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Similar question to this one:

  • I have an ANDROID BACKUP file containing SMS history, produced from phone A using adb. That phone is gone, and this file is the only record I have of that history.
  • I have another phone B, to which I would like to restore that SMS data, without rooting the phone.

I know that an adb restore of SMS data is not possible without root, and I'd be perfectly happy to have an app-based solution. Unfortunately, all of the SMS backup/restore apps I've found so far use their own file format. Is there one that will restore from adb-created ANDROID BACKUP / .ab files?

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cemerick
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  • I know that an adb restore is not possible without root – who told you that? It was introduced exactly for that, being able to backup/restore without rooting. Apart from that: AFAIR Titanium Backup can restore from Nandroid and ADB backups (but it requires root). If root is an option, give it a try, and please let us know the outcome. Good luck! – Izzy Jan 06 '16 at 15:05
  • SMS messages can be backed up via adb, but restores are a no-op: the text message app explicitly doesn't participate in restore operations. Believe me, I tried: the restore "completes", but the SMS history is not affected on the device. See the top answer in the question I linked to above for some further explanation. – cemerick Jan 06 '16 at 15:13
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    OK, in that case the phrasing is misleading (should rather be "adb restore of SMS messages is not possible even with root", and contain your explanation). Could you please [edit] that? As for the issue: I'm afraid there won't be a non-root solution to this then. All you could do is extracting the messages from the backup – but IIRC, they are not even backed up with ADB. Oh yes, see the linked question for that, it was mine :) So what's not in the backup obviously cannot be restored from it, right? – Izzy Jan 06 '16 at 15:20
  • Which Android version are you using? I've explained on the linked question why it is impossible to restore. Should I explain the reason in bit different terms? I would need the Android version here, both of the old phone and the new one? – Firelord Jan 06 '16 at 19:05
  • No, I'm clear as to why adb restore won't work. However, it would be totally reasonable for an app like SMS Backup + Restore (or any other that is designated as the primary messaging app) to use the appropriate API to import SMS history from a provided .ab backup file…it's totally analogous of how it restores SMS history from its own XML format. Unfortunately, no such app seems to be able to consume .ab files. – cemerick Jan 07 '16 at 18:45
  • My last resort will be to generate an SMS Backup + Restore-style XML file from the sqlite database within the .ab backup file I have. A pain I was hoping to avoid, but it'll work. – cemerick Jan 07 '16 at 18:46
  • Please do post an answer should you end up with success. – Firelord Jan 08 '16 at 21:33

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