How to sync google messages to new phone

Much of the world has moved on from SMS, but it's still one of the most popular methods of sending messages in the US. It's an unfortunate requirement here for many and is the fallback for people who have not enabled RCS Chat in Google Messages. And if you're the data-hoarding type, then you might want to keep those text messages around for later reference — either in cold storage or an easily accessed format. If you've recently ditched your old phone for one of the best new Android phones or just want to free up some storage space, we're here to walk you through a few ways to save your old texts.

Android's built-in SMS Backup

The Google Pixel 6 and Pixel phones that run Android 8.1 or later allow you to automatically transfer key data from your old phone to your new phone (including SMS messages) after the initial setup. Unfortunately, it's not a manual process like the other items on this list. It's only available during the initial setup or if the "Finish setting up" screen is shown at the top of your settings panel later. Tap that "Finish Setup" button, and it'll perform the same restoration maneuver it typically would on initial setup, which can include restoring previously backed-up SMS messages from your devices.

The data comes courtesy of Android's automatic backups and is stored in your 15GB of cloud storage that comes with Google Drive. If you have a lot of photos or videos in your text messages, you'll quickly chew through your 15GB storage allotment, and you may want to pay a few bucks a month to increase your storage allotment with a Google One subscription. You can view the backups (but not their contents) via the Google Drive or Google One Android apps, and the backup process as a whole can be manually triggered in Settings (usually Settings -> System -> Backup, but you can also just search for "Backup."). SMS backups created in this way can't be easily copied off or moved elsewhere, as with dedicated apps, and they don't include MMS media.

The built-in system is useful and automatic, but without a way to manually trigger the restoration process or view the backed-up contents, it's of limited utility. For instance, you can't read those messages off-device, and you can't save them long-term — the backups eventually expire in Google Drive. In such cases, this automatic system might not fit your needs, but there are alternatives.

There are a lot of individual apps for backing up and restoring your SMS messages, but for the purposes of this discussion, we'll refer to two well-known and high-quality free apps we've covered in the past: SMS Backup+ and SMS Backup & Restore. They both let you back up and pull down your messages with a bit more control than the stock system, but each is suited to a slightly different use case.

How to back up your text messages in the SMS Backup+ app

SMS label in Gmail.

If you're mostly interested in keeping your messages around somewhere (without necessarily having local access to them), then SMS Backup+ is probably your best choice. The app is open source and allows you to automatically back up your SMS, MMS, and call history to your Gmail account, presenting your messages there in a convenient "SMS" label, laid out in the same format as email conversations, accessible anywhere via phone, computer, or tablet.

The app is free with in-app purchases, but it's worth mentioning that it's rarely updated. While the latest update happened back in 2018, the app is again still functional to this day, for the most part. Google killed the easy Gmail API access/login for the app ahead of said 2018 update, so the setup is a bit more tedious now.

Enabling IMAP in Gmail.

First, some prep: You'll need to flip Gmail over to allow IMAP access. The option is accessible from the Settings cog icon on the Gmail website in the corner -> See all settings -> Forwarding and POP/IMAP. Select Enable IMAP and click Save Changes at the bottom of the screen.

App passwords setting in your Google account.

Now we're going to make an app password for SMS Backup+. Go to your Google account's Security page and select App passwords. You'll be prompted to sign in again.

Creating an app password with a custom name (above and below).

On the next screen, there's a pair of drop-down lists for categorizing the app password you're about to make. Select "Other" from the left-most drop-down list and give this password a descriptive name like "SMS Backup+" so you know what it's for if you see it later.

Tap Generate.

The generated app password.

Google will give you a randomly generated sixteen-character password. Make a note of it, but please treat this as carefully as your normal password. Don't write it on a post-it and stick it on your monitor or copy it to Google Drive/Keep. It's a password that grants access to your Google account without the security of two-factor authentication; treat it as such.

Configuring SMS Backup+ for IMAP.

Once you have your password for SMS Backup+, install the app, fire it up, and jump past the changelog and permission screens (granting their requests) to get to the main app. There, you can ignore the "Connect" switch, as that uses the old Gmail APIs, which are broken for the app. Instead, you'll need to tap "Advanced settings" and then "Custom IMAP server."

IMAP settings in SMS Backup+.

This takes you to the IMAP setup process. From here, tap "Authentication" and select "Plain text," which will allow you to enter your own information. Most of the default settings should be okay, so there are only a few changes to make, but because the settings can sometimes be wrong, we'll make sure they're all configured before we're done.

