[GH-ISSUE #903] SMS backup+ not restoring messages on either phone

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:24 +03:00

Owner

Originally created by @dogeiestdoge on GitHub (Jun 20, 2018).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903

I am trying to restore my sms' to my Google pixel (1), the app shows it is restoring however once the restore is complete I check my SMS app (android messages (native)) and none have been restored. I have tired several times and restarted the phone. I also tried doing it on another phone HTC one M7 and it is not working, it has worked in the past. i'm running the most up to date version of android on my pixel and most up to date android revolution rom on htc one m7. Backup works fine, messages are on gmail. i tried becoming a beta tester on my pixel. All i recieve is 0 messages restored (102131 dups). i also have tried deleting and downloading the app multiple times and i make sure it is the default messaging app.

i have looked through the other thread yet none of them helped me fix this problem

update: when i try backing up onto the HTC it says I/O error

Originally created by @dogeiestdoge on GitHub (Jun 20, 2018). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903 I am trying to restore my sms' to my Google pixel (1), the app shows it is restoring however once the restore is complete I check my SMS app (android messages (native)) and none have been restored. I have tired several times and restarted the phone. I also tried doing it on another phone HTC one M7 and it is not working, it has worked in the past. i'm running the most up to date version of android on my pixel and most up to date android revolution rom on htc one m7. Backup works fine, messages are on gmail. i tried becoming a beta tester on my pixel. All i recieve is 0 messages restored (102131 dups). i also have tried deleting and downloading the app multiple times and i make sure it is the default messaging app. i have looked through the other thread yet none of them helped me fix this problem update: when i try backing up onto the HTC it says I/O error

kerem added the

restore

label

2026-02-26 01:31:24 +03:00

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:24 +03:00

Author

Owner

@Agent24 commented on GitHub (Jun 30, 2018):

Same problem for me, just trying to restore on a BlackBerry Priv (Android 6.0.1) and I get "0 messages restored" problem, saying everything was duplicate.

Really annoying as it took over 12 hours to do absolutely nothing...

@Agent24 commented on GitHub (Jun 30, 2018): Same problem for me, just trying to restore on a BlackBerry Priv (Android 6.0.1) and I get "0 messages restored" problem, saying everything was duplicate. Really annoying as it took over 12 hours to do absolutely nothing...

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:24 +03:00

Author

Owner

@dogeiestdoge commented on GitHub (Jun 30, 2018):

It's weird because i tried it on two phones and its not working on either one, and i also tried wiping all the texts from one and trying and i tried multiple times on both.

@dogeiestdoge commented on GitHub (Jun 30, 2018): It's weird because i tried it on two phones and its not working on either one, and i also tried wiping all the texts from one and trying and i tried multiple times on both.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@jcrben commented on GitHub (Jul 14, 2018):

I don't use the restore feature, but one idea mentioned at https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus#faq-restore-partial:

If you have a lot of messages backed up (let's say over 5000) restoring can be very slow, especially if you're only interested in the most recent messages.
A workaround is to use the Gmail web interface (or an IMAP email client) to move the bulk of the messages to another label in Gmail (e.g. SMSARCHIVED), and only keep a few hundred or so messages in the SMS label.

A log or any help in debugging you can provide would be appreciated.

@jcrben commented on GitHub (Jul 14, 2018): I don't use the restore feature, but one idea mentioned at https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus#faq-restore-partial: > If you have a lot of messages backed up (let's say over 5000) restoring can be very slow, especially if you're only interested in the most recent messages. > A workaround is to use the Gmail web interface (or an IMAP email client) to move the bulk of the messages to another label in Gmail (e.g. SMSARCHIVED), and only keep a few hundred or so messages in the SMS label. A log or any help in debugging you can provide would be appreciated.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@pmjacobsen commented on GitHub (Jul 17, 2018):

I experience a similar issue, I believe, in two different phones: LG V10 & V20. There are already some messages restored. But when trying to restore the remainder of the messages, it takes a long time, before the status message of the app states something like "0 messages restored. XX messages were duplicates", even though they really NOT are duplicates. Have tried to do a reset of the app AND both phones to no avail. It used to work on either phone. Something must be broken in the restore section of the app.

@pmjacobsen commented on GitHub (Jul 17, 2018): I experience a similar issue, I believe, in two different phones: LG V10 & V20. There are already some messages restored. But when trying to restore the remainder of the messages, it takes a long time, before the status message of the app states something like "0 messages restored. XX messages were duplicates", even though they really NOT are duplicates. Have tried to do a reset of the app AND both phones to no avail. It used to work on either phone. Something must be broken in the restore section of the app.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@alexbransky commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018):

@pmjacobsen did you ever find a solution?

@alexbransky commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018): @pmjacobsen did you ever find a solution?

