by Sophie Green Updated on 2021-11-02 / Update for Fix Android
All my text messages vanished when phone restarted. How do I get them all back? Pictures, important conversations, video and messages for ban...all gone."
If you are anything like the above user, you have probably woken up one morning only to ask “why are my text messages deleting themselves on my Android”. Sometimes, what happens is that your Android device automatically deletes all your text messages. There are reasons why this happens and this guide takes a look into that.
It may be you have enabled an option that is deleting your messages. Or, it may be that there is an issue with your text messaging app and that is causing the problem. This post takes a look at the available fixes so you can get rid of the problem for good.
- Part 1. How to Fix Messages Keep Deleting Themselves on Android
- Part 2. How to Recover Lost/Missing Messages on Android Phone
Part 1. How to Fix Messages Keep Deleting Themselves on Android
Since the cause of the issue is not known, try following the following methods one at a time and see if your issue gets resolved.
1. Make Sure "Delete Old Messages" is Off
If you do not already know, there is actually an option in the Messages app on your Android phone that lets you delete your old messages automatically. If this option is enabled, that is why your messages are being removed from your phone without your consent.
You can disable the option and avoid getting your messages deleted as follows:
Open your Messages app and head into the Settings menu.
- Turn the toggle for Delete old messages to the off position.
2. Clear Cache and Data of Text Messaging App
Another way to fix the problem is to clear the cache and data for your Messages app. Cache and app data are often the two reasons why there are issues with your app. Clearing them should resolve the issue for you.
- Head into Settings > Apps & notifications > Messages > Storage & cache on your phone.
Tap Clear cache followed by Clear storage.
The app data should now be cleared.
3. Force Stop and then Restart the Message App
You can try force stopping and then relaunching the Messages app to see if that stops your messages from being deleted automatically. You can do that as follows.
- Go to Settings > Apps & notifications > Messages on your phone.
Tap the Force stop option to stop the app.
- Launch the Messages app from your app drawer.
4. Restart Your Android Device
You have probably tried this but it is worth rebooting your Android phone again and see if that prevents your messages from being removed automatically from your phone.
- Press and hold down the Power button for a few seconds.
Select Restart from the options on your screen.
Your issue should likely be resolved.
5. Uninstall the Recent Updates of Messages app
If your messages are getting deleted only after the recent Messages app update, you can try rolling back the update to fix the issue.
- Access the Settings > Apps & notifications > Messages menu on your phone.
Tap the three-dots at the top-right corner and select Uninstall updates.
The app should now be back to the previous version.
6. Update the Messages App
It might be that you are using an obsolete version of the Messages app and that may be the reason why your messages are getting deleted automatically. Try updating the app and see if it resolves your problem.
Launch the Google Play Store, tap the three horizontal lines at the top-left corner, and select My apps & games.
- Find Messages in the list and tap Update next to it. This will update the app on your phone.
Part 2. How to Recover Lost/Missing Messages on Android Phone
If your Android phone deleting messages by itself despite applying the above fixes, you might want to recover some of your important deleted messages.
Tenorshare UltData for Android is an excellent tool when it comes to recovering data from Android-based devices. With this software, not only can you recover and restore your text message but you can recover various other items on your phone.
Here we show how to restore your deleted text messages using this software.
Download, install, and run the above tool on your computer. Click on Recover Lost Data on the main interface of the tool.
Plug-in your phone to your computer via USB. Enable USB debugging on your phone as per the on-screen instructions.
Tick Messages on the following screen and click Start.
- You will see the previews of your deleted messages. Select the messages that you want to recover and click Recover at the bottom-right corner.
That is all. Your chosen messages will be restored to your device.
Summary
There are actually several reasons why your phone is deleting your text messages automatically. You can apply the above fixes and see if your problem is resolved. If nothing else works, you can use the aforementioned software - Tenorshare UltData for Android to recover deleted messages.
