Google now offers automatic Backup text messages on Android. At this moment you don’t have the option to control it. If you need to more control over the SMS backup and restore, then it better uses manual backup. There are plenty of free apps on Google play store.
In this tutorial, I’m going to use the popular free SMS backup restore app called SMS Backup+. This app will save all the text messages Gmail account subfolder (label) and call logs to Google calendar. You can change the call logs save location from the calendar to Gmail subfolder (label). The benefit of saving text and call logs to Gmail label is, you can view them by using a computer web browser.
At this moment this app does not offer one-touch login, instead of that, you have to submit the Google account user name and password. If you have enabled 2nd step verification, then need to generate apps specific password.
SMS Backup and Restore to Gmail.
Configure the SMS Backup+ app.
- First, install the SMS Backup+ app using Google Play the following link.
- Enable Gmail IMAP settings. (log-in to Gmail using a computer. In the Gmail top right, click “Settings” and click the “Forwarding and POP/IMAP” tab. In the “IMAP Access” select, “Enable IMAP” and save changes.)
- Once the app installed, tap on “Advanced Settings“.
- Then Tap on “Custom IMAP Server“.
- Now tap on “Authentication” and select “Plain text“.
- Fill in the below details in “IMAP settings” (refer to the below screenshot).
- Server address:- imap.gmail.com:993
- Username: Your full Gmail address
- Password: Your Google account password.
- No need to change “Security“, keep it as “TLS“.
- If you enabled Google’s second step verification, you have to submit the “Apps Specific password” to this app.
If you use Google single sign-on (SSO), by a tap on SMS Backup+ main screen “Connect” button, you will end up “Sign in with Google temporarily disabled for this app.” warning. Therefore, configure the app by using the above method.
Backup SMS using SMS Backup+ App.
Configure app.
- Open the application.
- Navigate to “Advanced settings>Backup settings“.
- Change the “Email Address style” as you want. Prefer to select the “Name (+00 123456)” style. It gives a clear idea about SMS.
- Select “Email subject prefix“.
- If you need to change the backed up SMS saved Gmail label name, change the “SMS” name.
- Go back to the app main menu. You don’t need to follow all these steps every time, once configured it saved.
Start backup.
- Tap on “Backup“, when it asks “Confirm Action“, select “OK“.
Backup Call Logs to Gmail.
Configure app
- Open the application.
- Navigate to “Advanced settings>Backup settings“.
- Enable the “Backup Call log” option by a tap on it.
- Enable the “Backup after call” option by a tap on it.
- If you need to change the call log save Gmail label, change it by tapping “Call log label“.
- Now when you tap on the main menu “Backup” it saves all your call logs to Gmail.
How to automatically backup SMS messages on Android.
- Open the SMS backup+ app.
- Main screen tap on “Auto backup” option.
- You can customize automation settings by a tap on “Auto backup settings”.
- Change “Regular schedule” to “30 minutes”
- Change “Incoming schedule” to “1 min”.
- If you prefer to run the backup over WiFi select “Require Wifi”.
- Now, this app auto backup text messages to Gmail within given scheduled times.
Properly work scheduled backups, you have to whitelist this app from the system battery optimizer.
Restore Messages and Call Logs.
- Open the SMS Backup+ app.
- Go to “Advanced settings>Restore settings“.
- By default this app restores only 500 messages, you can customize it by a tap on the 500 numbers.
- Make sure that the “Mark as read (SMS)” option enabled. Otherwise, all you restored SMS mark as unread.
- Go back to the app main screen.
- Tap on the “Restore” button.
This kind of data protection solution useful if you are transferred from one phone to another.
