Hello,
First time user here. Yesterday I have managed to install [e-0.1-201811172002-nightly-mido.zip] after unlocking the phone.
I have used MyPhoneExplorer to backup Calls/Contacts/Messages - went ok but the old messages do not appear in Signal, although I recall it asked to move them into the Signal encrypted database.
Daedalus
Xiaomi Redmi Note 4 - “mido”
e-0.1-201811172002-nightly-mido.zip
I’m not sure, but I think there will be no way to do. you have forgotten to backup your messages with signal on your last OS. if you had done you where able to restore via signal.
But with the MyPhoneExplorer backup you can’t import to signal.
Big workaround : go back to your old OS, restore backup, backup your messages with Signal. And start again with e. Than you can restore your signal backup on e.
@harvey186 On the other device I did not use Signal, just the default sms app.
There must be a way. We cannot expect users to move from their default sms application to Signal (as default on /e/) and loose their entire messages history. The move should be seamless.
This thread https://community.signalusers.org/t/import-plaintext-option-seems-to-be-gone/3517/4 shows that the option to import the plain text database from default sms app was there but have been removed in newer versions. MyPhoneExplorer restored the sms database most probably in the same place as the default sms app would put it, just Signal did not manage to import it correctly.
On my phone now Signal is displaying only 2 messages (sent after installing /e/). I have made a backup from Signal (just to test it for the 2 messages) and the backup said something more than 400 (it count them briefly). So there are more messages imported, just it doesn’t show them.
As a workaround I installed Silence (a fork of Signal) and it beatifully asked if I want to import the message database and it worked. 465 messages, it told me, although I’ve had around 7000, but I have found that it organized them as threads and counted only the threads - so it’s ok. But this is very much the same number of messages Signal is counting when making the backup, just it does not show them.
I have also checked the Signal help and on this page https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Backup-and-Restore-Messages they say
“You will only be able to restore your chat history on a new install of Signal. Signal will automatically detect your messages and media from a local backup and ask you to input the 30-digit passphrase prior to registration.”
And my next question: how do I restore a Signal backup on /e/, because it’s preinstalled?
Daedalus
That’s all what I have written. no way to import ‘normal’ SMS to Signal.
pls ask yourself if it is really needed to have all old SMS available. if yes, ask yourself if it would be OK, to have the message somewhere. if yes, import your messages in a document or spread sheet or something else.
And I think, everyone who swap to a new ROM or system must know, that one or two things will get los or unavailable.
But one workaround : you can use silence from f-droid.it’s also a good app for secure sms and in silence you can import the messages from your old SMS app
@daedalus you have raised a valid concern. Please can you put this as an issue in Gitlab https://gitlab.e.foundation/groups/e/-/issues so that the development team can track and resolve this. While this appears as an issue from the Signal app side raising a bug would help /e/ team decide on the app, its use and consider alternate options if required.
Looping @rhunault from dev team