[Q] How to save SMS from Android phone with broken screen - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

Hi,
My friend asks me to backup her SMSs from a phone with complete nonworking screen. The phone is htc adr6400l thunderbolt 4g. I tried different programs, but all of them require Debug On that I can not do since the screen is broken. The device doesn't support MHL, so I am unable to use TV screen instead. I usually use MyPhoneExplorer, but now it is unable to connect to the device. ADB doesn't see this device as well. As I know, it runs Android 3.x. She already backed up her phone book in carrier's store, but they don't have such service for SMS.
Is any way to reach SMS base at the phone without Debug On?
Thanks in advance

Related

[Q] X10a Debrand PC Companion hangs XP sp3

I was following the debrand instructions at xperiax10.net/2010/04/14/debrand-your-xperia-x10-tutorial/#comment-309
On XP sp3. When the instructions get to the putting the phone into Flash mode, ie, pull out USB, power off phone, wait for 5 secs, press the Back button, plug in USB, the phone's LED turns green, the XP device says it's detected a Flash device and promptly partially hangs XP. I've searched, but can't find any info on what's causing the hang? Any suggestions?
Also, I thought based on the instructions that at just prior to this point, it would have download the 2 files to be replaced. I can see all the the files in the hidden Application Data, but not anything that's 100mb, the largest files is 27mb.
I'm willing to flash twice, if that's what I have to do get files to replace them - but I can't put the files in there without the names.
I've flashed my SE phones before with SE software so the hang is sort of surprising.
FWIW, I'm doing this because I have too many friggin' contacts that I DON'T want in Google. I backed up my old SE phone to SE's Sync Server, but my ATT x10A doesn't have the SE Sync App or settings and there's no way to put them in manually. Unless someone knows of an app?
I put my wife's sim card into my old phone an bluetoothed my contacts into my X10a as one huge vcf file.. i also figure out why the Sony Sync isn't on there there, it interferes with the $1.99/mo ATT Sync service. A CSR told me that lots of people add it for a month when they buy new phones.
As for the rest of it, as it is setup the phone works GREAT! I love it that the GPS turns on and off on it's own, the auto switching to WiFI, Google's updated Maps/Navigation/Latitude (though I won't share my local on latitude), the voice stuff. I think I'll even fork out for the SMS Voice Plugin to dictate SMS messages...
I am fairly sure that my issues have to do with my firewall and av/as software as I have the same issues using adb until I granted permission. I was able to sideload apps etc. The android central sideloader covered the error so well that it kept failing to find the phone until the version of abd in the directory was specifically given permission.
Sent from my X10a using XDA App

[Q] Retrieve contacts and data with a cracked screen?

Today I cracked the screen on my sgs2 while it was in my pocket, I have no idea how it happened but the good news is my service provider is replacing the phone for free.
The problem is I only get a blue line across the screen, I know the phone is working because I am still recieving messages and it rings etc but I cant unlock the screen to get it into mass storage mode to retrieve my data!
Any idea if I can get into the phone any other way to retrieve contacts etc?
No backup ???
Or Nandroid backup ??
jje
People should sync with google more. For anyone reading this: go into Contacts, press menu, and select Merge with Google (it should be something like that, my os language is Dutch).
This way you can see al your contacts at contacts.google.com
@topic starter: have you tried looking at http://contacts.google.com if your contacts are stored here?
Have you tried adb as long as debugging was turned on which some roms do by default it should work. Or boot into recovery then use adb.
I have tried adb it doesnt seem to do anything, how do I put the phone into recovery?
dawson8 said:
I have tried adb it doesnt seem to do anything, how do I put the phone into recovery?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Vol up--->Home--->Power. Hold this three buttons on the same time and release when Samsung logo apperas
Well, I couldnt get the phone inot recovery mode either, but now my replacement has arrived I guess I just have to bite the bullet and use an older backup.
Is there any app or a way that I can install something on my phone so that if the screen ever breaks again I can access my data not just to back it up but to delete it?
I just assumed you are rooted (most people on this site are) but I should make sure so that you actually had a recovery with adb, are you? I don't know if the stock one does.
If not flashing cf-root using download mode would give you CWM recovery.
No I am not rooted, I was unsure if rooting was reversable and didnt want to void my warranty, Im even more scared off now that I know the screen can break when the phone is in my pocket and hadnt been mis-used or dropped at all!
Well the phone is already wrecked so the warranty is already gone. Just root it so you can get your data.
The main problem is do you remember your software version so you can use the right cf-root kg* kernel.
the phone is still under warranty, and has been replaced. I would now like to know how to prevent this from happening in the case of the screen breaking again?
Wow I never knew of a warranty that would cover physical damage like a broken screen.
For the new phone make sure the first thing you do is to turn on usb debugging so that you can use adb on the stock rom.
Also another possibility for getting data (just a theory) but if any remote control software (VNC etc) in the Market AUTO STARTS with the phone, it could be installed by using market.android.com then control the phone from your computer as long as wifi was on.
I don't know if any exist like that though and a quick search showed one VNC server but you had to open the app and turn on the server.
Edit: I wasn't thinking of the limitations of adb data access when not rooted, so well it is still a good idea for the new phone you may want more ideas from other people

