[Q] Old SMS "simbackup.dsb" from early android, need to read them, no idea which app!
Long ago (2008 ish) I got my first android, a T-Mobile/Google/HTC G1 "Dream", I think. It had a sim backup function, or maybe an app I downloaded that did SIM backups, can't remember which. It may have been an integrated function within Android, from memory, accessed via import/export. But that's a very vague memory, quite possibly wrong.
I just now found some old contacts weren't ever moved to my current phone. I'm pretty sure the phone numbers were originally from messages I received at that time, so the sim backup files I have from those days (10 of them dated 2008 - 2009) should contain either the contact details, or SIM messages originally containing the phone numbers.
But does anyone have an idea what app might have created these, or what app might be able to read them? I have no idea the format used, it seems to be not plain text but I can't tell anything else.
A quick google search suggests "Sim Manager" but apparently that was on Windows Mobile only, and I've only ever had Android.
Related
I've been hunting around here and various other places trying to find a straight answer to this question, and have had no luck so far. Hoping the community here might be able to straighten me out. Also, Mods, I'm not sure if this issue is specific to the Aria, or my Aria, or if it is more general - please feel free to move this if there is a more appropriate location.
The issue:
while test-driving Attn1's CM6-Liberty ROM, I happened to note the option for custom labels for phone numbers in my address book (apparently I missed this option previously). There were a couple I wanted to change, so I made the changes, and they synced up to my google contacts just fine. After switching back to Liberated Aria b005 ROM, I realized there were a couple of other numbers I'd like to change. I went back into contacts and selected the custom option - however, the edit field window blinked closed, and the phone number label remained the same as was previously set. No window opened up to enter a custom field label.
I was able to find instructions on a workaround used by exporting google contacts, editing the CSV fields, and then re-importing. I made my additional changes this way (though in one case in which I named a phone label "Google Voice" the re-import process changed it to "grandcentral".)
I would like the ability to make these changes on the device...just wondering if this is an error happening on my device, or a feature that only works in Android 2.2+, or a limitation of HTC Sense?
Thanks,
DD
I know this question has been asked before, but never answered and I was hoping that things might have changed by now.
I was wondering if there was any way whatsoever to get WM6.5.3 to store the SMS database on the micro-sd card, thereby not forcing me to keep trimming my sms messages as frequently as I have to.
I have a Tilt 2, running the latest NRGY ROM.
Thanks
~Z
I am not so sure about your phone, but I am positive you could find out on the respective thread. I know for my Excalibur, there is a 'hack' (mod really) that allows for a larger number of SMS to store ... I don't think it re-routes it to the SD card though.
The issue is primarily that the SMS database file is the same as the Phonebook, Recent Calls, and VoiceMail records(?)...I honestly forget. I did some digging into this a while ago, but stopped. Its rather inconvenient since its all partially encrypted, or at least not that easy to just parse through.
I have been contemplating starting a project (which I have already started conceptualizing) that will replace the dumb CE MAPI once and for all. It would be a suite of programs [Replacement SMS/MMS/EMail/etc. Transport DLL, Replacement tmail.exe, Replacement database] ... with end-users in mind, such that data is easy to obtain. I would probably store it as XML or something similar. If I do go through with this, I will be sure to consider storing to Storage Card AND/OR main memory
I've seen numerous questions regarding problems merging sms messsages after being restored from databases, applications, social networks or ported from different operating systems, etc all of which seem to relate to compatibility issues. My issue is, on the face of it, much more simple but I have yet to find a solution.
One of my contacts recently changed telephone numbers resulting in subsequent texts being listed in a different thread. After adding the new number to the existing contact I now have two sms threads under the same person's name. I'd like to merge these and delete the old number but I can't find a way to do that. This means that if I want to keep a name for the old sms thread then I have to keep the old number in my contacts. Seems a bit daft to me.
I'm currently using a Samsung Galaxy GT-I9000 with 2.34 firmware but unless I'm missing something WM, iPhone, etc have the same issue. Does anyone know if merging texts in the way I've mentioned can be done?