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@dogeiestdoge commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018):

I never did

On Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 4:07 PM Alex Bransky notifications@github.com wrote:

@pmjacobsen https://github.com/pmjacobsen did you ever find a solution?

—
You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.
Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub
https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903#issuecomment-424482777,
or mute the thread
https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/Ami4RzSAG7q7om54r2COEbyJoRSrkhLtks5ueozjgaJpZM4UunIL
.

@dogeiestdoge commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018): I never did On Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 4:07 PM Alex Bransky <notifications@github.com> wrote: > @pmjacobsen <https://github.com/pmjacobsen> did you ever find a solution? > > — > You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903#issuecomment-424482777>, > or mute the thread > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/Ami4RzSAG7q7om54r2COEbyJoRSrkhLtks5ueozjgaJpZM4UunIL> > . >

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@alexbransky commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018):

Thanks for the reply. Did you do something else to get your text messages moved over? Or did you not have access to the old phone?

@alexbransky commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018): Thanks for the reply. Did you do something else to get your text messages moved over? Or did you not have access to the old phone?

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@dogeiestdoge commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018):

Not all of my messages were on my old phone, because I my good one broke so
I temporarily used my old one before buying my current one, but everything
was always backed up to the app, I transferred maybe 2000 of the over 10000
messages I had when I switched to this phone when moving my contacts and
stuff between phones

On Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 6:13 PM Alex Bransky notifications@github.com wrote:

Thanks for the reply. Did you do something else to get your text messages
moved over? Or did you not have access to the old phone?

—
You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread.
Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub
https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903#issuecomment-424519332,
or mute the thread
https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/Ami4R1ivhGIYEXDZm6da4I49HRqncA5Bks5ueqpsgaJpZM4UunIL
.

@dogeiestdoge commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018): Not all of my messages were on my old phone, because I my good one broke so I temporarily used my old one before buying my current one, but everything was always backed up to the app, I transferred maybe 2000 of the over 10000 messages I had when I switched to this phone when moving my contacts and stuff between phones On Tue, Sep 25, 2018, 6:13 PM Alex Bransky <notifications@github.com> wrote: > Thanks for the reply. Did you do something else to get your text messages > moved over? Or did you not have access to the old phone? > > — > You are receiving this because you are subscribed to this thread. > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903#issuecomment-424519332>, > or mute the thread > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/Ami4R1ivhGIYEXDZm6da4I49HRqncA5Bks5ueqpsgaJpZM4UunIL> > . >

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@alexbransky commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018):

Huh. Exact same situation I'm in except only 20 of 18,000 messages got restored.

@alexbransky commented on GitHub (Sep 25, 2018): Huh. Exact same situation I'm in except only 20 of 18,000 messages got restored.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@jrussell88 commented on GitHub (Jul 28, 2019):

I had a similar problem

V 1.5.11
Android 9
Lineage OS 16

I tried restoring SMS with and without the Call Log, limit of 500.

The Restore function counts up to 'Restored 500/500' then reports: 'Successfully restored 0 items (500 dups)'

No SMS showed in my messaging app Pulse, but they were in the default messaging app.

Reinstalled Pulse which then displayed the missing messages.

@jrussell88 commented on GitHub (Jul 28, 2019): I had a similar problem V 1.5.11 Android 9 Lineage OS 16 I tried restoring SMS with and without the Call Log, limit of 500. The Restore function counts up to 'Restored 500/500' then reports: 'Successfully restored 0 items (500 dups)' No SMS showed in my messaging app Pulse, but they were in the default messaging app. Reinstalled Pulse which then displayed the missing messages.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@pmjacobsen commented on GitHub (Jul 29, 2019):

Never succeeded with this, and I have tried it several times on different
devices. Some times the process last app. 24 hours, and it seems to include
all messages in the restore. But once the devices is rebooted only a
fraction of the messages have been restored. So unless the programmers of
this program make it work again, I am afraid there is not much else to do..
Unfortunately it seems to get harder and harder to do things on Android,
that we used to be able to, and the platform is slowly but surely getting
more IOS-like & closed..🤔

Den søn. 28. jul. 2019 kl. 23.34 skrev jrussell88 <notifications@github.com

:

I have the same problem

V 1.5.11
Android 9
Lineage OS 16

I tried restoring SMS with and without the Call Log, limit of 500.

The Restore function counts up to 'Restored 500/500' then reports:
'Successfully restored 0 items (500 dups)'

No SMS have been restored.