Retrieve data incl. phone calls list and messages from a phone with broken screen.

Hi.
I have a SGS2 with a broken screen, that I need to retrieve phone calls list and messages from. Don't know if the device is rooted or if USB debugging enabled, but I think it is.
Is there a way to do this without changing the screen ? I've seen some forensic tools on the net, but these are pretty costly. Is there another way? Through some ADB commands? It's ok if its not "readable" on pc, as I have another SGS2 I could restore this to, IF possible.
//jadesoturi

Galaxy S3 i-9300 Cracked screen + touch screen. Need to view call history or SMS.

I dropped my s3 and now it has a very thin crack on it. First I was able to see some colours but now it is only black - touch screen gave no response aswell. I was also lucky enough to get the battery out on the initial drop so now all I can do is turn the phone on with or without simcard and let it connect to Wi-Fi. There were no SD Cards aswell.
The phone is not rooted, it is just "stock" in every way.
Getting it repaired costs more than what I paid for it while buying it from a friend years ago so I'm not even considering to get it repaired, I will buy a new smart phone, probably a Galaxy Note 4 or 5. (I'm not sure but this info might be useful. My smart phone knowledge is not much but may be there is a way to fix my issue(that I am explaining below) with the use of a Galaxy Note - without disintegrating the new Note)
My problem is that I need to retrieve a phone number that I didn't have the chance to save yet at the time of the drop. The number is probably one of the latest 5 in Call History and there was also an SMS that came from that number - that specific SMS was saved on the phone, not the simcard.
Absolutely nothing happens on computer side(Windows 7 Ultimate) when I plug it via USB. Can't see the content of the phone in File Explorer or anything else. I updated drivers. The phone starts charging, though.
Samsung Kies does not work as it does not recognize the phone when connected via USB and I need to scan the QR Code to connect it via Wi-Fi which is impossible since I can not give any commands to the phone nor see anything but a black screen.
I have this Samsung Link program. It recognizes the phone through Wi-Fi and I can browse files in the phone from my computer. I checked all files, there is nothing SMS or Call History related. On my web searches, I found out that SMS messages are stored in "/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databeses/mmssms.db" but there are no such folders that start with "com.android.providers".
I did not have debugging or other things active at the time and I can not turn anything on or off. It only has Wi-Fi enabled.
I can't even turn the phone off except for pulling the battery out since I need to touch the shut down option that comes in the menu when you hold the power button on the side.
Is there a way to view my Call History or SMS messages from my computer? Please bear in mind that I can not install any apps or give any commands at all to my phone by the use of its screen and it is not recognized by the computer when it is connected via USB.
Most success I've had is the program called Samsung Link that allows my computer to connect to the phone by Wi-Fi and browse files, pictures, videos and such. (Also I did another check for both USB and Wi-Fi connections while typing these. USB still does not work)
I do not have access to another phone to swap screens-motherboards-whatnot.
Kind regards.
angred said:
I dropped my s3 and now it has a very thin crack on it. First I was able to see some colours but now it is only black - touch screen gave no response aswell. I was also lucky enough to get the battery out on the initial drop so now all I can do is turn the phone on with or without simcard and let it connect to Wi-Fi. There were no SD Cards aswell.
The phone is not rooted, it is just "stock" in every way.
Getting it repaired costs more than what I paid for it while buying it from a friend years ago so I'm not even considering to get it repaired, I will buy a new smart phone, probably a Galaxy Note 4 or 5. (I'm not sure but this info might be useful. My smart phone knowledge is not much but may be there is a way to fix my issue(that I am explaining below) with the use of a Galaxy Note - without disintegrating the new Note)
My problem is that I need to retrieve a phone number that I didn't have the chance to save yet at the time of the drop. The number is probably one of the latest 5 in Call History and there was also an SMS that came from that number - that specific SMS was saved on the phone, not the simcard.
Absolutely nothing happens on computer side(Windows 7 Ultimate) when I plug it via USB. Can't see the content of the phone in File Explorer or anything else. I updated drivers. The phone starts charging, though.
Samsung Kies does not work as it does not recognize the phone when connected via USB and I need to scan the QR Code to connect it via Wi-Fi which is impossible since I can not give any commands to the phone nor see anything but a black screen.
I have this Samsung Link program. It recognizes the phone through Wi-Fi and I can browse files in the phone from my computer. I checked all files, there is nothing SMS or Call History related. On my web searches, I found out that SMS messages are stored in "/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databeses/mmssms.db" but there are no such folders that start with "com.android.providers".
I did not have debugging or other things active at the time and I can not turn anything on or off. It only has Wi-Fi enabled.
