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.
Use it to send messages with iMessage, or send SMS and MMS messages through your iPhone. 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.
Quick Jump to...
- User Guide: How to Export iPhone XS/XR8/X/7/6S SMS to Mac Computer Firstly: Connect Your iPhone to a Mac Open the app and plug your iPhone to the same Mac via USB cable. When the device is well connected, the app will scan the device automatically in background.
- Forwarding messages from iPhone to Mac. With the iMessages app set up properly, it will be possible to forward messages from one iPhone to another, as well as forward the same messages to your Mac. Go to “Settings”, followed by “Messages” and finally go to “Send & Receive”.
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!
![Download Sms Messages From Iphone To Mac Download Sms Messages From Iphone To Mac](/uploads/1/1/9/7/119713438/242217196.png)
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:
![Block Block](/uploads/1/1/9/7/119713438/212517739.png)
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!
Download Iphone Messages To Computer
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 Forwarding
- 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
By:Johanna Parker
Posted In: iPhone Tips & Tutorials
The iPhone has been one of the more popular smartphone choices for a very long time. Very rarely does an individual who purchases an iPhone come to regret that they did so. Unfortunately, there are certain limitations Apple places on their iPhone, which can make the phone a real hassle to deal with for certain tasks. For example, iPhone users are very limited in what they are actually able to do with their SMS conversations. Transferring iPhone text messages/iMessages to a computer seems next to impossible.
'I've got a new iPhone 11, so now I want to copy or transfer old iPhone messages to my new iPhone or computer for backup. Is there any solution to transfer messages from my old iPhone to my new one or to my PC? My iPhone is rejecting new incoming messages, but I do not want to delete them. I want to save all those sweet messages my boyfriend has sent me. Is there any way to backup my iPhone SMS to a computer? I want to print my iPhone text messages for some legal matter. What should I do now?' - are just a few questions frequently asked by iPhone users.
Have you ever run into a similar situation? Do you want to know how to transfer messages/SMS from iPhone to PC for backup or any other purpose? If yes, then your quest will probably end here. Here, we are going to give you a step-by-step process on how to transfer messages/SMS from your iPhone to PC and manage them easily. In order to transfer your messages from iPhone to PC or to simply print your iPhone texts, you need to download the iPhone Messages Transfer Tool and install it on your computer. You can download this program absolutely free from here:
Step 1: Launch the Program and Connect iPhone to the Computer
- Launch the program and connect your iPhone to your computer using a USB cable. Now, you will be able to see your iPhone text messages on the programs's user interface.
Note: Close the iTunes software otherwise this program will not work properly.
Step 2 (a): Transfer All Text Messages from iPhone to PC
- To transfer all your iPhone SMS text messages to your PC, click the button labeled 'Copy' which can be found at the bottom of the screen. Now you can save your all iPhone text messages to your PC in Text or Ants format. You can password protect your SMS database for personal privacy by choosing .ants format.
Step 2 (b). Export or Transfer Selected iPhone Messages to PC as .TXT, HTML or PDF File
- Transferring SMS messages from a single contact from your iPhone to your computer is also a simple and easy task. You just need to repeat the previous step and select the contact from the list to transfer the messages of that contact from your iPhone to PC. Now click the button at the bottom of the screen labeled 'Copy' and select the file type to export your text messages to your PC. That's it - all your iPhone SMS will be transferred to your local drive in Text or MHT format.
Hint: PDF and HTML format let's you save your text messages to your PC in bubble/balloon format exactly they appear in an iPhone.
1. Save iPhone SMS Messages to Your Computer in HTML Format:
You can double click on the HTML file containing your iPhone test messages to open it with your default browser.
2. Export Text Messages from Your iPhone to Your PC in PDF Format:
You can use this utility to export iPhone text messages to PDF and open that PDF file in any PDF viewer.
3. Export SMS Text Messages to Your Computer in Text Format:
4. Save iPhone Texts in JPG Format (New):
Download Sms Messages From Iphone To Mac For Free
This program also allows you to save your iPhone texts in a JPG (photo) format. This is something similar to taking a screenshot of your text messages using your iPhone.
This tool is designed only to transfer messages from iPhone to PC. If you need a tool to transfer iPhone data, such as video, photos, voice memo, eBooks, contacts, and more, to your computer, then check out this iPhone to PC Transfer Tool.
Watch Video on How to Transfer/Backup iPhone SMS to PC?
This video tutorial explains how to backup SMS from iPhone to Computer using iPhone SMS to Computer Transfer Tool.