I don't know if apps like GO SMS and Handcent address this problem but even if they did its like taking a sledgehammer to a minor inconvenience.
Thanks
I'm having exactly the same problem for more than a year now. I really hope someone will come up with a solution for this! Thanks
I have been also trying for a solution but nothing
(Hope I'm not resurrecting a too old thread...)
I successfully merged SMS threads by creating a backup using SMS Backup & Restore.
Just open the created .xml file in e.g. Notepad++, then replace your contact's old number in the "address" field with the new one. Now load the altered backup file back onto your phone, delete your messages from within the app, and restore your newly created backup file.
Although it worked fine for me on the first try, I recommend keeping your initial backup file, and save your editing to a copy - just in case.
Using this method, I also fixed some splitted threads, where one contact with one number got split up in several threads, because of an incorrect number restore from backups when switching phones.
Hope this helps.
Thanks to pucksen for resurrecting this old thread. I got here by google.
My problem was a bit different - I had multiple conversation threads from the same number from the same contact (in both stock SMS app and Go SMS Pro). It started after using Pure Messenger, and only affected my two contacts with iphones. It seemed random which messages ended up where.
Looking in the XML backup file from SMS Backup & Restore, I noticed why I was having this problem, the address field sometimes had random space characters appended to the end of the numbers! For example:
address="4165555555"
address="4165555555 "
Removed the spaces after the affected messages and voila, all is well.
No idea how or why this happened, or if im going to have to export/fix/reimport my messages often to keep my conversations readable... but at least there's a way to fix it.
Now if only I knew how to write an app that could automate this for me...
epexegenesis said:
Thanks to pucksen for resurrecting this old thread. I got here by google.
My problem was a bit different - I had multiple conversation threads from the same number from the same contact (in both stock SMS app and Go SMS Pro). It started after using Pure Messenger, and only affected my two contacts with iphones. It seemed random which messages ended up where.
Looking in the XML backup file from SMS Backup & Restore, I noticed why I was having this problem, the address field sometimes had random space characters appended to the end of the numbers! For example:
address="4165555555"
address="4165555555 "
Removed the spaces after the affected messages and voila, all is well.
No idea how or why this happened, or if im going to have to export/fix/reimport my messages often to keep my conversations readable... but at least there's a way to fix it.
Now if only I knew how to write an app that could automate this for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thread re-resurrected! Not sure if you've solved this, but I imagine the process could be expedited by using the Find/Replace feature in Notepad++ (or practically anything else) by searching for " with a space in front of it and replacing it with " with no space.
As for the thread's OP, I agree that Android needs to have this functionality built-in. Especially considering how many users have alternate Google Voice numbers.
This is the one thing that WebOS actually got right. Never believed I'd ever actually miss something from that terrible phone.
Thanks patthew, that makes it a bit quicker - it is still a pain though. And unfortunately the problem also has gotten bigger....now I've got this:
address="4165555555"
address="+14165555555"
So up to 4 threads with each contact.
This is ridiculous.
I also can't believe how many people there are with the same problem and no fix. From page 1 google search:
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1262261
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1397030
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1192736
forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1124902
http://android.stackexchange.com/qu...-creates-multiple-threads-for-the-same-number
http://www.droidxforums.com/forum/d...t-creating-multiple-threads-same-contact.html
hello all,
I am also having this problem, i confirm that not even with handcent sms it doesn't work if a contact has several numbers it opens a new thread by phone number.
the manual edition of the xml file seems the only workaround is the edition of the backup file which is of course prone to error.
anyway thanks for the tips i hadn't thought of editing the sms backup and restore xml.
kind regards
Mario
Before doing this BACK UP YOUR SMS/MMS!!! If you screw something up and lose everything don't come crying to me, back your crap up!
Now, here is how I did it. This merged 2 different phone numbers/threads into 1 SMS thread and moved all MMS (Pictures/Media) as well.
