Q: I can't find and view the iCloud text messages that I have backed up. Only iMessages were back after I restored the iCloud backup. Does iCloud backup deleted text messages? How do I access or download iCloud backup on computer and view text messages on iCloud?
Click the 'iMessage' tab at the top of the Preferences window. Click the checkbox next to where it says 'Enable Messages in iCloud.' If there are messages available to sync, you can click 'Sync. IMessages in iCloud is a feature of the Messages app which lets you sync all iMessages through iCloud to other devices using the same Apple ID, offering some other nice benefits in that process. You may have thought that was already how iMessage worked on the iPhone, iPad, and Mac, but it turns out that’s not exactly the case. Sign in to iCloud to access your photos, videos, documents, notes, contacts, and more. Use your Apple ID or create a new account to start using Apple services. Go to 'Settings' on your iPhone/iPad. On top of the Settings menu, tap your name to go to iCloud. Next, tap on 'iCloud'. Scroll down and under 'Apps Using iCloud', turn on the messages option to automatically sync every text message or iMessage to iCloud. Apple iCloud doesn’t just back up your text message, it store all most all data on your iPhone including your text messages which means you can restore those text messages that existed on iPhone when iCloud backup was build, but you have no access to anything that had been deleted already prior to the backup.
As we know, iCloud service is a professional tool which can provide you a thoroughfare to back up your text messages, contacts, photos and other contents. So, the answer is yes if you wonder if iCloud can backup messages. But some people may meet the situation like above user said that they can't find some items in the iCloud backup, so why is this?
In fact, iCloud does not store MMS, SMS or iMessages for you to access at iCloud official website. It only can help you to backup them, so you can restore your iPhone when you need to reset to factory default. And if you use the same iCloud account on different devices, it can keep in sync, so you can back up the messages to iCloud and view them on the other device after restoring the backup.
But in the other case, if you want to view deleted or older text messages on iCloud backup, or directly download the iCloud backup to PC, how can you do?
To get rid of this kind of iCloud problem, you have to understand the function of iCloud. So, in this post, we would like to talk some tricks about iCloud backup including how to backup, download and view text messages to/from/on iCloud.
Part 1. How to Access and View iPhone Messages on iCloud?
Apple doesn't provide the stored path for your iCloud backup files, so you just can view contacts, photos, reminders, notes etc. on iCloud, but text messages/iMessages are not available to view. As they are stored in cloud and Apple's server, so you can't view messages online even if you have your Apple ID.
In hence, when you want to check the messages online or view text messages from another phone on iCloud, you are not allowed to do it directly. So, if you just want to check the Verizon texts from the computer, instead of restoring all to your iPhone, here I would like to show you an effective way about how to view text messages/iMessages online.
FoneCope iPhone Data Recovery (iCloud Data Extractor) is a professional tool which can help you access and extract all kind of data on your iCloud backup with ease. Meanwhile, you can also view your iCloud backup files online on PC including text messages, iMessages, photos, reminders, notes etc.
The following data that iCloud will backup:
SMS and MMS messages, iMessage
Photos and videos, notes, reminders
Ringtones
Application data
Home screen and iPhone application organization
Visual Voicemail password
HomeKit settings, Health data
Purchase record for music, movies, television set shows, apps, and literature
Steps to View Text Messages in iCloud Using FoneCope iCloud Data Extractor:
Step 1. Here are three modes for your choice, you need simply click 'Recover from iCloud backup' mode.
Step 2. It will turn you into the next interface which shows you all the supported file types, you need to select 'Message' or other data types you want to view, then click 'Next'.
Step 3. Log in your iCloud account to download your iCloud backup, click 'Next' after selecting an iCloud backup to scan.
Step 4. After scanning, you can preview all your text messages here including the deleted messages and the existing messages. Besides, if you want to extract or restore some items to your iPhone, you can select them and click 'Recover' in the lower right corner, and it will require you to choose a location to store the messages extracted from iCloud backup.
Now you can easily view your text messages on iCloud with simple steps. In addition, this tool can easily help you access and view text messages online as well as download the iCloud backup to PC in one click, but if you ask for some conventional methods to download iCloud backup to PC (except messages), here you can follow the below steps.
Part 2. How to Download iCloud Backup to PC (Except for Messages)?
Using the methods in Part 1, you can access/download iCloud backup on PC (including messages). But if you use iCloud to download the backup, you can't download the messages.
Download iCloud backup to PC/Mac from iCloud.com
Step 1. Signing into iCloud official website on your PC/Mac.
