How to Recover Accidentally Deleted iMessage on iPhone. The end does not come if you accidentally delete an iMessage thread. With these suggestions, you can get it back.
There’s a peculiar sense of attachment many of us have to old chat threads for a medium that’s not as intimate as other types of communication. They feed our nostalgia, and many of us refuse to delete old discussions that have been around for a long time.
And they’re not just useful for taking a trip down memory lane. These talks also contain a tonne of useful information. With just one keyword search, we can access that knowledge whenever we want without having to awkwardly request it again.
So it seems sensible that if these priceless iMessage threads are accidentally destroyed, it will be a blow. There is currently no trash pail or bin where you may find these messages. However, does this imply that they are lost forever? Or is there a chance that some of it can be saved? Fortunately, you can try a few different techniques to retrieve your messages in the event of an accident.
Verify your other Apple devices
There is hope for you if you mistakenly erased an iMessage thread from your iPhone but also have access to an iPad, Mac, or even another iPhone. However, this only functions if you sign in to these devices with the same Apple ID and avoid using Messages with iCloud.
If you use Messages with iCloud, your messages are synced across all of your devices so that you always have the same display. However, it also means that iCloud ensures that a message is removed from every device. You might just discover the aforementioned thread on the second device without iCloud. You need to have previously turned on iMessage on the other smartphone for this to function.
Look for the iMessage thread on that device. In the event that you discover it, you can either forward the messages to your iPhone or just keep them on the second device. But keep in mind that you cannot precisely retrieve the thread to your iPhone. It will be a conversation with yourself, not with the recipient if you actually forward the thread to yourself.
Act quickly and deactivate iCloud
You can get your iMessage thread back if you act promptly if you use Messages with iCloud and have just deleted it. Turning off iCloud can be helpful if you accidentally erased the communication but instantly discovered your error.
Go to your iPhone settings and tap your ‘Name card’ at the top.
Your Apple ID settings will open. Tap the option for ‘iCloud’.
Then tap the toggle for ‘Messages’ to turn it off.
Tap ‘Disable and Download Messages’ on the pop-up that appears. If the thread wasn’t yet deleted from iCloud servers, it’ll download to your device.
Recover Deleted Messages from iCloud Backup
If you were not using Messages in iCloud but back up your phone and messages to iCloud, you can restore them from the iCloud backup. Note that when you are using Messages in iCloud, messages are not separately stored in the iCloud backup of your device. So this step is only available to you if you have Messages in iCloud disabled, but included Messages in the iCloud backup.
Before you decide to restore an iCloud backup, there are a few things to consider. Is your iCloud backup old enough to include the deleted iMessage thread, i.e., was the backup created before you accidentally deleted the thread? Another thing you need to consider is whether restoring an iCloud backup for a deleted iMessage thread is even worth it.
Now, to determine whether the backup would even have the deleted iMessage thread, go to Settings and open Apple ID settings by tapping your name at the top.
Then, tap the option for ‘iCloud’.
Tap the ‘Manage Storage’ option.
Tap on ‘Backups’.
It’ll show the list of available backups if you have more than one device. Tap the backup for your current device.
In the backup info, see the date next to ‘Last Backup’ to determine if the backup is older than the date of the mishap.
Now, on to the other question. You’ve determined that your backup is old enough to include the deleted thread. But should you restore the iCloud backup? This would mean restoring your phone first to the factory conditions and then restoring it from the backup. So any data that wasn’t in the backup would be lost. If it’s worth it, then go ahead with this step.
Go to ‘General’ from your iPhone settings.
Then tap the option for ‘Reset’.
Scroll down and tap the ‘Erase all Content and Settings to reset your phone.
Once the reset is complete, your phone will start again and you’ll be able to set it up. Use the option ‘Restore from iCloud Backup’ to set up your phone from the backup.
Restore from iTunes Backup
For folks who backup to iTunes instead of iCloud, restoring from your iTunes backup would How to Recover Accidentally Deleted iMessage on iPhone thread for you if the backup is old enough. But if you use Messages with iCloud, then too, iTunes backup would not include your Messages. So for people who don’t use Messages with iCloud, it’ll be worth a try.
Now, like restoring the backup from iCloud, all data on your phone will be replaced by the backup. So before you proceed, remember that you’ll lose any data that you haven’t backed up.
Connect your iPhone to your PC and open iTunes. An icon for the iPhone will appear in the upper left corner. Click it to open the device summary.
Under backups, you’ll find the date and time of the latest backup to your computer.
If it predates the time you deleted the thread, it means it would have it. Click the ‘Restore Backup’ option under the Manually Back Up and Restore section to replace the data with the backup.
How to Recover Accidentally Deleted iMessage on iPhone might not be easy, but it is possible. Although if you don’t want to restore your entire phone to a backup state, you can also try some third-party apps to recover your iMessage thread. For normal messages, you can also try and contact your phone provider to get your messages back.
