Forum Discussion

Earyamk's avatar
Earyamk
Brass Contributor
Oct 29, 2026

Does SMS Backup and Restore have a PC version for viewing text messages?

Just backed up a few years of text messages from my Android phone using SMS Backup & Restore. The backup was saved as an XML file, and now I'd like to open and read those messages on my Windows 10 PC...
Abigailop's avatar
Abigailop
Tin Contributor
Oct 29, 2026

SMS-BnR-Tools is a Windows tool built to read and display XML backups from the Android app SMS Backup & Restore. It groups messages by contact in a data grid, so you see conversations with names, dates, and timestamps instead of raw code.

How to Use It:

1. Download the tool: Get the executable from the binary folder on the project's GitHub page—no installation needed.

2. Open your backup: Launch the tool and load your sms-*.xml file.

3. View conversations: Messages appear grouped by contact; select any contact to read the thread.

For a command-line approach, place the executable in a folder and run:

SMSBnRTools.exe "C:\path\to\your\sms-backup.xml"

This generates individual XML files per contact, which you can open in a browser or spreadsheet.

A Note on "SMS Backup and Restore for PC free download"

The official app is Android-only. What you find labeled as "SMS Backup and Restore for PC free download" are usually Android emulators running the mobile app on Windows—they won't give you a clean, native way to read your XML file. For simply viewing backed-up messages on a PC, SMS-BnR-Tools is the more direct solution.