How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father?

[ThunderGinger]

How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

Okey I know morbid title but I'm desperate.. Been chatting with microsoft support all day (no they don't have phone support). I'll try to make a long story short.

I've got a 930 lumia that's a little bit less than a year old, still got warrenty on it.. So a few days ago I realised that one of my microphones stopped working because I could no longer talk with earphones in and speakerphone no longer worked.. So I searched the web and it's a common problem and I need to hand it in. So in doing so I wanted to backup all my media.. When connecting my phone to the computer it wasn't found. So i followed guides online and ended up downloading a tool called windows device recovery tool. The tool didn't locate my phone either and told me to do a soft reset (power button + volume down). I did and this is when the nightmare started.

Time and date was wrong so when trying to reset this manually I found that I can't choose my timezone location.. I can choose all other excpept the one I'm in, witch for some reason is colored purple.. There are other gmt+1 time zones so I chose one of those.. After this I found that I can't access wifi.. I've followed all guides I can to reset it but nothing.

Another intressting thing is that in setting when I click the "positions"/"locations" settings nothing happens. THe phone atempts to open the setting but then goes back to the main setting screen.

All guides eventually end up with a hard reset as final option..

Thing is a got a years long sms conversation with my father who is on his death bed and to me this conversation is priceless and I found out first now that I haven't had that enabled in autobackup.. So without backing that up I can't hard reset the phone.. But I need wifi to be able to backup the phone.. So it's a catch 22..

The only app I've found is contacts + sms backup but it requiers a phone with an additional sd card.. Something the limia 930 doesn't allow..

Any ideas on what I can do?? Hard reset is out of the question..

When I try to connect to a Wifi I get the error: "CAn't connect. The network is not responding. Try again later". But I've tried lots of networks and they do work.. Just not with my phone..

I'm not sure but I think it might have something to do with the positionssettings not wroking..

Any ideas on how to backup this either without wifi or how to fix wifi.. I'd be forever greatful.. Thank you!

Btw (windows support couldnt help me..)

 

[PepperdotNet]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

Have you at some time in the past turned on the backup option for text messages? If so, a replacement phone should restore them along with the rest of your backup.

 

[Mark Kaplan]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

The app you mention saves the sms messages in VCF format to the existing SD card in the phone. Why are you thinking you need a dual SD card? My sympathies for what your going through.

I also found this app https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/store/apps/windows-phone-message-backup/9nblggh2srtp

 

[krishna T]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

The App you've mentioned in your post "contacts + sms backup", allows you to backup the SMSes to phone memory as well (no need of SD card). Using this app take the backup and move the backed up file to PC for later use (restore).
Check the URL and click on "version notes"
https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...-message-backup%2F9nblgggz57gm&token=sH0AdMC7
https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...2F9nblgggz57gm%23version-notes&token=uBGHBZ4z
Version notes
Added Support for devices without SD card.


Click on the 3 dots at the bottom (2nd screen shot and it should let you pick a location.
HTH

 

[Martsicky]

Hey there!
Just download Microsoft's Contacts + Message backup. App description and store ratings are misleading. This app supports devices without SD Card slot.

Install it, go to settings, find it & open it. You'll see "no SD Card found, please pick a different location". Pick a different location and backup your messages.

https://forums.windowscentral.com/e...-message-backup%2F9nblgggz57gm&token=BO2jxlNm

I see that you can't connect your phone to the PC. Turn Bluetooth on, use 'Files' app (or some other file explorer), find your backup and tap on "share", pick bluetooth and send it to other device via bluetooth connection.

 

[ThunderGinger]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

Thank you all so much for your concern.. This just gets more frustrating I'm afraid.. I can't install apps.. What ever I try to install it just gets put in the "stores" todo list and says it will start soon. Same thing for all apps. So frustrating now that it seems the app you guys are writing about seems to work without sd card slot.. My bad.. I was too hasty when reading the description of the app.. Good thought about blue tooth btw.. Still need to get either wifi working or the possibility to download apps..

(btw I unchecked the box where I require to be on wifi to download apps)

Any thoughts on either get wifi working or getting passed the impossibility of downloading apps? Thanks so much again..

 

[rkwap]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

Hey,

I also got that store not starting the download problem on my Lumia 925 a month ago.. But I fixed it by first signing out my Microsoft and then again signing in with my microsoft account in store...
You should also try that and if you don't understand how to do that, then I will post it by screenshots..

 

[ven07]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

If none of the above work, but the phone is on (somehow), consider just making screenshots of the messages..

Sorry to hear about your problems btw

 

[krishna T]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

As "PepperdotNet" said (#2), have you ever enabled text message backup feature. Otherwise you can try now enabling text message backup feature. I think this backup can happen with data connection also.
The messages can be verified by using the app mention by Mark (#3), provided you have Windows8 or later PC. This app requires
your login credentials (the one you used on your phone) and it will download all the messages from the cloud to PC.

 

[Mellifluous]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

Can you not a) enable the all time backup in the settings of the text app and b) do the phone backup with your phone data plan rather than your WiFi? WP backups don't backup in the same way as iphones and take up GBs of data, it's more like a few MBs as it is just backing up information about how your phone is set up rather than a full image of it.

 

[Mark Kaplan]

Re: How can I save my text message conversations with my dying father..

If I understand correctly, you can't install apps because you can't get wifi working? Can you put an active SIM card in the phone, connect to cellular data then install the app? You shouldnt lose your messages by changing SIM's.