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TGB77

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 21, 2019
42
4
How does one go about viewing their iPhone text messages on a PC?

For example, let's say you lose or misplace your iPhone. How could you view your text messages if given access to a PC?
 
You don't

Mac only for iMessage
So you're saying it is impossible. Correct? Can you corroborate this with a reputable website. This isn't something Apple should be doing, as it is not unheard of for a iPhone user to lose or misplace their phone.
 
You can view and extract your messages from an iTunes backup.

The iMessage app is exclusive to the Apple ecosystem, however if you have an iTunes backup you can use an app on your PC which can access and display (and extract) the entire contents of the backup including your messages.

I have used iexplorer by Macroplant on Mac but they also have a PC version.

You can use it for free but there are some limitations on data transferring which would require you to purchase the app if you wanted to transfer a lot of data but this shouldn’t apply to messages. I’ve never needed to purchase it despite transferring some data to and from the backup to my iPad or computer.

I believe there are other backup manager apps but this is the only one I’m familiar with.

messages-original.jpg
 
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So you're saying it is impossible. Correct? Can you corroborate this with a reputable website. This isn't something Apple should be doing, as it is not unheard of for a iPhone user to lose or misplace their phone.


So.. let's clarify this a bit more.

You want to be able to retrieve messages "real time" from the phone? Read messages that the phone received while you were away from the phone?

Yeah.. that's not happening

You want to retrieve messages from a backup? Sure, the backup had to be to iTunes and not iCloud. You could use iExplorer as posted above.

The "ipadian" option is a non starter, won't really work.

This isn't something Apple should be doing, as it is not unheard of for a iPhone user to lose or misplace their phone.

The iPhone uses iMessage. There is-no-Windows version. No need to provide you info on a "reputable website", there simply is no option. Don't like that? Simple.. Don't use iMessage and use WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, and several more options with Windows companions.
 
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You can view and extract your messages from an iTunes backup.

The iMessage app is exclusive to the Apple ecosystem, however if you have an iTunes backup you can use an app on your PC which can access and display (and extract) the entire contents of the backup including your messages.

I have used iexplorer by Macroplant on Mac but they also have a PC version.

You can use it for free but there are some limitations on data transferring which would require you to purchase the app if you wanted to transfer a lot of data but this shouldn’t apply to messages. I’ve never needed to purchase it despite transferring some data to and from the backup to my iPad or computer.

I believe there are other backup manager apps but this is the only one I’m familiar with.

messages-original.jpg
There's one at https://www.iphonetransferrecovery.com/tutorials/view-iphone-text-messages-on-computer.html called iPhone Manager. However, neither that or the one you've suggested appear to allow the user to view their incoming messages as they come in. They need their phone to retrieve the messages and then do a backup. Or perhaps I'm wrong. Maybe you can shed some more light on this. Thanks!
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So.. let's clarify this a bit more.

You want to be able to retrieve messages "real time" from the phone? Read messages that the phone received while you were away from the phone?

Yeah.. that's not happening

You want to retrieve messages from a backup? Sure, the backup had to be to iTunes and not iCloud. You could use iExplorer as posted above.

The "ipadian" option is a non starter, won't really work.



The iPhone uses iMessage. There is-no-Windows version. No need to provide you info on a "reputable website", there simply is no option. Don't like that? Simple.. Don't use iMessage and use WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, and several more options with Windows companions.
OK, so there is no way to do what I'm asking. Fair enough. However, as such a large percentage of people now use texting as a means of communication, wouldn't it make sense for there to be a way to view text messages real time using some method other than the phone? Or is this something which is built into the DNA of SMS such that it would be impossible to do?
 
There's one at https://www.iphonetransferrecovery.com/tutorials/view-iphone-text-messages-on-computer.html called iPhone Manager. However, neither that or the one you've suggested appear to allow the user to view their incoming messages as they come in. They need their phone to retrieve the messages and then do a backup. Or perhaps I'm wrong. Maybe you can shed some more light on this. Thanks!
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OK, so there is no way to do what I'm asking. Fair enough. However, as such a large percentage of people now use texting as a means of communication, wouldn't it make sense for there to be a way to view text messages real time using some method other than the phone? Or is this something which is built into the DNA of SMS such that it would be impossible to do?

Technically anything is possible. iMessage is not sms. It’s encrypted messages going through Apples servers. They control everything and Apple as of right now don’t want iMessage on other platforms. Some people buy iPhone just because of iMessage so Apple has that going for it.
 
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Most carriers offer a desktop or web app to view/reply to messages. I use Verizon's Message+ app. Its on Mac/Windows/Android/iOS and includes sms along with iMessages. Otherwise another iOS device like an iPad/iPod would be your backup should you lose your phone.
 
Technically anything is possible. iMessage is not sms. It’s encrypted messages going through Apples servers. They control everything and Apple as of right now don’t want iMessage on other platforms. Some people buy iPhone just because of iMessage so Apple has that going for it.
This.

Go to page 60 to see what is going on re: encryption keys and Messages.


In the case of true SMS, there are some carriers that will allow you to access your text messages online, via their websites. I'm pretty sure ATT and Verizon have online texts.
ATT says they don't have that option.
 
Note the lingo in the iPhone users message. The user has to turn off Messages in their iPhone. Therefore, this utility wouldn't do the trick. The point is to access, send and receive messages if you don't have access to your cell phone. If you have access to your cell phone to turn off messages, then you don't exactly need web based messaging.

ATT messages.JPG

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So.. let's clarify this a bit more.

You want to be able to retrieve messages "real time" from the phone? Read messages that the phone received while you were away from the phone?

Yeah.. that's not happening

You want to retrieve messages from a backup? Sure, the backup had to be to iTunes and not iCloud. You could use iExplorer as posted above.

The "ipadian" option is a non starter, won't really work.



The iPhone uses iMessage. There is-no-Windows version. No need to provide you info on a "reputable website", there simply is no option. Don't like that? Simple.. Don't use iMessage and use WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook Messenger, and several more options with Windows companions.
How do you know ipadian won't work? According to this website, ipadian should work with Windows. https://www.igeeksblog.com/how-to-use-imessage-on-windows-pc/
 
How does one go about viewing their iPhone text messages on a PC?

For example, let's say you lose or misplace your iPhone. How could you view your text messages if given access to a PC?
I'm new to Mac but when I was using Android there's an app called Pulse SMS. It is mainly for blocking spam messages but where it excels is it can block SMS from these no number people (ie. X Company) where if you would block it usually it does nothing since it's not an actual number. Same problem with iOS's built in blocker, it cannot block these kinds of SMS.

The other feature it has is if you buy a cheap lifetime license, you get to sync all your SMS across all your Android devices and also be able to see them from their site after logging where you can view, edit, delete.

If someone knows of a similar good SMS ad blocker I'd love to hear about it.
 
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