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Part of Messaging conversation missing?

bchevs

Lurker
Jul 23, 2018
3
0
Hi all!
Hoping someone has a solution for me. I have an LG G5 and use the default "Messaging" app. I rarely delete messages, and I've never had an issue with messages disappearing. However I tried to scroll back to some important messages today and they were suddenly gone?! It seems that everthing before June 16th is gone, just in this one conversation. I know that they were there a couple of days ago so this happened recently.

Is there any way to get them back?
Thank you!
 
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Can you see them using the built-in app? If so then they are still in the database, and it's just Textra has got out of sync. In which case uninstalling and reinstalling Textra should force it to resync and solve the problem (though you'll have to redo your personal customisations and settings). Feel free to back up the messages first if you want, but they aren't stored in the Textra app itself, or any SMS app, but in a separate message storage app, so as long as you don't clear data for that app you should be fine.

This does happen occasionally. I don't know why, but I noticed the other day that a recent message wasn't visible in Textra, even though the older messages in the thread were (and all were visible in the other message apps I have installed - yes, I don't know why I have three, magpie tendencies). And that is what I did to fix it, though I expect that wiping data for Textra would have had the same effect.

Of course if your pre-installed message app also can't see them then it's a different problem, as that would imply that they really are gone. In that case it's just a question of whether you have any backups, since there's no way of recovering them otherwise.
 
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Okay now I feel like a dummy. At some point I think I must have switched from textra to a different app (and forgotten lol).... All it says is "Messaging". I think this must be the default app on the phone because the only other one I can find is Hangouts, which has nothing in it.
So this must mean that I'm just out of luck? Or does this app store them elsewhere on the phone as well?
Thank you for your help!
 
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It doesn't store messages in the SMS app at all. It stores them in the database of a "call and message storage" app, which is why when you install a new message app it can straight away see all of your messages. If they were stored within an individual message app the other apps would not be able to see them.

You could just try installing another SMS app and see whether it can see them, just to be sure.

There are some types of messages which not all apps can read (RCS, also known as Advanced Messaging), so if by chance that had been used it would be possible for some apps to see the message and others not. But of course you'd only have been able to see them in the first place if the app you were using at the time was one that supported RCS, so unless you'd then changed to one that doesn't that wouldn't explain it (and I'm pretty certain that Textra does not support this, so switching from Textra to the stock app wouldn't fit this). Also not all service providers support RCS anyway, so that may be completely irrelevant (if you want to test this, Google's Messages app supports this: it calls it "chat", and the app's Advanced settings contain options for this. On my phone, with a network that doesn't support this, I can see those settings greyed-out if it is not the default app, but if I make it the default app they disappear. My guess is that on a network that does support it they would remain visible).
 
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I wish I could offer more, but if they are deleted then I don't know any way of recovering them. You'll find applications on the internet that claim to be able to do so, but I've never met a report of success that was clearly not associated to the vendors of the software.

My own phone has an SMS backup to Google Drive as part of the phone software (in the system backup settings, which on mine are in Settings > System > Backup). But I think that may be a Pixel exclusive feature. Perhaps worth just checking your settings (or looking at your Google Drive) just in case.
 
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