Step 2. Here you can find the data which you want to access, such as notes, contacts, and calendars.
Step 3. Click on the data you want to download, then you can see the download files later.
Get the download iCloud data to PC/Mac using iCloud Drive
Step 1. Download iCloud Drive on your computer and install it. (You're required to upgrade your account to be able to use the iCloud drive to check your files.)
Step 2. Sign in your iCloud account.
Step 3. Choose the data or features you want to keep the update status on your iOS devices.
Step 4. To access some data such as photos, you need to go to Settings > iCloud > Photos to choose Download and Keep Originals and import the photos to your computer. (iOS 8 or later device)
Step 5. You can find the uploaded photos on This PC > iCloud Photos folder on your computer.
Imessage In The Cloud Encryption
This must be the easy and safe way to reach your personal data by iCloud drive and iCloud COM, but it just can access iWork files and not PDF or other documents. And for some file types like Text Messages, iMessages, call history, WhatsApp attachment and more documents created by third-party apps, it does not support to view and download, not to speak of extracting and recovering. But FoneCope iCloud Data Extractor can fix this disadvantage to help you extract and download all types of data from iCloud backup in one click.
Part 3. How to Backup Text Messages to iCloud with Ease?
Step 1. Connect your device to the available Wi-Fi network.
Step 2. For iOS 11, Go to Settings, then find your Name and tap 'iCloud'. For iOS 10.2 or earlier, you need to scroll down to find 'iCloud' on Settings.
Imessage In The Cloud Security
Step 3. Tap 'iCloud Backup' or 'Backup' to ensure 'iCloud Backup' is turned on.
Step 4. Just tap 'Back Up Now' until the process is finished. (Make sure the Wi-Fi is stable)
However, if you already turn on the iCloud backup setting, then you can directly schedule an automatic iCloud backup.
The Bottom Line
From above three parts, now we can clearly know the features and properties of iCloud backup. Just follow the above-mentioned methods to backup/access/view and download the iCloud backup file (especially text messages) with ease. On the other hand, to achieve backup/access/view/download iCloud backup simultaneously, FoneCope iCloud Data Extractor must be the obvious choice for you.
Nearly a year after it was first announced, Messages in iCloud is finally available. All you need to enable it is iOS 11.4 on your iPhone or iPad, and macOS 10.13.4 on your Mac
You’ll almost certainly want to turn this feature on as it improves on the sort of half-baked syncing feature that was the only option in previous releases. Before, if you were signed into the same Apple ID on your iPhone and iPad, then the Messages apps on each device would simply show incoming messages at the same time. As you replied back and forth, each device updated the conversation threads in unison.
Imessage In The Cloud Pc
But this had big limitations. The devices all needed to be powered on and connected to the internet at once; if a device was offline, it wouldn’t ever get the messaging changes from your other devices. And if you deleted a conversation—say, a list of two-factor authentication codes—they would only disappear from the device you’re currently using.
Messages in iCloud fixes all that. It stores all your Messages (iMessages and SMS texts), including attachments and images, to your iCloud account and syncs them between devices. All your devices always have the most recent state. If you delete a thread, it deletes everywhere. If you set up a brand new device, it will have your entire Messages history.
And if you’re worried about security, note that Apple assures us that all your iMessages, including files and photos, are still end-to-end encrypted.
How to enable Messages in iCloud
First, you’re going to need iOS 11.4 or later on your iPhone or iPad.
In iOS beta versions prior to the release of 11.4, you would be prompted to enable Messages in iCloud the first time you opened the Messages app. Just agree, and you’re good to go. In the final iOS 11.4 release, that prompt appears to be gone—you’ll have to dig into your Settings to enable the feature.
- Open Settings.
- Tap on your iCloud and Apple ID settings (it’s your name and image).
- Tap on iCloud.
- Toggle Messages on.
You’ll need to be plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi in order for your Messages history to sync up the first time. There may be a lot of data there, and Apple doesn’t want to kill your battery (or data plan) uploading it. After the initial sync, everything should always stay up to date as long as you’re connected to the Internet.
Enabling Messages in iCloud is a little different on the Mac.
- Open the Messages app.
- In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click Messages then Preferences.
- Select the Accounts tab.
- Choose your iMessage account in the left column.
- Make sure Enable Messages on iCloud is checked.
Once this is enabled on all your devices, messages should always stay in sync, including deleted messages or threads, attachments, or images and videos.