How To Get Deleted Messages Back On Android

Did you accidentally delete messages on your Android device? Or was your phone somehow damaged or breached? If anything of the sort has happened, you're in a bit of a pickle. Because it's really difficult to recover deleted messages from any device, especially Android.

This is due to the fact that Android devices don't store deleted messages in a recycle bin. They're automatically overwritten. Read on for more details, possible solutions, tips and tricks to help tackle this problem.

Recovering Messages on Android Is Nearly Impossible

The Android operating system is peculiar when it comes to storing (or rather not storing) deleted data. Do you know how Windows computers have a recycle bin that serves as a graveyard of deleted documents and files?

If so, you'll know how useful that bin is. If you delete something accidentally, you can easily restore it with a couple of clicks. In contrast, there's no such thing as a recycle bin on Android devices. All the information that gets deleted, is quickly overwritten with new information.

Imagine it as a blank piece of paper after you used rubber to erase the words that you wrote on it before. You can write new words on the same paper, but there's no way to retrieve what was erased.

You can only hope that the deleted messages were not yet overwritten. The faster you realize that you want to save them, the more chance you have of retrieving the messages.

How to Recover Deleted messages on Android Device

The Only Solid Way of Recovering Messages on Android

If you did a quick Google search, you might think that recovering messages is easy. Sorry to burst your bubble. But all the advertised software that claims to recover the messages for you is actually useless and bad for your device.

All of which we'll discuss later in the article. For now, let's talk about the only method of recovery that works. Follow these steps:

Launch the Airplane Mode on your device. Simply swipe down from the top of the screen and select the airplane icon from the quick menu on your Android.
The icon will light up when enabled, as shown in the picture.
This mode will disable everything (Wi-Fi, cellular data, etc.) on your phone. What this does is simple, it prevents any new data from being stored on your phone.
Now you can try to look for the messages elsewhere if you backed them up by any chance.

That's the only way, using a backup for the messages prior to their deletion. Or, you can talk to the other person (the receiver or sender of messages in question), explain the situation, and hope that they can forward you the deleted messages.

Avoid All Third-Party Recovering Programs

If nothing else, follow this advice. You won't be doing yourself any favors by installing these "miracle worker" apps and programs that claim to recover any deleted messages on Android devices. They're mostly scams, malware, spyware, etc.

All of the above are harmful to your device, and most importantly, won't work. We would never tell you to download anything of the sort on your devices. The sad reality is that once your Android messages are gone, they're gone.

There's little or nothing that you can do about it. Don't despair, and let this be a lesson. The best thing you can do is always back up your messages for safekeeping. Then, you won't have to pray that the messages are not totally lost.

The same goes for important files, photos, etc. Always back up your important correspondence and files on an external storage device, or even better, a secure Cloud service.

Backup Methods

Basically, there are two backup methods for saving your messages, as well as any other type of file. You can save them on a physical device (such as a USB flash drive, external hard drive, your PC, and so on). There's nothing much to say about this method, it's pretty solid, you can connect your Android to most of the mentioned devices using a micro USB cable, and save your messages.

The other method, which is perhaps even better, is to upload your messages on the above-referenced secure Cloud storage service, such as Google Drive. If you don't know how to use it, follow the steps:

Install Google Drive on your Android device or update it using this link.
Launch it and sign in to your Google account that is linked to your Google Drive (or link one now).
Open the app, and tap the more icon (hamburger menu).
Tap on Settings then Backup and reset.
Turn on Back up then select Back up now button.

Better Safe Than Sorry

Note that if you had Google Drive installed on your phone before the messages were deleted, you can check its storage to look for those messages. If not, sadly there's nothing you can do. Remember to always back up your messages and files of value.

Have you ever lost deleted messages on your Android device? Let us know in the comments section below.