You can sync your iPhone SMS messages to a Mac using two free Web-based applications.
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An iPhone can store about 1,000 SMS messages in its memory. This storage limitation can be a severe hindrance to frequent messagers. You can use either of two free Web-based archival applications if you wish to back up your SMS messages so they are accessible from your Mac computer. iBlissLIVE stores your SMS messages on a remote server and allows you access via computer or phone via a Web application. IPhone SMS Backup simply outputs your iPhone's SMS messages to a readily recognizable HTML, PDF or spreadsheet file on your Mac machine.
iBlissLIVE
Step 1
Navigate your phone's Web browser to the iBlissLIVE iPhone free SMS archival registration page.
Step 2
Fill in the required information on the registration form and choose a user name and password for your iBlissLIVE SMS Web application. Click "Submit" when you are finished.
Step 3
Log in to the e-mail account you provided to the iBlissLIVE website. Open the iBlissLIVE confirmation e-mail and click the confirmation link to activate your account.
Step 4
Run the iBlissLive application on your mobile phone. Select the range of dates for which you wish to back up SMS messages. The selected messages will be backed up to the iBlissLIVE Web archive.
Step 5
Navigate your Mac's Web browser to the iBlissLIVE login page and enter the user name and password you specified during registration.
Step 6
Use the links above the calendar on the left side of the page to browse through messages ordered by date or alphabetically by contact. Click the "Search Messages" link to search for keywords in all archived messages. You can store up to 80,000 messages for free at the iBlissLIVE archive. Or, for a donation of about $7 or more, as of February 2011, you may store an unlimited number of SMS messages on its server.
iPhone SMS Backup
Step 1
Plug your iPhone into your Mac computer and open the iTunes application. Doing so will synchronize your iPhone with iTunes, including SMS message data.
Step 2
Navigate your Mac's Web browser to the iPhone SMS Backup website. IPhone SMS Backup allows you to back up your SMS messages to your Mac for free. Unlike iBlissLIVE, this program does not store your SMS messages on its server but rather outputs the messages directly to your computer.
Step 3
Click the "Browse" button on the site and navigate to this folder on your Mac's hard drive: "User\Library\Application Support\Mobile Sync\Backup."
Step 4
Locate a file that has the extension .mdbackup or the extension .mddata. The beginning of the file name will consist of a seemingly random string of alphanumeric characters. Click "Open" when you find the correct file.
Step 5
Click the radio button next to the desired output format. Your SMS messages can be saved to a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, an HTML file or an Adobe PDF file. Click "Submit." The iPhone SMS Backup website will save your iPhone's SMS messages onto your Mac's hard drive.
Resources
Photo Credits
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