Sending and receiving messages through iPhone is, obviously, extremely convenient. In the palm of your hand you have the power to send text and media to contacts all over the world.
This convenience comes at a price - many of us have thousands of messages on our phones, taking up storage space and becoming increasingly hard to manage.
If you have a lot of messages on your device, searching through your messages, finding the conversation you're looking for and viewing it can be tricky. This guide will take you through the top three ways to view your iPhone messages directly on the big screen of your PC or Mac computer.
That’s just as you’d expect: Settings, iCloud, Messages turned on. On a Mac, it’s different— you don’t go to System Preferences / iCloud. The option to turn on Messages in iCloud is in the Messages app’s Preferences, so you start Messages, go to the Messages menu, come down to Preferences, click on Accounts, and there you find the checkbox. Text message conversations may contain evidence of important memories, and if you’re like me, you probably want to download your iMessages, save your messages, print your messages, or do something, anything, to make those exchanges more secure and accessible. One useful trick to save those interactions is to use the Messages Mac application to download your message history as a PDF file. SMS Text Messaging done easier, faster, & better! Send SMS & MMS text messages from your PC, Mac, or Tablet without touching your Android phone. Named one of Time Magazine's 'Best 50 Android Apps' As seen on TechCrunch, Washington Post, Business Insider, Engadget, PC World, Lifehacker, VentureBeat, PC World, All Things Digital & more. Save time; Increase productivity. View iPhone messages directly on your computer (PC/Mac) Our first method explores how you can.Quick Jump to...1. View iPhone messages directly on your computer (PC/Mac)
Our first method explores how you can view your iPhone messages in a clear format on your PC or Mac using TouchCopy.
TouchCopy is a popular app which allows you to view and export media from iPhone to computer.
We can use this tool to easily view and search iPhone messages, export them to computer, and even print them out!What you'll need:
*You can use TouchCopy on a PC running Windows 10, 8 and 7, or Mac using Mac OSX 10.9 (OS X Mavericks) or higher.
*Your iPhone.
*Your USB cable to connect your iPhone to your computer.Viewing iPhone messages in TouchCopy:
To view SMS, MMS, iMessage or WhatsApp conversations in TouchCopy, simply connect your iPhone and click the Messages section.
View the messages in a conversation by clicking it in the list.
You'll see all your messages, emojis, times/dates, attached media like photos, and contacts details.Try TouchCopy free ▼
Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:
Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.Searching iPhone messages in TouchCopy:
Searching messages on iPhone can be fiddly. TouchCopy makes it easy to search through your messages on a big screen.
To do this, enter a contact's name or a key word / phrase that you are looking for into the search box and hit Enter (Return) on your keyboard.
TouchCopy will return a list of only conversations in which your keyword was mentioned. You can click a conversation to see exactly which messages contain your keyword!
Find more information about viewing and searching iPhone messages in TouchCopy >What Next?
Using TouchCopy just to view your messages is like using an iPhone only to make calls. There's so much more you can do.
Now that you can access your messages on your computer, why not export them for safekeeping, or print them off?2. View iPhone messages from an iTunes backup (PC/Mac)
If you don't have access to your iPhone anymore, or the texts you are trying to view have been lost or deleted, you'll need to use a backup of your iPhone.
If you backup your iPhone to your computer, your messages will be saved to the backup. The problem is, you can't actually access your messages in the backup without a tool like iBackup Extractor.
iBackup Extractor is a trusted tool which allows you to access the information stored in an iTunes backup, and even extract it to your computer!What you'll need:
*You can use iBackup Extractor on a PC running Windows 10, 8 and 7, or Mac using Mac OSX 10.9 (OS X Mavericks) or higher.
*A backup of your iPhone stored on your PC or Mac.How to View iPhone Text Messages on Computer Without Phone:
As mentioned, you don't actually need your iPhone to be able to use iBackup Extractor. This tool accesses a backup of your iPhone stored on your computer to enable you to view your backed up messages.
What's that, you need to view old iPhone messages, or ones which have been deleted from your phone? No problem, if the messages are stored in a backup, you can get to them with iBackup Extractor.
To view your messages, launch iBackup Extractor, select the backup containing your desired messages, and select the conversation you need to view its messages!
You can also search your messages for a particular contact or key phrase by entering your query in the search bar in iBackup Extractor!Try iBackup Extractor free ▼
Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:
Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.What Next?
Making new backups of your iPhone on your computer usually means overwriting the old one. This could mean that you lose the data you need.
To avoid this, you can extract the important bits you need from your backup using iBackup Extractor: Save your SMS, MMS, iMessage and WhatsApp conversations to your computer. You can export as HTML, PDF or Plain text, or print out your messages so that you have a hard copy.3. View messages, and text from your computer (Mac only)
Our final method is provided free by Apple and uses the Messages app on Mac computers.
