Author:
Eric Farmer
Date Of Creation:
3 March 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
Many people communicate using SMS messages, so in order to keep important information, you need to make a backup copy of them. If you own a Samsung Galaxy device, you can use Samsung's dedicated software or one of the many free apps available on the Google Play Store to back up your SMS messages. Copy SMS messages to your computer regularly to avoid losing important information.
Steps
Method 1 of 2: Using Samsung Smart Switch
1 Download Smart Switch to your computer. This program can be downloaded for free on the website samsung.com/us/smart-switch/... Smart Switch supports both Windows and Mac OS. - Smart Switch is designed to transfer data to another device, but this program can be used for backup.
- Keep in mind that you will not be able to read SMS messages copied to your computer - in order to do this, you will have to transfer them back to your device. That is, only the backup process is described here. If you need to read copied messages directly on your computer, go to the next section.
2 Install Smart Switch software. Run the downloaded installation file for this program and follow the instructions on the screen. It is recommended not to change the default settings during installation. 
3 Connect your Samsung device to your computer. It will appear in the Smart Switch window. 
4 Click "Backup". This will start the process of backing up information stored on the device, including SMS messages. This will take some time. - By default, the backup files will be sent to the Documents folder. If you want to change this folder, click "Advanced" - "Settings".
5 Restore your SMS backup. To do this, use Smart Switch again. Click "Restore" and select the file with the desired backup.
Method 2 of 2: Using a backup app
1 Download the backup app from the Google Play Store. There are several applications for backing up SMS messages; the most popular ones are SMS Backup & Restore and SMS Backup +. SMS messages copied with these free applications can be read on a computer. The Backup & Restore app creates an XML file that opens in the browser, and the Backup + app creates an SMS folder in your Gmail account. 
2 Connect your Gmail account (SMS Backup +). If you want to use the Backup + app, connect your Gmail account to copy your SMS messages to it. To do this, click "Connect" in the main menu of the application. The system will ask you to sign in to your Google account. - To work with the Backup + application in your Gmail account, activate the IMAP mail protocol. To do this, open your Gmail inbox and click "Settings" - "Forwarding and POP / IMAP" - "Enable IMAP".
3 Start the backup process. After configuring the app, go to the backup. The process depends on the application you choose. - If using the SMS Backup + app, tap “Backup” and wait for the SMS to finish copying to your Gmail account. This will take some time (depending on the number of copied messages). If this is the first time you run this process, the application will ask you whether to copy all messages that are stored on the device. MMS messages are copied by default.
- If you decide to use the SMS Backup & Restore application, click “Backup” and set the process parameters, for example, include MMS messages in the backup, but this will increase the size of the final file. With SMS Backup & Restore, you can download data directly to the cloud, making it easy to copy the backup to your computer.
4 Copy the backup file to your computer (SMS Backup & Restore). When using SMS Backup & Restore, there is an extra step to transfer the backup to your computer. If you uploaded the backup file to the cloud storage, download the file to your computer (using a web browser). If the backup remains in the Galaxy device's memory, copy it to your computer; to do this, connect your device to your computer and open the device storage. By default, the backup folder is named "SMSBackupRestore" and the XML file is named as the date it was created. - For more information on copying data from your phone to your computer, read this article.
5 Read the copied SMS messages. This can be done in different ways (depending on the application that was used to back up the messages). - If you've used the SMS Backup + app, look for the “SMS” shortcut in your Gmail inbox. Under this shortcut you will find all the copied SMS messages; they can be read in the same way as emails.
- If you are using SMS Backup & Restore, open the XML file that contains the copied SMS messages in any text editor such as Notepad.
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