The text and voicemail messages you send and receive can be valuable, offering a smart way to hold on to special memories or other important information. Apple points out on its website that your messages are stored on iCloud, and they are backed up on your computer when you sync with iTunes. However, if you’re hoping to save the messages to your computer rather than restore them to your phone, the saved format is going to be hard to decipher.
A recent how-to guide on Macworld explained that it’s possible to access that backup information without tech wizardry and a knowledge of SQLite databases. You can use a third-party program such as PhoneView, which allows you to extract information directly from your iPhone or browse the backup files saved by iTunes, which will include data from all iPhones you’ve used. PhoneView lets you save text conversations as PDF files and voicemails as AAC audio files, Macworld explained.
If you’re looking for backups of your text messages because you’ve broken your iPhone, you don’t just have to stare at the PDFs on your computer forever. You can get back to texting and talking with iPhone repair from iResQ.