Tap Server address and set it to imap.gmail.com:993, and press OK so that the app knows where to log in — though the default setting should work. Then tap "Username" and enter your Gmail address (i.e., ). Now tap Password and enter that app password we generated before, with no spaces. Tap OK when you are done. Now double-check that the setting in the Security is set to TLS. It should be by default, but it's best to be sure.

Backing up messages in SMS Backup+.

Once you're done with all that, back out to the app's main screen, and backups should be working, though the "Connect" section for linking to a Gmail account will now be grayed out since we're using the IMAP workaround. Tapping the Backup button now should trigger a backup successfully.

Should you run into any issues, double-check that you followed the steps above precisely, that IMAP is enabled in Gmail, that security for login in SMS Backup+ is set to TLS, and that the server address (imap.gmail.com:993) is configured.

You can set the app to automatically back up messages with a configurable schedule via the "Auto backup" checkbox and associated settings. I've always found the default settings, which back up incoming messages every minute and outgoing messages every two hours, to be fine. Data used by the app is pretty minimal, but if you are concerned, you can set it to only make backups on Wi-Fi. It's also able to broadcast an intent at the time of backup for third-party app integration.

To make sure the backup process keeps running smoothly in the background, exempt the app from any battery-saving measures and, on Android 12 and higher, make sure the app doesn't lose its permissions when you don't actively open it for months at a time. You'll get a system notification once or if that happens, so be on the lookout for that.

The backup process for SMS Backup+ is pretty slow, especially over IMAP, but since messages really only need to be backed up once — and since that can be done as they come in without you even noticing — it's not much of a problem. It is much more of a concern, however, if you plan on using the system to migrate between devices, as the restoration process is quite time-consuming.

In fact, if that's your intention, there's another app in this guide that might suit you a bit better.

SMS Backup & Restore

SMS Backup & Restore is a good, free, ad-supported app for exporting SMS and MMS messages in a single file.

On the first launch, SMS Backup & Restore has a nice little walk-through that explains which permissions it needs to request and why, at which point it asks for the whole bundle at once before dumping you on the main screen.

Backup setup process in SMS Backup & Restore.

The manual backup process is simple. Just tap Set Up A Backup and follow the instructions. Be sure to go into the advanced menu and select individual conversations if you don't want everything to be saved.

It then asks where you'd like to store the backup, with integration options for Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and local storage. Select whatever works for you. For example, Google Drive is handy if you're maintaining the backup as a static archive, while local storage might be useful if you're flashing a new ROM, etc.

Backup setup process continued.

You can also set up scheduled backups, with old files being automatically removed. But without the advantage of deltas/incremental changes, there are some disadvantages. Those backup files can get pretty big if you have enough MMS or a few tens of thousands of SMS messages, and regular backups could burn through data.

Honestly, the app is bettersuited to one-time backups or migrations than regular schedules, especially compared to SMS Backup+, but the option is there if you need it.

Once you've got things set the way you want, tap "Back Up Now," and you're off. One huge advantage: Compared to SMS Backup+, it's significantly faster, both when it comes to the backup process itself and the setup.

Restoration process in SMS Backup & Restore.

If you'd like to restore those backups on another device, swipe from the left edge in to pull up the navigation menu and select Restore, or you can use the Transfer option, which sends files from app to app over Wi-Fi direct. If you're performing a restore with a local file, make sure it has been copied to the device.

Whatever method you choose, the process to pull messages back down is easy, and the app is happy to walk you through locating the correct backup on internal or cloud storage.

SMS Backup & Restore does have a little more functionality than I've explicitly described here — like the ability to perform and maintain scheduled backups. But the advantages of Gmail storage, conversation view, and one-at-a-time backups in SMS Backup+ are a better solution for that specific use case. With the larger backup sizes and no easy way to view them online, SMS Backup & Restore is more suited to one-time backups or migrations, in my opinion.

Yes, we're going to push WhatsApp

If you're not in the US, you'll probably wonder why anyone bothers with SMS messages anyhow. Add in the fact that RCS is dead, and things get even more confusing. For our American readers, we are here to tell you it's time to embrace WhatsApp. Meta's messaging app is used around the world and has tons of incredible features, including the ability to send WhatsApp messages from your laptop. If you don't want Facebook/Meta in all of your business, there are plenty of excellent end-to-end encrypted messaging apps in the Play Store.