How-To: Move SMS and call log entries between phones

Anmeldedatum: 13.01.2012 Beiträge: 74

I thought I would write a quick guide about how to move SMS messages and call log entries from one phone to another as I have done it again successfully just minutes ago.

In the past, I have been in a situation where I had to switch to a new phone but I wanted to keep all logs, especially SMS and calls. I had an HTC Desire and I switched to a Samsung Galaxy S4.

I am now trying to find the root cause of a malfunction on the S4 (calls do not always connect and require several attempts). So I had to switch to another phone, to see whether the problem was tied to the phone.

The scenario is: phone A -> phone B -> phone A and works even if, as is for me, phone A (e.g. S4) has taken over where phone B (e.g. HTC Desire) left off.

Here is how to proceed in order to maintain a sound and complete history of your SMS messages and call log.

Remove your SIM card from phone A (or switch Airplane mode on)
On phone A, multi-sync your items (SMS or calls or both)
On phone A, create a backup of what you want to keep (whether SMS or call log or both): Extras > Create Backup. Note that in order to shorten the length of the entire process, you should keep the number of SMS messages small (for instance, you could move some –or most– messages to the PC archive)
Create or load a user for phone B
(EDIT) On the target phone, clear your lists (SMS or call logs), unless you don't mind having duplicates
On phone B, restore the backup (menu > Extras > Restore backup) that you have created. You'll get a popup window warning about incompatibilities but I have experienced none.
Insert your SIM card (if pertinent) into phone B and start using phone B.

Whenever you want to do this again, remember that the core of the process is: create backup + restore backup. However, there are two important elements:

Remove your SIM card, if you have one. You may miss calls but it's the (in my eyes, a very low) cost to pay in exchange for an uninterrupted history, be it SMS or call log entries.
As I said in the old post linked to above, old entries on the target phone (phone B) are left unchanged. Therefore, if you are in a hurry or you can't stand long restoration times, you should keep entries to the minimum: move old messages to the archive; they will be deleted from the phone. Or use the connection mode (USB, Wi-Fi) that is the fastest for you.
Some phones have a limit of the number of messages they can store. I found out by experience that the limit for the HTC Desire is around 4000.

I have tested this successfully in several backup-restore cycles with no problem.

HTH.

Please post below in case you find errors or omissions.

[EDIT] 2015-11-25 Added the "clear your lists on the target phone" instruction, due to having noticed duplicates in my SMS after a cycle, which I never noticed previously.

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