How to Transfer iOS Messages to Android

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How to Transfer iOS Messages to Android

How to Transfer iOS Messages to Android

When you finally realized that you need to move away from iOS and finally enjoy the many benefits of Android, root, and heavy levels of customization. There are a few things you imagine you’d have to give up. One of them is the SMS that you have kept in record in your iOS device for a very long time.

You are correct in assuming that one cannot simply transfer iOS contacts to Android devices. While there might be some difficulty in the process, it is not impossible at all to do. You just have to dodge a few bullets and go through some hoops, but in the end of it all, you would keep all the lovey-dovey messages you have saved on your previous device.

Backing up iOS Messages

Your first order of business is to backup your SMS messages from your iOS device. To do this, you would need to make use of Apple’s signature iTunes application. With iTunes, you can backup your SMS from your iOS device and save it to your computer’s local hard drive.

When you perform a backup of your iOS device through iTunes, it already includes the full details of all your saved SMS messages. The real problem is actually locating where the SMS are stored in your device. That is the file we need to be able to transfer your SMS to your new Android device. To make sure that we can work with the file, please disable Encrypt iPhone Backup.

Your SMS files are usually located differently depending on what operating system your computer is running:

If you are running Windows Vista up to Windows 8, you will find the backup folder in C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Apple\Computer\MobileSync\Backup\

If you are running Windows XP, you will find your backup folder in C:\Documents and Settings\[your username]\Application Data\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup

If you are running Apple’s own Mac OS X, your backup folder should be in ~\Library\Application\Support\MobileSync\Backup\

Once you find your backup folder, you will be met with folders with a seemingly random sequence of letters and numbers. Just look for the newest folder depending on the date and time it was created. That should be your most recent SMS backup.

The next step requires you to look for the file with the name “3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28”. This is the file you want to backup into an easily accessible folder as this is the file you need to get your backed up SMS from your iOS device.

Converting the File

As you may have already guessed, the file we have is useless for Android. The two operating systems may seem similar, but they speak very different languages. The truth of the matter is that you can easily backup and even share SMS records with other people on Android but you have to use Apple’s proprietary systems to make your iOS backup. Well, since we can’t use this file on Android, what do we do? What we do is to convert the file into something we can use – XML.

Fortunately for you, there is a quick and nearly painless online service that allows you to convert the iOS backup into a usable XML file for Android. The site in question is www.ismsgrab.com.

As soon as you reach the site, all you have to do is click on the “Browse” button and look for that file that we backed up earlier. Yes, the one with the ridiculously long and hard to remember name. After that, click on “Grab My Messages”. This will convert the file into an XML file. Once completed, you should download the file to your PC and place it somewhere you can easily find.

Transferring to Android

After that long winded process, things should be a lot easier from now on. First of all, connect your Android device to your PC. Transfer your new XML file from your computer to somewhere in the phone’s internal or external storage. Just make sure you remember where you put it.

Your next step is to download a free app called SMS Backup and Restore or you can use my personal pick: Super Backup. Both apps can backup and restore SMS backup files to your phone, but in my experience, I find Super Backup to be more successful on more phones and it also has other backup and restoration features that you may find interesting later on.

Once the app is installed, load up the app and choose the option to restore SMS backup. You will be asked to locate where your backup file is. Just direct the app to where you saved the backup file we transferred from your PC.

It may ask you whether you want to restore backup from a specific date, or you can choose to restore all SMS regardless of time or date. The process should proceed automatically from there. It may take quite a bit of time, especially if you have a massive amount of SMS to transfer to your new Android device.

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