Please help - lost all messages on iphone

[ariel]

As title says, I would be very glad of any help.

iphone somehow managed to wipe out every single text message, (I have no idea how, it wasn't even being used at the time).

Some of the messages are irreplaceable, & I really need to get them back. I hope that they have been saved on the last backup I made, (which was unfortunately done quite a while ago), and would like to try to restore them.

The problem I have, is that iTunes is set to autosync, and I'm worried that if I connect iphone to the computer, it will automatically take what is on the phone, and rewrite what is on the computer with it, thus I will lose my messages forever.

Does anybody know how I can ensure that it syncs FROM the computer TO the phone, not the other way around? Also, I'm not very 'apple' minded, being a windows sort of person - is the last backup file something separate to the syncing, so if it should resync the 'wrong way' will I still be able to restore using this backup file, or will it be overwritten?

Thanks for any help offered

[mixture]

iPhones do not autonomously delete all (or any) messages, so I'm afraid its either your doing or that of someone who's had access to your phone (friends, kids, partner).

Some of the messages are irreplaceable

and

the last backup I made, (which was unfortunately done quite a while ago)

Hmm..... it never ceases to amaze me how people keep files/documents/messages on their electronic devices that they consider "irreplaceable" and yet can't be bothered to implement a regular backup routine. I'm afraid its something that gets no tea and sympathy from me ... IF IT IS IMPORTANT TO YOU, BACK IT UP ON A REGULAR BASIS TO RELIABLE STORAGE ! (preferably three independent recent copies stored on independent reliable devices (no USB sticks or that sort of rubbish) if its really important to you)..... its something I repeat time and time again on here !

Infact since you can even set an iPhone to backup seamlessly to Apple iCloud there is absolutely zero excuse for not being able to do regular backups.... since the iCloud method is fully automated whenever you're on WiFi, no need to remember to plug in USB cables, all you need to do is make sure it's backing up ok.

The problem I have, is that iTunes is set to autosync

You can turn it off.

it will automatically take what is on the phone, and rewrite what is on the computer with it, thus I will lose my messages forever.

By the sounds of your description so far, its highly likely that you've lost your messages forever anyway...

If you do a restore, then yes, it will re-image your phone with the contents of your last backup... the fact your last backup is of a certain vintage is not my or Apple's problem (not that this problem is anything to do with Apple in the first place).

I'm afraid you're probably going to find you've just learnt about the importance of backups... the hard way.

[OFSO]

can't be bothered to implement a regular backup routine.

Buy an Android phone. Then do the following (and this is from memory, so I might be slightly off). Once you've done this, forget about anything else, other than a regular check if you are paranoid. (I am and I do).


- Account & sync settings, auto sync, tick sync automatically

- G-mail, settings, tick sync automatically

- Google settings, connected apps, tick sync automatically

- Settings, Privacy, tick back up my data

QED.

[ariel]

Mixture

Thanks for your (slightly cynical) reply. I have absolutely no idea how the messages were deleted - indeed, they were all present & correct only a couple of hours earlier & I know for sure I haven't deleted them, accidental or otherwise. Also, I have no young kids around me at the moment either....

Yes, I do understand the importance of backups, the excuse I use for not doing a recent one is down to my rather erratic lifestyle at the moment, (due to circumstances beyond my control), so yes, I have learnt the hard way on this occasion.

autosync is set to automatic, I can't change this on my machine, (option greyed out), unless I plug in an apple device..

Anyway, I was unaware of the complete iphone backup via icloud, so have learnt something from your post.

If anyone else can offer some advice, I would be grateful.

[KBPsen]

Originally Posted by ariel

I have absolutely no idea how the messages were deleted

You are not the only one this has happened to. There appears to be a bug in iOS that can corrupt the stored SMS data among other things. There are apparently also other bugs that can cause text messages to disappear partially or totally.


Here is some advice on how to restore messages.

How to retrieve deleted text messages on iPhone - How to - Macworld UK

[ariel]

KBPsen

Thanks very much for that, I will give some of those a try

[DemiAlick]

If you have already backed up your iPhone with iTunes, you can recover deleted text messages by the following steps using iTunes:
Click the File menu and select Devices > Restore from Back up.
Or
Open the iOS device's Summary tab. There are two ways to access this:
Click the device button in the upper right corner. (If viewing the iTunes Store, click the Library button in the upper right corner. The device button will then be visible.)
From any view in iTunes, click the View menu and select Show Sidebar. Select your iOS device in iTunes under Devices.
Click the Restore Backup button.

If you haven't had time to back up your iPhone before the deletion, there are also two methods for you to try:
1. Recover the text messages directly using a third party software;
2. Recover the text messages under DFU mode.