How to Export iPhone Messages on Windows (No Mac Needed)
Reviewed by Jacob Reed, founder of Verity ·
Short answer
Back up the iPhone to your PC with Apple's Apple Devices app (or iTunes) with "Encrypt local backup" turned off. In the backup folder, open the folder named 3d and copy the file 3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28 to your Desktop. Rename the copy to sms.db. That one file holds every text and iMessage on the phone, with exact times. Leave the backup itself untouched.
Most guides to exporting iMessages assume you own a Mac. You don't need one. Every iPhone backup made on a Windows PC contains the phone's message database; it is just hidden under a coded file name. No paid software is needed to get it out.
How do you get iPhone messages onto a Windows PC?
1.Install the Apple Devices app
Get Apple Devices from the Microsoft Store. On an older version of Windows without it, use iTunes instead; the steps are the same.
2.Connect and trust the computer
Plug the iPhone in with a cable, unlock it, and tap Trust when the phone asks. Enter the phone's passcode if asked.
3.Make an unencrypted backup
In Apple Devices, select the iPhone in the sidebar and open General (in iTunes: Summary). Choose to back up all the data to this computer, leave "Encrypt local backup" unticked, and click Back Up Now. Wait until the last-backup time shows.
4.Open the backup folder
Press Windows key + R and type %USERPROFILE%\Apple\MobileSync\Backup (for the Apple Devices app or the Microsoft Store iTunes). For iTunes downloaded from Apple's website it is %APPDATA%\Apple Computer\MobileSync\Backup. Open the folder with the newest date.
5.Find the messages file
Open the folder named 3d and find the file 3d0d7e5fb2ce288813306e4d4636395e047a3d28. That is the phone's message database (sms.db) under a coded name.
6.Copy it out and rename the copy
Copy the file (don't move it) to your Desktop, then rename the copy to sms.db. If Windows warns about changing the extension, that is fine. Leave the backup folder itself untouched.
Why does the backup have to be unencrypted?
In an encrypted backup every file is scrambled with your backup password, so the messages file can't be opened by copying it. If "Encrypt local backup" is already ticked, Apple asks for that password to turn it off. Without the password you can't use the old encrypted backups, but you can make a new one. An encrypted backup holds extra things like saved passwords and Health data; the messages are in both kinds.
What is in the sms.db file?
It is the same database the Messages app uses: every iMessage and text on the phone at the time of the backup, who sent it, the conversation it belongs to, and the time to the second. Photos and videos are stored as separate files in the backup, so the database has the words, not the pictures. A Mac keeps the same kind of database as chat.db; see how to read a chat.db file.
What if the folder named 3d isn't there?
Make sure you opened the newest backup folder (the long name is the phone's ID), and that the backup finished. Very old backups kept every file in one folder, so search the backup folder for the file name instead. If it still isn't there, the backup is probably encrypted.
What if messages are missing?
A backup copies what is on the phone at that moment. Conversations deleted earlier, or removed by the "Keep Messages" setting, won't be in it. Make the backup before anything else changes on the phone, and set Keep Messages to Forever. Our guide on recovering deleted texts explains what can still be found.
How can Verity help?
Drop the sms.db file into Verity and pick the conversation. You get every message in date order with its exact time, and a free preview of the patterns in it. The file is read in your browser and is not uploaded, which matters for a file that holds every conversation on the phone. It is supporting documentation, not a legal finding.
This is general information, not legal advice. Verity is not affiliated with Apple. If the other person's messages are involved, ask your lawyer how they want the record produced.
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