'With Messages for Mac, you can send unlimited messages to any Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that uses iMessage, Apple's secure-messaging service. iPhone owners can use it for SMS and MMS messages, too.' - Apple
That's right- not only can you view your iPhone messages through your Mac, you can even use it to send messages!
The only problem here is that if this is the first time you are setting up your Mac to receive your iPhone messages, you'll only be able to view new messages sent after this point. To view older iPhone messages as well, you'll need to use Method 1 or Method 2.What you'll need:
*A Mac or MacBook with the Messages app installed.
*The Apple ID details used on your iPhone.How to View iPhone messages using Mac Messages app:
All you need to do to get your iPhone messages on your Mac is to open the Messages app on your Mac.
If your Mac uses the same Apple ID as your iPhone, you'll see your messages. If your Mac is not set up in this way, you can sign in using your Apple ID the first time that you open the Messages app on Mac.
This initial setup will only allow you to view and send iMessages. If you'd like to view and send SMS and MMS, as well as iMessages, you'll need to set up text message forwarding.Setting up Text Message ForwardingReceive Text Messages On Mac From Iphone
*Ensure that your iPhone and Mac are using the same Apple ID...
*On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive.
*On your Mac, open the Messages app, click Messages in the toolbar > Preferences, then click iMessage.
*On your iPhone, open Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding.
*Tap the switch next to your Mac's name to allow it to send and receive SMS and MMS from your iPhone.
*You may receive a verification code on your Mac. If so, enter the code on your iPhone to allow this change.
The SMS and MMS you receive on your iPhone will now also forward to your Mac, if both devices are connected to the internet.Takeaways
So, now you know the best 3 ways to view your iPhone messages on your computer.
As you can see, each method has its own unique benefits. You should now have all the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about which method is best for you.
If you are still unsure, here's what we recommend:
*Use TouchCopy to view SMS, MMS, iMessage and WhatsApp messages. You can also save and print your messages.
*Use iBackup Extractor to view your iPhone messages from an iPhone backup. This method is perfect if you don't have your iPhone, or if you are looking for messages which were deleted from your iPhone.
*Use Mac Messages app if you want to send and receive text messages on your Mac. Not suitable for viewing older messages, or for viewing WhatsApp conversations.
Thanks for reading! Publisher: Wide Angle Software © Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images When your Messages app is connected to iCloud, you can send texts from your Mac computer or any synced Apple device. Klaus Vedfelt/Getty Images
*You can view text messages on iCloud that you've received or sent to anyone on any synced device, at any time.
*As long as you have syncing turned on for each of your Apple devices, they will all be viewable in the Messages app, whether you're using an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Mac.
*Visit Business Insider's Tech Reference library for more stories.
Most people know that iCloud is a great way to store backups of your photos, contacts, and documents. But did you know that it can also store backups of your text messages, so that you can access them from anywhere?
You can even send text messages without having your phone in your hand, straight from the Messages app on your Mac or another Apple device, and have any message you've sent or received viewable on any synced device. You can switch devices in the middle of a conversation without skipping a beat.How to sync messages to iCloud on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch
1. Open the Settings app on your device.
2. At the top of the Settings menu, tap your name to get to your Apple ID menu. © Melanie Weir/Business Insider Tap on your name and Apple ID. Melanie Weir/Business Insider
3. Tap 'iCloud.'© Melanie Weir/Business Insider Select 'iCloud' in the Apple ID menu. Melanie Weir/Business Insider
4. Under 'Apps using iCloud,' scroll down to 'Messages' and toggle the switch to the on position, turning it green. © Melanie Weir/Business Insider Switch the 'Messages' button to the on position. Melanie Weir/Business Insider
Once you've done this, any text messages you send on your phone will automatically sync to iCloud. If you want to make sure all your messages on all of your devices sync with one another, you should turn on this feature on those devices as well.
Gallery: I've been using Apple's new iOS 14 for a few days and while there's useful updates to Messages, the App Library is disappointing (Business Insider)How to sync messages to iCloud on a Mac
1. Open your Messages app.
2. In the menu bar at the very top of your screen, click 'Messages.'
3. Select 'Preferences…'
4. Click the 'iMessage' tab at the top of the Preferences window.
5. Click the checkbox next to where it says 'Enable Messages in iCloud.' If there are messages available to sync, you can click 'Sync Now' to have your message history synced as well as all future messages.© Grace Eliza Goodwin/Business Insider Click the checkbox next to 'Enable Messages in iCloud' and choose if you want to 'Sync Now.' Grace Eliza Goodwin/Business Insider
You can now view your synced text messages in your Mac computer's Messages app or the Messages app on another synced device. Send Text Message From MacRelated coverage from Tech Reference:Messages For Mac Text GeneratorRead the original article on Business Insider
