All the SMS or text messages inside your iPhone are handled by a database. Jailbreaking your iPhone open the possibility of manipulating your SMS database and export all the data within. The CSV file can also be accessed using Microsoft Excel and equivalent program. This tutorial will walk you through the process to backup and export your SMS as a CSV file to your Mac.

Download the Tools Needed

These are the tools you will need for this tutorial.

  1. iPhone Explorer
  2. SQLite Database Browser These tools are available for Mac and Windows platform; make sure you download the correct version.

Backup SMS Database

Connect your iPhone to your Mac through USB.

  1. Launch the iPhone Explorer and navigate through “/private/var/mobile/Library/SMS.“.
  2. Look for the file SMS.db and download it to your Mac.

Export iPhone SMS

  1. Launch SQLite Database Browser you have downloaded a while back.
  2. Click “File -> Open Database“. You will then be asked to choose a file to open. Navigate through the directory where you have download SMS.db.

This is an example of the structure of iPhone SMS database.

  1. When SMS.db is open, you can export it the way you want. Click on “File -> Export” and choose “Table as CSV File“.

  2. You will be prompted to “Choose table to export as CSV text“. Choose table name as “Message” and click on the “Export” button thereafter.

  3. You will then be asked for the location to save the CSV file. Locate the directory you want to save it to and give it a filename.

  4. Try to open the CSV file with iWork’s Numbers or Microsoft Excel to manipulate the data inside. When you open it, you will see a few columns with corresponding values. You can actually edit those values and save the file as CSV, still.

The point of this tutorial is to help you backup, export and even import all your SMS data to your other devices. Or, you can also use this method to archive your text messages for future reference, that way, you will not be able to lose messages you treasure most. What other way do you use to backup your iPhone’s SMS? Image credit: Frank Spin