Does iTunes Backup Text Messages/iMessages and How to Retrieve Easily

Text messages usually contain a lot of important information and also take up a lot of space on your phone. In order to prevent the loss of important messages and release the phone memory, usually, iPhone users can store private data by creating iPhone backups through tools, like iTunes, iCloud, or some third-party softwares. And, iTunes is developed by Apple, and is one of the most commonly used features for iOS data transferring and management.

Then, what does iTunes backup include? Does iTunes backup messages? How to backup imessages? … People have lots of questions about iTunes backup. So here in this post, we will try to show you all the information about iTunes backup messages, including how to back up text messages on iPhone, view and restore text messages backed up on iTunes, even what to do when iTunes cannot backup iPhone messages. Do keep reading and find answers to all your questions.

Does iTunes Backup Text Messages/iMessages?

Yes, iTunes does back up text messages/iMessages.

Many people ask: Does iPhone backup to iTunes include messages? Does iTunes backup include text messages? Does iTunes backup photos? According to Apple, iTunes literally backs up all data on iPhone iPad which includes photos, music, videos, ringtones, application data, text messages, iMessage, etc. So, while doing backups with iTunes, it will backup iPhone text messages. So it is recommended to backup your iPhone regularly in case of any data loss.

That is to say, when you back up iPhone with iTunes, the whole iPhone will be backed up and you can’t only back up text messages or iMessages separately. Besides, since data in iTunes backup are not readable, you need to restore the whole backup file and can’t view text messages separately. What’s more, the existing data on iPhone will be erased after restoring iTunes backup (iTunes backup will replace iPhone data currently).

Now you have known the answer to the question “Does iTunes backup messages?” Then keep reading and learn how to backup messages on iPhone with iTunes, and other ways how to save messages on iPhone easily. Also, you can learn how to restore messages on iPhone, fix iPhone cannot restore iTunes backup, etc.

How to Make iTunes Backup Messages?

Now that we know that iTunes backups contain text messages, how do we make iTunes backup messages? Very simple. You just need to prepare your computer, iPhone, and a USB cable. If you also want to know how to make iTunes backup text messages, then please read the detailed guide below!

Step 1. Connect your iPhone iPad to the computer, and launch iTunes if it doesn’t pop out automatically.

Step 2. Click the device tab and then go to Summary. Scroll down to the Backup part, tap Back Up Now. Messages and other content would be backed up to the computer.

How to Backup Messages with iTunes Alternatives?

Since iTunes won’t support backup data selectively, you can only back up your iPhone iPad iPod wholly at one time. Usually, it takes lots of time to update the backup. So, if you only need to backup text messages on an iPhone to a computer or find iPhone text messages in backup with ease, you can refer to the following methods. These two methods allow you to view and back up messages and other data selectively.

#1. AnyTrans – All-in-one iPhone Manager

As a professional iOS data management tool, AnyTrans – iPhone Data Manager completely meets all your needs to view and backup iPhone messages, making you really enjoy a simpler, faster, and more free iPhone backup experience. Below are the detailed features of AnyTrans.

• Free preview and selection – Just want to backup some important text messages? With AnyTrans you can choose SMS backup according to your needs. No more backing up blindly or letting spam text messages take over your backup space.
• Backup more than iTunes – In addition to text messages, photos, videos, music, call logs, and other data that iTunes can or cannot back up, AnyTrans can save it for you.
• Ultra-fast backup speed – No matter how much data you need to back up, AnyTrans can do it in minutes or even seconds.
• 100% Security Guarantee – No data transmission will pass through the Internet, so you don’t have to worry about data leakage at all.

Apart from that, AnyTrans also supports printing phone texts, and Android to iPhone/ iPhone to iPhone data transfer.

Free download AnyTrans to your PC/Mac and let’s see how to use AnyTrans to backup iPhone texts.

Step 1. Launch AnyTrans on your computer. Connect your iPhone to your computer via a USB cable.

Step 2. On the right side, choose the messages.

Step 3. AnyTrans will show you all texts on your device, select the conversation you want to back up, click the To Computer tab. Then you can back up your messages.

#2. PhoneTrans – The Most Reliable Backup Tool for iOS Device and Android Device

As the most powerful iTunes alternative, PhoneTrans – Phone to Phone Transfer provides 2 options to back up your iPhone, allowing you to back up your iPhone selectively or wholly. So that you can get 100% freedom to view and decide what you want to backup. In addition, PhoneTrans also adopts the most advanced encryption technology to ensure that your important data will not be leaked. Let’s check out how to backup text messages on iPhone selectively using PhoneTrans.

Step 1. Download PhoneTrans and install it on your computer. Meanwhile, you have to connect your iPhone to the computer with a fine USB cable.

Step 2. Choose the Phone Backup on the left panel. Well, you will see there are 2 options. Click on the Selective Backup and tap on Start Backup to go on.

Step 3. Follow the instructions on the following screen, choose Messages, and tap on Back up Now to start message backing up.

All you need to do now is wait for a while. Minutes later, once the backup is completed, the message backup has been made already.

How to View and Retrieve Text Messages from iTunes Backup?

After solving how to back up messages on iPhone, there are still many people asking: How do I view text messages from iTunes backup? How do I retrieve text messages from iTunes backup? As we mentioned earlier, iTunes does not allow users to directly view the backup content, and it will erase all the existing data by restoring from iTunes. So if you want to view your backed-up messages and restore them from iTunes without data loss, you can only use professional tools.

Here we highly recommend PhoneRescue for iOS – iPhone Data Recovery. With PhoneRescue for iOS, you can view iPhone backup files on a computer easily, including iTunes backup and iCloud backup. So that you can freely choose what messages to extract from iTunes backup. In addition to messages, this stool can recover other data like photos, videos, and contacts with or without backups as well. Most importantly, PhoneRescue will not erase data on your device.

Here are the steps to view and retrieve text messages from iTunes backup:

Step 1. Download PhoneRescue for iOS, install and run it on your computer. Click on “Recover from Backup” and Right Arrow button.

Step 2. Select one backup and download > Choose Messages to preview.

Step 3. Select the messages you want to recover. Click the To Computer or To iDevice tab to recover.

What to Do When iTunes Cannot Backup iPhone Messages?

Sometimes, when you want to save messages from iPhone, you may find your iTunes can not recognize your device, or iTunes cannot backup your iPhone due to iTunes errors. You can first try the above method – AnyTrans, to view and transfer iPhone messages with ease. Or, you can use one of the iPhone repair tools to fix iTunes cannot backup iPhone messages.

What to Do When iPhone Cannot Restore Backup?

In addition to the issues about saving text messages on iPhone, you may also meet some troubles while restoring them from backups. So if you can not restore iPhone backup files with iTunes or iCloud, you can first check if your network is stable, iPhone storage is enough, or you can restart your iPhone. Besides, the above method allows you to preview and restore iPhone messages selectively.

The Bottom Line

Now you know the answer to “does iTunes backup messages” and how to extract iTunes text messages to a computer or iPhone iPad. Since most people only want to back up important text messages, after our review, it is clear that AnyTrans and PhoneTrans are the best choices. And if you need to view and restore your iTunes backup, don’t forget to try PhoneRescue. If you have any questions about this post, please be free to leave comments below. By the way, if you find this post helpful, we’d appreciate it if you can share it with others.