I can't even turn the phone off except for pulling the battery out since I need to touch the shut down option that comes in the menu when you hold the power button on the side.
Is there a way to view my Call History or SMS messages from my computer? Please bear in mind that I can not install any apps or give any commands at all to my phone by the use of its screen and it is not recognized by the computer when it is connected via USB.
Most success I've had is the program called Samsung Link that allows my computer to connect to the phone by Wi-Fi and browse files, pictures, videos and such. (Also I did another check for both USB and Wi-Fi connections while typing these. USB still does not work)
I do not have access to another phone to swap screens-motherboards-whatnot.
Kind regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You won't be able to view the stuff you're looking for with a file manager on PC, Windows can only view the MTP portion of your sdcard, it cant access or view your system partition which is where mmssms.db is located. You will need to have the device rooted in order to retrieve the files you're after.
You can connect a USB mouse to your device and make selections using the mouse instead of touch, the tricky part is knowing where things are on the display to select them, you can use screenshots of the needed screens from another device like yours. If you can get it to connect to PC via VLC you can share the screen to your PC and navigate that way(you'll need root to access the folder you're after), if you can get it to screencast you can navigate that way also.
Regardless of whether you repair the screen or not, you will have to root the device to do what you're doing.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk
angred said:
I dropped my s3 and now it has a very thin crack on it. First I was able to see some colours but now it is only black - touch screen gave no response aswell. I was also lucky enough to get the battery out on the initial drop so now all I can do is turn the phone on with or without simcard and let it connect to Wi-Fi. There were no SD Cards aswell.
The phone is not rooted, it is just "stock" in every way.
Getting it repaired costs more than what I paid for it while buying it from a friend years ago so I'm not even considering to get it repaired, I will buy a new smart phone, probably a Galaxy Note 4 or 5. (I'm not sure but this info might be useful. My smart phone knowledge is not much but may be there is a way to fix my issue(that I am explaining below) with the use of a Galaxy Note - without disintegrating the new Note)
My problem is that I need to retrieve a phone number that I didn't have the chance to save yet at the time of the drop. The number is probably one of the latest 5 in Call History and there was also an SMS that came from that number - that specific SMS was saved on the phone, not the simcard.
Absolutely nothing happens on computer side(Windows 7 Ultimate) when I plug it via USB. Can't see the content of the phone in File Explorer or anything else. I updated drivers. The phone starts charging, though.
Samsung Kies does not work as it does not recognize the phone when connected via USB and I need to scan the QR Code to connect it via Wi-Fi which is impossible since I can not give any commands to the phone nor see anything but a black screen.
I have this Samsung Link program. It recognizes the phone through Wi-Fi and I can browse files in the phone from my computer. I checked all files, there is nothing SMS or Call History related. On my web searches, I found out that SMS messages are stored in "/data/data/com.android.providers.telephony/databeses/mmssms.db" but there are no such folders that start with "com.android.providers".
I did not have debugging or other things active at the time and I can not turn anything on or off. It only has Wi-Fi enabled.
I can't even turn the phone off except for pulling the battery out since I need to touch the shut down option that comes in the menu when you hold the power button on the side.
Is there a way to view my Call History or SMS messages from my computer? Please bear in mind that I can not install any apps or give any commands at all to my phone by the use of its screen and it is not recognized by the computer when it is connected via USB.
Most success I've had is the program called Samsung Link that allows my computer to connect to the phone by Wi-Fi and browse files, pictures, videos and such. (Also I did another check for both USB and Wi-Fi connections while typing these. USB still does not work)
I do not have access to another phone to swap screens-motherboards-whatnot.
Kind regards.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can also try flashing a custom recovery(CWM if you can get it, what I'm talking about might not work with TWRP and if it did it would still be tricky). CWM can be used by the hardware keys to make selections where TWRP is touch which wouldn't work for you. With a CWM custom recovery you could make a backup of the device then copy the backup over to PC then extract everything you need. You could even root and flash TWRP then boot to TWRP and connect to adb and use adb to create a backup, there are instructions that are easy to find for creating backups with adb, just make sure you understand the instructions so that you're sure you're retrieving everything you need. Then extract what you need from the adb backup.
Maybe easier but more time consuming, contact your service provider and have them send you a copy of your call history, it should all the numbers you've called during the period of time that you ask them for.
Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