—
You are receiving this because you were mentioned.
Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub
https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903?email_source=notifications&email_token=AJUTZABRZFNCCISQYK6POITQBYGE5A5CNFSM4FF2OIF2YY3PNVWWK3TUL52HS4DFVREXG43VMVBW63LNMVXHJKTDN5WW2ZLOORPWSZGOD27G74Q#issuecomment-515796978,
or mute the thread
https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AJUTZAAWKURVJU2JRW4YFHTQBYGE5ANCNFSM4FF2OIFQ
.

@pmjacobsen commented on GitHub (Jul 29, 2019): Never succeeded with this, and I have tried it several times on different devices. Some times the process last app. 24 hours, and it seems to include all messages in the restore. But once the devices is rebooted only a fraction of the messages have been restored. So unless the programmers of this program make it work again, I am afraid there is not much else to do.. Unfortunately it seems to get harder and harder to do things on Android, that we used to be able to, and the platform is slowly but surely getting more IOS-like & closed..🤔 Den søn. 28. jul. 2019 kl. 23.34 skrev jrussell88 <notifications@github.com >: > I have the same problem > > V 1.5.11 > Android 9 > Lineage OS 16 > > I tried restoring SMS with and without the Call Log, limit of 500. > > The Restore function counts up to 'Restored 500/500' then reports: > 'Successfully restored 0 items (500 dups)' > > No SMS have been restored. > > — > You are receiving this because you were mentioned. > Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub > <https://github.com/jberkel/sms-backup-plus/issues/903?email_source=notifications&email_token=AJUTZABRZFNCCISQYK6POITQBYGE5A5CNFSM4FF2OIF2YY3PNVWWK3TUL52HS4DFVREXG43VMVBW63LNMVXHJKTDN5WW2ZLOORPWSZGOD27G74Q#issuecomment-515796978>, > or mute the thread > <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AJUTZAAWKURVJU2JRW4YFHTQBYGE5ANCNFSM4FF2OIFQ> > . >

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@chaslewis commented on GitHub (Dec 2, 2019):

I had a similar issue with the SMS Backup & Restore (different app) which may or may not have the same solution. I ran what appeared to be a successful backup and restore (with a factory reset in between), but none of the old texts were showing after switching back to the Messages app. Following the app's guidance, I selected "Clear Data" under Storage in the Settings for the App, and all the messages that had apparently been restored (but were not showing) then appeared (4.5 years worth, 13k+).
(Nexus 6, Android 7.1.1)

@chaslewis commented on GitHub (Dec 2, 2019): I had a similar issue with the SMS Backup & Restore (different app) which may or may not have the same solution. I ran what appeared to be a successful backup and restore (with a factory reset in between), but none of the old texts were showing after switching back to the Messages app. Following the app's guidance, I selected "Clear Data" under Storage in the Settings for the App, and all the messages that had apparently been restored (but were not showing) then appeared (4.5 years worth, 13k+). (Nexus 6, Android 7.1.1)

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@coderFrankenstain commented on GitHub (Dec 16, 2020):

If you plan to perform any SMS/MMS-related tasks, you also need related permissions. Although the system obviously does not check these when determining eligible default application candidates, the following permissions are necessary for their corresponding operations:

If you miss the SEND_SMS, READ_SMS or WRITE_SMS permission when trying to perform a given operation, a SecurityException will be thrown. However, if you lack the RECEIVE_* permissions, your application will not be able to provide related broadcasts, and nothing seems to happen when testing these features.

@coderFrankenstain commented on GitHub (Dec 16, 2020): If you plan to perform any SMS/MMS-related tasks, you also need related permissions. Although the system obviously does not check these when determining eligible default application candidates, the following permissions are necessary for their corresponding operations: <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.SEND_SMS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_SMS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_SMS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_SMS" /> <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.RECEIVE_MMS" /> If you miss the SEND_SMS, READ_SMS or WRITE_SMS permission when trying to perform a given operation, a SecurityException will be thrown. However, if you lack the RECEIVE_* permissions, your application will not be able to provide related broadcasts, and nothing seems to happen when testing these features.

kerem commented

2026-02-26 01:31:25 +03:00

Author

Owner

@kurahaupo commented on GitHub (Feb 16, 2021):

The "0 restored (nnnnn dups)" is a very strong hint that there's something telling SMS Backup+ that all the messages have been restored.

Does this "everything is a dup" problem occur if you do (or don't) do an initial "backup" when installing the app?

@kurahaupo commented on GitHub (Feb 16, 2021): The "0 restored (_nnnnn_ dups)" is a very strong hint that there's something telling SMS Backup+ that all the messages have been restored. Does this "everything is a dup" problem occur if you do (or don't) do an initial "backup" when installing the app?

kerem referenced this issue

2026-02-26 01:32:06 +03:00

[GH-ISSUE #1060] backing up to SMS folder in gmail does not show the correct names #847

Rows
Columns

[GH-ISSUE #903] SMS backup+ not restoring messages on either phone #704