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Search iPhone messages to see old messages without scrolling

To keep scrolling your screen for hours to find just a little message is so tedious, and usually, it doesn’t prove fruitful, which makes it even more annoying. If you are also in this situation and trying to search for some of your important messages, then you are on the exact article. This blog is going to dictate all possible solutions on how you can search iPhone messages through swift navigation tools. So don’t disappoint and keep learning!

Can you search iPhone text messages?

Yes of course! You can search iPhone text messages with quite ease through several ways, but the condition is that you must have those messages in your phone, which means that if you have deleted them manually or have set them to retention time then you can’t search them.

For example, Apple offers a time duration of 30 days, last year or permanently to keep your messages, and after the selected time your messages will disappear automatically.

 Can you search iPhone text messages

One more thing to bear in mind is that if you have switched your messages to iCloud then it will be a helping hand in searching your messages but if you have deleted them from your iPhone, then they will be automatically deleted from iCloud.

How far back can text messages be retrieved on an iPhone?

You can search text messages on your iPhone that you received many years ago, for example, 4 years ago or even more, but if we talk about recovering them, then you can do it within 30 days after deletion, after that no method can play its part in finding your messages.

How to find old text messages on my iPhone?

The number one fastest method to scroll old messages on iPhone is the search bar option, it keeps you away from the cumbersome scrolling procedure and gives the most accurate outcomes in just a few seconds, if you wanna try this helpful search procedure then read the step-by-step guide below:

Step 1. Turn on your iPhone and open the Messages app from the menu grid.

Step 2. Now go to all messages section.

Step 3. At this point, if you scroll down the screen, then you will see a search bar at the top of the screen.

Step 4. Here, the same exact as in the previous method, just enter any keyword, phone number, a specific phrase or anything you remember about that text.

Search old messages through the search bar

Step 5. Now you will see a list of the related results here, so you can pick the specific message that you require.

How do you find old messages on your iPhone without scrolling?

After a few swipes up and down, scrolling becomes awkward, do you agree that there should be some fast navigation tools to locate your old messages? Well! In this section of the article, we will discuss the 2 most appreciable working procedures that can find out your old messages as quickly as possible.

i) Search via iPhone built-in Spotlight search
ii) Search via 3rd party Fonetool app

i) Search via iPhone built-in Spotlight search

Another most convenient way to find text messages in fact anything ( songs, calendar events, email, web, etc.) from iPhone is Spotlight Search, its searching procedure is as easy as pie, so just follow the small steps below:

Step 1. Turn on your iPhone, and swipe down the home screen from the middle.

Step 2. Here you will see a search bar at the top of the scream, just tap on that.

Step 3. Now try to remember any keyword, relevant phrase or phone number from which you want to find that specific message, and enter that on the search bar.

Search iPhone messages via Spotlight Search

Step 4. Satisfactory! Now it will start showing all the relevant results, make a selection of the target message and open up by tapping on it.

ii) Search via 3rd party Fonetool app

“FoneTool is a free, easiest and most efficient iOS backup software, you can search and transfer your files between operating systems through it.”

FoneTool can present all of your older chats before you on a large screen and you can then search individual messages using the search feature. Therefore, it prevents you from the hassle of just scrolling up and down the screen for hours, which usually proves useless in the end, so to avail the benefit of this amazing tool, you must know how to use it, therefore let’s explore its mini procedure step-by-step:

Step 1. First, install FoneTool on your PC.

Step 2. Now, with the help of a USB cable connect your iPhone to your computer

Step 3. Go to the Phone Backup option and choose “Selective Backup”.

Choose selective Backup

Step 4. Alright! Now from the menu list select “Messages”, now scanning will start and all your text messages and iMessages will start appearing on the screen > click on the magnify icon ( top right corner ) and type in the message part which you want to find. That’s it.

Open the Messenger

Step 5. Moreover, if you want to backup iPhone messages then “ Start Backup” and your messages will backup to a USB flash Drive or external Hard Drive.

Start Backup

What is the fastest method to scroll to old messages on iPhone?

It’s frustrating to look for an important single text or a small conversation, but Apple takes care of its users and provides all possible facilities to keep them away from any disturbing and tiresome situation, so let’s swiftly explore the easiest method to search iPhone messages;

“Hidden scroll feature allows you to keep scrolling with just a single tap so you can go through messages easily without the hassle of moving thumb again & again.”

