You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

đź’ˇ Did you know?

⏺ If you can't accept iCloud Terms and Conditions... Learn more >

⏺ If you don't see your iCloud notes in the Notes app... Learn more >

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Restore deleted text messages

Please tell me how I can restore a thread of text messages on my iPhone 8plus.

iPhone 5c, iOS 9

Posted on Oct 27, 2022 3:30 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 27, 2022 3:36 PM

Generally, you cannot.


If you use iOS 16, you may see the option to restore messages. In the messages app, tap edit.


On older iOS versions:

If you use messages in iCloud, there is no recovery possible

Otherwise, if you have a device backup that contains the messages, you can factory reset and erase your device and restore it using your backup. You'll lose anything new since the backup was made but you might recover your message(s).

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 27, 2022 3:36 PM in response to Kellysolomon

Generally, you cannot.


If you use iOS 16, you may see the option to restore messages. In the messages app, tap edit.


On older iOS versions:

If you use messages in iCloud, there is no recovery possible

Otherwise, if you have a device backup that contains the messages, you can factory reset and erase your device and restore it using your backup. You'll lose anything new since the backup was made but you might recover your message(s).

Restore deleted text messages

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.