Accidentally deleted messages on Android. Any way to get them back?

Rofa

Hey everyone, don’t know if this is the right place to post but I really need help with something.
I was clearing out old messages on my Android and accidentally deleted a conversation I actually really need now 😩
I'm using a Samsung Galaxy S21, and I didn’t have any backup turned on (I know).
Is there any way to get back deleted texts on android or am I just out of luck here?
Would seriously appreciate any help.

HopeInSleep

But just to be clear, what do you mean when you say you “didn’t have any backup turned on”? Like no Google backup ever?

Start with the basics, just in case. Since you’re using a Galaxy, open the Messages app, tap the three-dot menu and find Recycle bin. If the deleted thread’s in there, you can restore it with a tap. It stays there for 30 days as far as I know.
If you use Google Messages check this link https://support.google.com/messages/answer/7028817?hl=en. Sometimes people think they deleted a convo but it just got archived (and you can still retrieve archived texts from there easily).
And if it’s not in there, double-check if you ever had Google backup enabled in Settings. If there’s truly no backup, then your best bet is to connect the phone to your computer and scan it with a data recovery app that can find deleted messages on android.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head.

crimsonKing

@Rofa Samsung devices also have their own Samsung Cloud backup system, separate from Google. So even if you didn’t set up Google backups, you might’ve unknowingly enabled Samsung Cloud when you first set up your Galaxy phone. I’ve never really used it myself, but it’s worth checkingб you might be able to see deleted messages on Android backed up there.
Also, you might want to check the r/samsunggalaxy subreddit, lots of posts about Samsung backups and restore stuff over there.

Rofa

Thanks for the breakdown, I checked Settings righ now, no backups. Nothing in Samsung Cloud either. I’ve seen all those Samsung apps floating around on my Galaxy but never touched them. Skip, skip… haha, yeah, maybe that’s on me.
So I guess I’m at the point where I need to try a data recovery app? Any recommendations for which one can find deleted messages on Android, and how exactly do I go about it? Do I just plug my phone into my PC and run the app? Does it need something extra?

HopeInSleep

You can try Disk Drill for starters, it has a great track record with my devices and I’ve used it a bunch of times . But to scan Android, you’ll need the Pro version of the Mac app (the free version will let you scan and preview deleted messages, but it won’t let you save them without upgrading). If you’re on Windows, I’m honestly not sure. Maybe check out UltData.
All you need to do is connect your phone to your PC, open the recovery app, and if it detects your Android device, just select it from the list and hit Scan.
BUT (big but!) you can only scan it if the device is rooted. Without root access, software won’t even let you try. So if your phone’s not rooted, it’s probably a dead end here.

EDIT: forgot to mention your phone should’ve been rooted before the messages were deleted.

Naheri

HopeInSleep Man, don’t treat root lightly. I made the mistake once on my older Android tablet figured what’s the worst that could happen? and rooted it just to run some app that needed system access. It worked great for like… a week. Then stuff started breaking. Netflix and a few games stopped working all together. I had so much trouble with i. Couldn’t even roll it back fully. If I were you, I’d honestly just forget about it. all that hassle just to undelete text messages.

crimsonKing

OP the best “recovery method” is just asking the person to send the message again 😂
Low-tech high success rate.

Rofa

crimsonKing Haha… I would if I could. Trust me, if asking the sender was an option, I definitely wouldn’t be out here posting on forums 😅

DanyOrtega89

I’d back what @HopeInSleep said and throw in a couple more tools you can try: FoneLab for Android and iMobie DroidKit. They all basically work the same way : connect your phone to a PC, turn on USB debugging, and scan the device for deleted files. And just to be clear, your phone has to be rooted before the texts (or any other files) were deleted.
But even with root, recovery isn’t guaranteed. Starting somewhere around Android 4.3 (might be wrong on the exact version) Android started using TRIM, which clears deleted data ASAP. So if TRIM has already run, it could be impossible to retrieve old text messages no matter what tool you use.

DanyOrtega89

Naheri I’ve had the opposite experience. Been rooting my devices for years and never ran into major issues. Yes you have to be a little more careful with updates and all that, but if you know what you’re doing root can be stable and totally worth it imo.

Rofa

Thanks for the app suggestions @HopeInSleep @DanyOrtega89 🙌

Actually, I rooted this phone last year for work-related reasons. It’s not my main device, so I didn’t mind taking the risk.
,. So hope’s not lost yet!

@Naheri Haha a bit too late for meI already rooted it 😅
Wasn’t exactly easy and stuff like Google Pay doesn’t work anymore + couple apps too, but since it’s not my daily phone, that’s not a huge deal for me.

Rofa

Quick question. Is there any app I can run directly on my phone? Like something from Google Play Store or whatever?

HopeInSleep

Rofa There are some apps on Google Play that claim to recover deleted messages right from the phone but honestly, I haven’t really used any of them, so can’t recommend one.

DanyOrtega89

Rofa I did try DiskDigger once, it’s on Play Store and works directly on the phone.
But from what I’ve seen, it’s mostly for recovering photos. I don’t remember seeing any option for restoring accidentally deleted messages, and I don’t see anything “official” that says it supports that either.

KindnessCatalyst

Modern Android really makes data recovery suuuuper challenging. Between TRIM and encryption it’s not like the old days where you could just plug in and scan. That said, you won’t know what’s possible until you actually try. Every case is different.

Also, one more thing @Rofa check if your carrier has its own app. A lot of providers have their own messaging apps or backups that keep recently deleted messages in the cloud for like a month. I think Verizon has one.

@DanyOrtega89 DiskDigger Pro actually supports recovering SQLite database files from internal memory. So in theory, it could help recover deleted messages too (since many messaging apps store data in SQLite). It’s not guaranteed, of cours but it’s technically possible.

Rofa

I tried that Disk Drill app on my Mac, was way easier than I expected. plugged in the phone, ran a scan, and found up a bunch of stuff. Actually found many deleted photos too. I could view them right there in the app, both the texts and the images. Didn’t need those photos, but still kinda cool that it’s possible.
so huge thank you to everyone who helped out in here 🙌
Really appreciate all the replies!!!!!!

roman-demian

Marking this thread as Solved ✅, big thanks to everyone who contributed!
For anyone else landing here wondering how to recover deleted texts on Android, here’s a breakdown of recovery options depending on your situation:

Check the Recycle Bin in Messages
Check the Archived section in Google Messages
Recover messages from Google backup. Check if Google Backup is turned on under Settings > System > Backup
Stop using your device immediately after deletion to avoid overwriting data
Use data recovery software
Recover messages from Google backup by factory resetting the phone and restoring during setup
Check Samsung Cloud for message backups (if it’s a Samsung device)
Use carrier cloud services if available

We’ve also got a full guide on How to Recover Deleted Files on Android, it covers root, backups, cloud options, and what actually works.

From my own experience, I’d add this: your best chance of recovering anything on Android is if you’ve got some kind of backup (Google, Samsung Cloud, carrier, third-party, whatever). Without a backup, recovery gets really uncertain, even with root and good tools. But of course you never really know until you actually try. So don’t let me discourage you.

Hope that helps future readers, good luck and dont forget to back up!