In my XML file I found these 4 formats for the number I was changing, why the numbers are all different formats I have no idea. Make sure you don't have even more.
(555) 444-7777
5554447777
+15554447777
+1 555-444-7777
And here is a small sample from the XML file with the numbers changed to the 555 crap or X'd out.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="yes"?>
<threads count="7" xmlns="XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX">
<thread address="+15554447777">
<sms msgBox="inbox" date="2012-07-30T21:40:43.522Z" locked="false" seen="true" read="true" serviceCenter="+1XXXXXXXXXX" address="+15554447777" encoding="plain">Hello World!</sms>
<sms msgBox="inbox" date="2012-07-30T21:41:13.522Z" locked="false" seen="true" read="true" serviceCenter="+1XXXXXXXXXX" address="+15554447777" encoding="plain">Hello World AGAIN!</sms>
<mms msgBox="sent" version="1.2" type="sendReq" contentType="application/vnd.wap.multipart.related" date="2012-09-08T02:30:19.000Z" locked="false" seen="true" read="true" subject="">
<addresses>
<address type="from">insert-address-token</address>
<address type="to">5554447777</address>
</addresses>
<part contentType="application/smil" contentId="<smil>" contentLocation="smil.xml" encoding="plain"><smil><head><layout><root-layout width="1230px" height="720px"/><region id="Image" left="0" top="0" width="1230px" height="648px" fit="meet"/></layout></head><body><par dur="5000ms"><img src="IMG_20120907_212958.jpg" region="Image"/></par></body></smil></part>
<part contentType="image/jpeg" order="0" contentId="<IMG_20120907_212958>" contentLocation="IMG_20120907_212958.jpg" encoding="base64">/9j/4ABAAD/2wBDAAIBAQEBAQIBAQECAgICAgQDAgICAgUEBAMEB</part>
</mms>
</thread>
</threads>
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First off, I used Titanium Backup Pro to dump SMS/MMS to XML (It's under Options/Backup data to XML) I have no idea if the standard Titanium Backup has this or not.
Titanium Backup Pro stores the messages with all SMS first, then all MMS after for that thread. What I did was a search/replace for all 4 different number formats listed above to the new phone number, then I cut/pasted all of the SMS from the new number thread the old number thread right under the last SMS message in that thread, then I cut/pasted the MMS from the new number thread to the old number thread at the end of the MMS section. In short, I moved the SMS and MMS from one thread to the other to their corresponding areas. I moved the "new" number to the old number thread because there were only a handful of messages in the new thread so I went that route. And because I did it this way, all the messages were in order by date.
After I had emptied out the thread (nothing between <thread address="XXXXXXXXXX"> and </thread>) I deleted the thread.
Then I updated the threads count to "6" because I was merging 2 threads and of course taking one thread away from the 7 threads = 6, saved it, and then restored it using Titanium Backup and BAM, 2 threads were now 1 with all of my texts and pictures intact.
Now, I have no idea if the cut/pasting is necessary or if Titanium and Android can magically figure out the two threads belong together after changing all the numbers but I didn't feel like messing with it. I just made it a nice neat XML file like I figured it should be and went with that.
For the XML editor I used XMLSpy 30 day trial (it's expensive to buy but I figured I would only be doing this once so what the heck, trial it is) but I'm sure anything that edits XML properly
would do just fine.
Initially I tried merging the two threads using Sqlite3 update commands on mmssms.db and succeeded in merging the 2 SMS threads but found that MMS didn't follow and decided that I'd rather mess with XML. Eh...
Also, if for some reason (like me) you can't see the XML backup file in Windows I wound up just using adb to pull/push the file from/to the phone.
Anyway, hope this helps those of you trying to do this. Good luck!
Good method but UNconceivably hard to perform on 9000 text messages, when more than 2 or 3 are seperated into multiple threads
But i did it (at least for the contacts i sms the most)
It cannot be that difficult for an average IT student to write a simple script to do what android should be doing on its own.
