How to recover deleted iMessages on iPhone without backup file

Hi, can I recover deleted iMessages from a year ago without them being backed up? I accidentally deleted one old conversation from my iPhone and I didn't backup my phone in a long time. Is there any way I can access and retrieve it?

You accidentally deleted iMessages from iPhone, now what?

It's bound to happen. You deleted an entire iMessage conversation by mistake and did not have iCloud backup activated. You've accidentally deleted iMessages from your iPhone and have no idea to recover them, even though the same conversation is still available on iPad and on Mac. Whatever the case, you have a hard time trying to recover deleted iMessages on the iPhone without a backup. Take it easy; a data recovery utility is a blessing for you.

For iOS, iPadOS and macOS users, iMessages is a nifty feature compared to the regular text messaging. It supports standard text, photos, Live photos, videos and animated GIFs under an internet connection and uses end-to-end encryption for a secure communication. Read on to get the ways of recovering a deleted iMessage with a video attachment or photo or other valuable info.

Best ways to recover deleted iMessages without a backup file

There's chance to recover iMessages on iPhone without restoring from backup, and a lot of data recovery software options come to rescue. The working principle should be always the same. An application scans your iPhone, finds the deleted iMessages, and recovers the iMessages threads.

The criteria of being a best program will, therefore, depend on recovery ability - working with various types of files or not like iMessages, SMS messages, contacts, photos, videos, notes, calendar events, and many more; entitling users to retrieve a single file or not, etc., fast and efficient scan and recovery function, and compatibility. Indeed, a good file-recovery program can restore old iMessages from a backup that was created while those messages were still on the iPhone.

Of course, it's important that the tool is easy to use without any learning curve.

Retrieve Deleted iMessages without backup - what all you need to know?

To make things easier, we've laid out a right and intuitive software application called iPhone Data Recovery to quickly recover deleted iMessages from iPhone without backup.

The dedicated program can save the day even though you haven't back up iMessages to iCloud or iTunes (or Finder in iOS 10.15 Catalina) before the conversations on iPhone have been erased. This is the common scenario: I deleted a string of important iMessages that I didn't want to delete. How can I recover them? My series of iMessages were not backed up.

The utility is exactly what it sounds like: scanning iPhone to finding the deleted iMessage history and retrieving what you would like to retrieve. People use this technique to check the information about the iMessage conversations including text contents, date and time when the chat happens, photos and video attachments. It's useful for users to know what are the chances to recover iMessages from an iPhone that hasn't been backed up.

It does much more. iPhone Data Recovery could recover text messages, notes, contacts, photos, voice mail, WhatsApp messages & attachments, reminders, Safari bookmarks & history, etc.

Here's how to use the software to find erased iMessages on iPhone and recover them without iCloud backup as well as iTunes (or Finder) backup. Make sure it's installed on your computer.

Step 1: Run the software and connect iPhone to computer

Launch the utility, and plug your iPhone to the computer via a USB cable.

When it's detected, click Start Scan button.

Step 2: Analyze iPhone and find the deleted iMessages

The software will deeply scan your iPhone memory and search for all data stored there. Sit back and relax. Depending on how many files are saved on the device, this can take anywhere from a few minutes to one hour.

When the scanning process is complete, you will get a window like this, with all data categorized on the left column:

Step 3: Preview erased iMessages and select them to recover

Continue to click "Messages" category from the left column, and you should see all iMessages, SMS messages and MMS on the middle panel. When you click on one piece of iMessage conversation, it will display the details on the right panel, like date, time, texts, and the embedded photos. The video and audio files are sorted into "Messages Attachments" category.

Now, select the deleted iMessages you wish to get back, and then click Recover button. It's a good idea that you can restore one particular conversation.

Step 4: Choose output folder and initiate recovery process

At this time, a dialog box appears where you can select a location to which you want the lost iMessages recovered.

Hit Recover button to restore deleted iMessages from iPhone quickly, without a backup file. Once done, the iMessages history should save in a CSV file and an HTML file. You can email it to yourself or save it as a note.

Now that you know how to recover erased iMessages without backup, but what if you don't have a computer? iPhone Data Recovery is a cross-platform desktop application and cannot handle this. This isn't a problem, but you have to always get an iCloud backup of iPhone in place.

Video: Recover Deleted iMessages without Being Backed Up

Recover deleted iMessages conversation without computer

Assuming you have no computer and don't want to employ third-party software for some reasons, you may restore the iCloud backup that was created from before the time you deleted the iMessages from iPhone to retrieve the iMessages history.

The process involves resetting your iPhone by erasing all content and settings on the device, and then restoring from the previous backup. "Erase all content and settings" means that you will lose data since the backup and there's no way to see if your iMessages included in the backup.

1. On iPhone, go to Settings > General > Reset.

2. Tap erase All Content and Settings. Your iPhone should reset itself to factory settings.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to set up your device.

4. When you get to Apps & Data screen, choose Restore from iCloud Backup.

5. Sign in your iCloud account with your Apple ID and passcode.

6. Choose the backup containing the erased iMessages and the process should begin automatically.

That's all about recover iMessages on iPhone without a computer.

FAQ: How to recover deleted iMessages on Mac

If you've by accident deleted contents of an iMessage on a specific contact on Mac, you can restore the whole message database, not individual iMessages or conversations. Do the following:

1. Sign out of all iMessages accounts and quit Messages.

2. Hold down Option key and select Go > Library from Finder menu bar.

3. Locate your library, and find a subfolder named "Messages" from a backup that predates the time when you deleted the iMessages.

4. Click Restore.

If you don't want to fiddle with the settings on Mac, we've covered the Data Recovery Mac utility to restore deleted iMessages without losing any data.

For those who accidentally deleted an iMessage conversation from Mac with important texts and pictures in it, and the conversation exists on the iPhone or iPad, then the best way to get iMessages back is using the Messages in iCloud feature. Make sure both devices are sharing the same Apple ID, and your Mac haven't been enabled Messages in iCloud function before deletion of iMessages. On your Mac:

1. Open Messages.

2. In the Menu bar, click Messages > Preferences.

3. Click iMessages.

4. Check the box for Enable Messages in iCloud.

This will then sync iOS iMessages to Mac computer. The trick can be applied to retrieving lost iMessages on iPhone via the Messages in iCloud on iPad.