Text messages are usually the one thing that we forget to transfer to our new phone or store when we perform a factory reset to our current device. And that’s a pity, since the process of backing up your text messages is ridiculously simple. In this tutorial we will show you how to backup your text messages from your Android device to a Gmail account.
First step: Enable IMAP access on your Gmail account
For the backing up process to be possible, you’ll have to enable the IMAP option on your Gmail account.
- Log in to your Gmail account. If you have more than one, select whichever you deem more suitable for this task
- Click on the Gear icon located on the top right-hand side
- Select Settings
- Select the ‘Forwarding and POP/IMAP’ tab
- Check the boxes shown in the second image
Second step: Download and use the SMS Backup+ app to save your texts
- LaunchPlay Store on your Android device and search for ‘SMS Backup+’
- Hit install
For the ones wondering, the IMAP configurations were necessary in order for the app to perform the backing up process.
Moving on:
- Hit the connect button
- Select the same Gmail account as before
- Tap on Allow
- Tap Backup
The backing up process will then commence. The process takes a few minutes to complete, depending on how many texts you are backing up. Mission accomplished!
To view the backed up messages, just log in to your Gmail account and open the SMS tab, which is located on the left column along with Inbox, Sent Mail, Drafts etc.
Extra tip: Enable auto back-ups
If you text a lot, then we’d recommend enabling the auto back-up option, thus avoiding the hassle of every now and then having to manually perform this task.
- Open the SMS Backup+ app
- Select ‘Auto backup’
- Open the ‘Auto backup settings’ option
- Select ‘Regular schedule’
- Select the frequency in which you wish the backups to take place
- Optional: Select ‘Require WiFi’ to avoid wasting your data
If you encounter any problems while trying out the above or have a recommendation to make, feel free to shoot a comment down below. Alternatively, we have other methods for conventional SMS backup and restore on Android.