If you accidentally deleted a text message on your iPhone, there are several ways to get it back. Some of these methods will work immediately, while others may require more time.

If you’re using iOS 16 or later, you can view a special folder in the Messages app called Recently Deleted. This allows you to recover a deleted text message within 30 days after it was deleted.

1. Restore from iCloud Backup

If your iPhone has been backed up to iCloud before you deleted text messages, you can restore the backup to get them back. Simply connect it to a computer and follow these instructions.

First, connect your iPhone to the computer you usually sync it with and open Finder. Tap a device listed under “Backups” and you should see the most recent backup.

2. Restore from iTunes Backup

There are several different methods to get back deleted text messages on your iPhone, including restoring from an iTunes backup. However, this method will overwrite the current data on your device and can be a drastic step to take.

To use this method, simply connect your iPhone to your computer using the USB cable it came with and start iTunes. Then, go to the iTunes Summary page and click Restore Backup.

3. Restore from a Messages Backup

Deleted text messages can still be recovered, but only if you know what to do. You have three ways: restore your iPhone to a time before the message was deleted, contact your carrier, or use a third-party program.

Method #1 is the most straightforward, but requires having a backup of your iPhone from before you erased the message. You can then restore from that backup, though you will lose any other information you’ve added to your iPhone since the backup was made.

4. Restore from a Contacts Backup

If you have lost your contacts on your iPhone, you can restore them from a backup. There are several ways to do this, including retrieving them from iCloud or syncing saved email contacts.

However, if you don’t have an iCloud backup, the next best option is to restore from iTunes. That’s because iTunes saves all of your data, including contact names and numbers, in a backup file on your computer.

Restoring from iTunes is easy and efficient, but it can be a bit time-consuming. Alternatively, you can use a specialist application to recover just your contacts. This will take a bit more time but you’ll be able to get them back much faster.

5. Restore from a Calendar Backup

If you have an iCloud account and have set up automatic calendar backups, you can restore your iPhone’s calendar to how it looked at the time of your last backup. However, this will overwrite the current data on your device, so you’ll lose any appointments you have scheduled at that time.

The good news is that if you have an iTunes/Finder backup, you can also retrieve your deleted iPhone calendar events from them. The trick here is to find the corresponding archive in your backup and select it.

6. Restore from a Photos Backup

If you accidentally deleted text messages on your iPhone, there’s a chance that they can still be recovered. Thankfully, there are a number of different methods that you can use to try and get them back, one of which is by restoring from a Photos backup.

You can restore from a photos backup by connecting your iPhone to a computer and using iTunes or Finder. Simply select the backup you want to restore, then hit ‘Restore’ and your texts should be reappear on your phone.