Anyway.
Just try and find the contacts whose conversations have been split. Note them down and open the xml from sms backup and restore through Notepad++ or a simple kate (if you are in a linux environment)
Search for your contact using some of the characters of its name. For example if the conversations of Smith John have been split, then try first to look for smith (disable case matching)
When you find the line that corresponds to the first message of Smith, copy every single character in address.
ie
Code:
address='"SMITH JOHN" <693123458>'
Here you HAVE to copy everything after the = until the gt;'
DO NOT include the =, nor any character after the last ' , NOT EVEN the space that comes right after.
Paste
Code:
'"SMITH JOHN" <693123458>'
in the find and replace dialogue.
For the replace part, include only the phone number between ""
Code:
Replace with
"693123458"
Replace all.
Now try again searching for smith. Sometimes we change little things in our contacts and over time conversations split for that reason. You might find that you once upon a time you had saved the contact as Smith Johny. So search again. Then search using the phone number if your phone has the bad habit of spliting up the numbers like
123-1234-123 or something
Try looking for -123 or space123
Replace everything with the phone number alone surrounded by "".
This way when your contacts are in place there will be only one thread for each contact.
SO many hours of sleep lost
epexegenesis said:
Thanks to pucksen for resurrecting this old thread. I got here by google.
My problem was a bit different - I had multiple conversation threads from the same number from the same contact (in both stock SMS app and Go SMS Pro). It started after using Pure Messenger, and only affected my two contacts with iphones. It seemed random which messages ended up where.
Looking in the XML backup file from SMS Backup & Restore, I noticed why I was having this problem, the address field sometimes had random space characters appended to the end of the numbers! For example:
address="4165555555"
address="4165555555 "
Removed the spaces after the affected messages and voila, all is well.
No idea how or why this happened, or if im going to have to export/fix/reimport my messages often to keep my conversations readable... but at least there's a way to fix it.
Now if only I knew how to write an app that could automate this for me...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Learn how to code & do that in a handful of lines of code
Indirect Solution but this might come handy for most people in this thread
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=angel.twitch&hl=en
Another workaround
Another workaround would of using hangouts version 10 as an SMS app.
Thread re-resurrected, again. lol
Anyway, Galaxy S21U, Android 11, stock messenger. Added their old number to their contact, but all it did was name both threads after them, not merge them.
When I run SMS Backup & Restore, it doesn't seem to get ALL of the messages from the new number's thread. It did seem to get all of them from the prior thread though. SEEM being I'm not entirely sure whether it retrieved all of both theirs and my messages, without further investigation.
If it did not retrieve ALL of the messages, how would I go about making it do so? Settings, a different app/method?
Using Notepad++ was a breeze to find/replace all of the old numbers to the new one though.
If I were to restore my edited backup, without deleting any of the messages that are currently there, what happens?
Does it overwrite what's currently there, deleting the current set of messages, or does it just add back all of the messages to the specified thread, resulting in double messages that would need to be deleted?
Thanks for any help with this. Didn't anticipate this issue. Didn't think this person was going to change their number, or how seemingly difficult this problem actually is.
Hello all. I have what should be a fairly simple task, and some Googling has brought up some options... but this is one of those situations where I don't just need to get the job done, I need to get it done well; so I'm hoping someone else will previously have done the same thing and can tell me what the most elegant solution is!
The short version is that I need to be able to extract one specific conversation from the stored text messages on an Android phone, transfer it to a PC, and then convert it into some format that is easily and comfortably readable on a PC.
The background to this is that my girlfriend had kept all of the text messages she had previously received from me; but a couple of weeks ago a rather unpleasant gentleman kicked my front door in (while she and I were both in my house), demanded money, and made off with my wallet and shoulder bag, and my girlfriend's handbag, which contained her phone. A bit scary as you can imagine.... We're both okay, but my girlfriend was a little sad to lose all the messages I'd sent her.