If you want to search your iMessages without wasting any time then the Hidden Scroll feature cannot be denied, so let’s take a look at the procedure of how to use it;

Step 1. Open the messaging app on your iPhone and make a selection of the conversation which you want to search.

Step 2. Tap on any side of the front camera notch displaying battery %, network signals, time, etc.

Find old text messages via the Hidden Scroll feature

Step 3. Well! Now it will start scrolling up through the specific chat which you have selected before.

Step 4. Just keep on looking and taping until you don’t find your required message, that’s all!

Why can’t I search for old messages on my iPhone?

There may be plenty of reasons that can restrict you from searching out your old messages, but most of those problems are discussed here below:

Due to bugs/viruses: Sometimes, errors and flaws occur in the software due to malware or viruses that force the system to operate unexpectedly and incorrectly, so in that condition, your device would not respond to your search messages as you expected.

Why can’t I search for old messages on my iPhone

Accidental deletion: It is most possible that you have unintentionally deleted your message, and after some time you forgot and just kept on searching for that, yes! Unfortunately, there’s no way to find that out.

Storage full: If your iPhone is already full then it will be surely difficult to successfully load the older messages.

To help you get out of this situation, there are some solutions available for you such as;

Delete some useless files: If you will free up some space, then old messages may start coming in search.

Change language: Sometimes, language may cause issues so, open setting > General> Language and region, and search again for old messages.

Turn off Search and Siri’s suggestions: First, turn it off and then again turn it on. Now again try for old messages, hopefully they will appear.

Update the latest version of iOS: It’s a quite helpful method to figure out this problem, Go to settings> General > Software update, and that’s it!

How to monitor your kid’s phone messages?

There are a number of phone monitoring devices available in the digital market, through which can keep an eye on kids’ daily onscreen activities, their location, online connections and many more, now if we are talking about monitoring kids’ phone messages, then how we can forget FlashGet kid app.

“FlashGet Kid is the most popular and accepted parental control app which keeps you updated about your children’s mobile activities from anywhere anytime.”

FlashGet Kids

FlashGet Kids has many unignorable amazing features

Notification tracker: As FlashGet Kids allows you to monitor your kid’s screen 24/7, once you sync your kid’s phone screen with yours then, whenever anyone sends a message to your kid either on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, etc, a notification will automatically appear on your screen, so this helps you to protect your kid cyberbullying, frauds and online scams.

Notifications

Snapshot: Snapshot is another fabulous feature of the FlashGet kids app through which you can view real-time images from your kid’s phone screen, so its really helpful if you see that your child is involved in any illegal activity or is watching toxic contact then you are able to warn and restrict them before the time fly.

Screen Snapshot

GPS Location Tracker: If someone has texted a suspicious message to your child and now you are curious that he/she may not get harmed, then FlashGet Kid helps in this regard also, you can track their location by “Location Tracker” and maintain your peace of mind.

keyword detector: It contains a list of harmful words ( like alcohol, adultery, porn, etc. ), and you can also set a specific word ( like someone’s name, location, etc. ) and when your kid receives a message including any of that keywords, you will get a notification on your phone instantly.

So, if your kid has an iPhone then you can check history messages through the methods (search bar, spotlight and other tools which we have discussed above) or you can make use of the amazing FlashGet kids app which can protect your kids from unhealthy online connections.

FAQs

Does the iPhone save old messages?

Yes! the iPhone can save your old text messages, moreover, it’s completely up to you whether you have chosen the timer to delete messages after 30 days, 1 year or keep them forever.

How to get the time and date on my iPhone messages?

Usually, every message has its time mentioned below it, but if you want to check the exact timing of some older messages then long tap on the message, swipe the screen to the left, and you will be able to see

How do I go to the very beginning of messages on my iPhone?

The older method was just swiping down the screen until you reached the first message, but now you can just tap on the top right or left corner of the screen, and it will automatically get you to the very first message.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kidcaring, Chief Writer in FlashGet Kids.
She is dedicated to shaping parental control in the digital world. She is an experienced expert in the parenting industry and has engaged in reporting and writing different parental control apps. For the past five years, she has provided additional parental guides for the family and has contributed to changing parenting methods.

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