...no?

Hmmm...for one I cannot remember the last time I plugged my phone into my computer, but I do not remember seeing any files for phone VM's.

Maybe you can though. I just do everything from the cloud and move anything I want to save to my Dropbox account.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

Certainly the iPhone allows that...no?

Hahaha. You're funny.

iPhones go through iTunes, which is pretty much the worst program ever.

I've started taking screenshots to save text messages. The images are pretty small files.

quote:

Originally posted by Surefire:

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:

Certainly the iPhone allows that...no?

Hahaha. You're funny.

iPhones go through iTunes, which is pretty much the worst program ever.

Yeah, there's the rub. How can I get the file off the phone and onto some other media (computer hard drive, flash drive, etc.) as an MP3 or other file type?

quote:

Yeah, there's the rub. How can I get the file off the phone and onto some other media (computer hard drive, flash drive, etc.) as an MP3 or other file type?

See my response above, you may e-mail the files to yourself in MP4 form.

quote:

Originally posted by Balzé Halzé:
Certainly the iPhone allows that...no?

Nope. That's way too simple for Apple.

Reason #473 why I use Android phones.

I guess I'm SOL. I had the messages set on Hold Forever as Ronin suggests and they are still gone. I also tried what Jupiter suggested and no luck. Thanks anyway guys.

Here's what I did:

Take the device with the recording on it and play it over speakerphone.

Use another device (I also have an iPad) and record the message using an app like Audio Memos and then you email it to yourself and save it to your computer or external disk drive.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
I guess I'm SOL. I had the messages set on Hold Forever as Ronin suggests and they are still gone. I also tried what Jupiter suggested and no luck. Thanks anyway guys.

Did you change phones since then? That happened to me once...my text messages did not carry forward to the next phone.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
Does anyone know how to retrieve old text messages on an I Phone 5 SE?

I think the only way is by FISA warrant through the NSA. Or maybe Ed Snowden can help you.. .

quote:

Originally posted by SapperSteel:
I'm watching this thread, 'cause I'd like to know how to do that, too.

Also, I'd like to know how to move audio files from the phone to a computer or other storage device like a thumb drive. I have some unbearably cute messages from grandchildren that I want to preserve for posterity. . .

To move audio files or pictures to your computer simply plug in your iPhone to computer, as soon as iTunes turns on close it.
Then go to "computer", and your devices are going to appear like your c drive, DVD drive and so on. One of the new drives is your iPhone. Open that drive. There will be several folders and all your music and photos will be in there. Then you can just click and save or transfer complete file to your computer or device.
Hope this helps.

Which iphone are you using that shows files?

Are you on windows? I don't have a mac.
All i see when i plug in my iphone to my windows pc is the pictures folder.

I have to use itunes to put music on my phone. My daughter uses something called copy trans to move files back and forth. Apple is not as accommodating as android.

I back up my phone once a month and when i needed to recover a text msg i used the last backup to get it but it's probably too late for the op.

quote:

Originally posted by Bulldog7972:
I guess I'm SOL. I had the messages set on Hold Forever as Ronin suggests and they are still gone. I also tried what Jupiter suggested and no luck. Thanks anyway guys.

Have you gone into the message thread that has the old messages you are looking for and tapped the time at the top of the screen (above the name of the person you were texting). That will take you to the top of the messages. Keep tapping the time to keep loading older messages.

There are possibly a few ways to retrieve the messages if you back up the phone to iTunes once in a while.

There are 3rd party software packages which will retrieve the messages off of the backups.

Another possible method which may work is to restore the phone from a backup. It may reload those old messages, or it may not. I would do this as a last resort after trying the 3rd party software.

You may be able to recover erased texts from the phone itself using 3rd party software even if the phone has not been backed up to iTunes. But this requires the deleted data has not been overwritten by new data, making it a gamble.

quote:

Originally posted by Chowser:
Which iphone are you using that shows files?

Are you on windows? I don't have a mac.
All i see when i plug in my iphone to my windows pc is the pictures folder.

I have to use itunes to put music on my phone. My daughter uses something called copy trans to move files back and forth. Apple is not as accommodating as android.

I back up my phone once a month and when i needed to recover a text msg i used the last backup to get it but it's probably too late for the op.

I have used this on many iPhones including 4s, 5, and now 7 plus. But yes, on a windows computer.
Never used a mac computer. Always works on windows platform.