As it happens, I generally keep long-term copies of the texts that I send and receive (not for sentimental reasons, I'm just a bit of a hoarder when it comes to data!) so I've probably still got copies of all of those messages somewhere (my phone didn't get stolen), and I'd like to extract them and give them to her as one of a set of birthday gifts.
Potential complications:
1) I need to extract both sides of the conversation (my messages to her and hers to me) into a single file.
2) I need not to extract messages to or from anyone else.
3) Sometimes a number may be in 07... format while other times it may be in +447... format.
4) Girlfriend changed phone number at one point.
5) Messages will be split between my old phone (a Samsung Galaxy S2 which can still connect to wifi or a USB cable, but has no actual phone service any more) and my new one (HTC One).
6) The end result needs to be a single file with everything in chronological order.
7) Girlfriend is extremely non-technical; so the end product has to be something that can be loaded and viewed on a laptop by launching just one file, and it has to be nicely laid out and easily readable when you're viewing it.
Suggestions?
In case anyone ever stumbles across this thread and wants to know what solution I eventually came up with... I used two different apps in the end. The first was "SMS Backup & Restore". I installed that on both phones. On the old phone, that allowed me to back up all the SMS messages (regardless of sender) into a single XML file. Transferring that file onto my new phone and restoring it with the same app copied all the messages onto my new phone.
I then used a separate app called "Conversation Backup" which extracts all messages sent to or from a specified contact (any of the numbers stored against that contact). It creates a zip file which can be emailed; within the zip is an HTML file and some supporting javascript which can be read in a web browser on a PC. It's not exactly elegant, but it's certainly human-readable.
Hi all, I just received my new handset, a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact as an upgrade to my Samsung Galaxy S4. I'm not a noob per se, but these are noob questions I have, any answers for which I would be most grateful. My otherwise stellar google-fu has failed me these past two days and some clearer, direct advice and answers would be immensely helpful.
- A general question re: the Play Store. If I purchase a paid app, does it remain available to me to re-download and update forever after? Does it last between multiple/new devices? I want to buy Navigon Europe, but wanted to know if it's a once-only deal or remains available to me to download permanently.
- Contact syncing. On my past android phones, I've always somehow managed to import all my contacts from various online accts (eg. FB, GMail, etc). I have all my contacts (up-to-date) in Outlook on my PC and ideally want them, and only them, on my device contact list. I don't want the phone to synch anything with anything except my Outlook contacts but don't know what steps I can take to avoid that.
- Battery: I've had mixed messages about the first charge (currently in-progress at the time of writing!). Do Li-Ion batteries need to be charged for 16hrs or just until they're full?
- Converting the SIM Card: My S4 uses a MicroSIM, the Z3 Compact a NanoSIM. I heard they can be cut manually...is it safe to do that, or should I wait 3 days for TMobile (UK) to send me one?
I have two last questions that are more general advice than anything, but answers still appreciated!
- What apps/services are best to transfer my data over from my old handset to the new one? I can figure this out, but any recommendations from experience in doing the same would be welcome. I can figure out how to use them, just a general idea of apps/services to make sure I don't miss anything (texts, calendar, apps). Presumably I can download an app, *export* a file to my SD card, install the app and SD card on the new phone and "import" the file?
- This is a tough one...I have Barclays Mobile Banking app and kept my S4 stock since it apparently stopped working on rooted phones. I'd like to root my Z3 Compact but would have to stay stock for the Barclays app alone. Is there a good way to like trick the phone to believe it's not rooted, or stealth it, etc?
Any advice would be most gratefully received. I think I've answered the battery question but am still concerned about the rest. Many thanks in advance.
KingsGambit said:
Hi all, I just received my new handset, a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact as an upgrade to my Samsung Galaxy S4. I'm not a noob per se, but these are noob questions I have, any answers for which I would be most grateful. My otherwise stellar google-fu has failed me these past two days and some clearer, direct advice and answers would be immensely helpful.