Total Nube with a smashed/squashed, but "live" S9+

Hey all, I am totally new to this sort of thing with phones, but have a long IT/networking/Telecom career behind me. I am new to the site, so don't know the best way to find what I'm looking for. My predicament is this: I have an S9+ that was run over (many times ). The case and screen are totally smashed, like a fractured mirror, and are inop. The buttons do not work. BUT it is still powered up and connected to my LAN via WiFi - I can see it in my Connected Devices list on the router. I plugged it into my PC with the USB cable, but unfortunately the PC is not recognizing it. I have already obtained and activated a replacement S9+. Is there any way to recover my data, apps, logs, etc. from the squashed device?
FNBerzerker said:
Hey all, I am totally new to this sort of thing with phones, but have a long IT/networking/Telecom career behind me. I am new to the site, so don't know the best way to find what I'm looking for. My predicament is this: I have an S9+ that was run over (many times ). The case and screen are totally smashed, like a fractured mirror, and are inop. The buttons do not work. BUT it is still powered up and connected to my LAN via WiFi - I can see it in my Connected Devices list on the router. I plugged it into my PC with the USB cable, but unfortunately the PC is not recognizing it. I have already obtained and activated a replacement S9+. Is there any way to recover my data, apps, logs, etc. from the squashed device?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi,
You can try to connect to findmymobile.samsung.com and find your device. Before that you should have a samsung account configured on the device.
After connecting to the website, you should see your phone with the location and when you click on it you will see some options such as "Save".
Click on it and select what you want to save (app data are not saved if i'm not wrong).
Try from there and let me know if it work for you
Thanks for your response, riojosepha! Unfortunately I did/do not have a samsung account. At least not one intentionally set-up by me. Was one perhaps setup automatically when I purchased the phone through VZN? I'll try poking around at findmymobile.samsung.com as you suggest.
To close out this thread: I am unable to access the phone. I am going to take it to a data recovery company.

Categories

Resources