- A general question re: the Play Store. If I purchase a paid app, does it remain available to me to re-download and update forever after? Does it last between multiple/new devices? I want to buy Navigon Europe, but wanted to know if it's a once-only deal or remains available to me to download permanently.
- Contact syncing. On my past android phones, I've always somehow managed to import all my contacts from various online accts (eg. FB, GMail, etc). I have all my contacts (up-to-date) in Outlook on my PC and ideally want them, and only them, on my device contact list. I don't want the phone to synch anything with anything except my Outlook contacts but don't know what steps I can take to avoid that.
- Battery: I've had mixed messages about the first charge (currently in-progress at the time of writing!). Do Li-Ion batteries need to be charged for 16hrs or just until they're full?
- Converting the SIM Card: My S4 uses a MicroSIM, the Z3 Compact a NanoSIM. I heard they can be cut manually...is it safe to do that, or should I wait 3 days for TMobile (UK) to send me one?
I have two last questions that are more general advice than anything, but answers still appreciated!
- What apps/services are best to transfer my data over from my old handset to the new one? I can figure this out, but any recommendations from experience in doing the same would be welcome. I can figure out how to use them, just a general idea of apps/services to make sure I don't miss anything (texts, calendar, apps). Presumably I can download an app, *export* a file to my SD card, install the app and SD card on the new phone and "import" the file?
- This is a tough one...I have Barclays Mobile Banking app and kept my S4 stock since it apparently stopped working on rooted phones. I'd like to root my Z3 Compact but would have to stay stock for the Barclays app alone. Is there a good way to like trick the phone to believe it's not rooted, or stealth it, etc?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Paid apps are transferrable between devices, assuming you use the same Google account that it is linked to.
When you sign into Google (and your other accounts) it will ask if you want to Backup and Restore. Just leave it unchecked and then when finished importing Outlook contacts, you can go into your Google account and just make sure to only sync the options you're interested in by checking/unchecking whatever boxes you need.
I find a good way to transfer texts, call logs, apps, etc from device to device is by using an app like Go Backup. You were on the right path with the idea of backing up on the phone, transferring to PC, and switching it to a new phone. If you don't have access to a PC at the time, you can use something like Wifi File Explorer Pro to connect to it, assuming you have access to wifi or can wifi tether between the 2.
Cutting of the SIM is possible manually, but if you don't have access to a good SIM card cutter tool (obviously you don't have one in your possession, but any respectable repair shop or cell phone provider will have one. It only takes 5 seconds, but still there is a slight risk of damaging the card. It is best to get a new one. It is possible to cut with a sharp Exacto knife or something of the sort, but when going to nano, the margin of error is so small that I don't recommend.
As far as root and Barclay's, I don't believe it is an option. There have been attempts to bypass this restriction, but I believe that it has been without success. See:
http://repo.xposed.info/module/com.devadvance.rootcloak
Thank you for your helpful reply! I've moved most of my data over successfully, installed/copied most apps and setup most accounts. I did however ruin my MicroSIM in my attempts at converting it to Nano size. Have ordered a replacement but currently unable to call or text. Ah well!
I took the plunge and blew some money on the Play Store. I have the apps working now, and hope that they will remain available to me hereafter.
Thanks for the info on the Barclays App. I think I will skip rooting again *sigh* It's very annoying. There's a bunch of bloat I cannot freeze/quarantine, the ability to move apps to the SD card isn't available...all for one app If I found an APK of an old version, from back when it worked on a rooted phone, that might be an option?
Only issue I now have (apart from getting used to a few changes!) is with Email. On the S4, I set up my email as follows: Email: Forwarding Address - Incoming Server: BT Internet - Outgoing: Gmail (Set to send using my forwarding address). It worked fine. Now on the Z3C, I no longer have a box to enter my "Email address". Only "Username" and "Password". I can get my Emails from BT, can send via Gmail but it comes with "On behalf of..." in the sender field which is driving me mad! These are the little things that reallyget aggravating. Spent 2 hours already trying to work it out