How to Recover Deleted Messages on MacBook Air [with 3 Proven Methods]

Suppose you accidentally deleted messages on your MacBook Air; you went to the Trash folder but couldn't find them. Unlike other deleted items that can be restored from the Trash folder, the deleted messages were not moved to the Trash bin, so you can't recover deleted messages on a MacBook Air using the "Put Back" feature.

Don't worry! This article will discuss three effective methods to recover deleted messages on a MacBook Air. Read on to learn the detailed information!

How to Find Messages on a MacBook Air

In most cases, you can recover deleted files from Mac Trash without software, but the deleted messages won't appear in the Trash folder. Here are steps to find deleted messages on a MacBook Air:

Step 1. Open "Message > Preferences > General" to confirm the options.

Step 2. Click "Go > Go to Folder" at the top menu. Type ~/Library/Messages in the box to open the messages folder.

Your chat history file in chat.db format. The photos, audio, and video files you received in your iMessages chat are stored in the attachment folder.

How to Recover Deleted Messages on a MacBook Air

Once you delete the messages, you should take recovery actions as soon as possible to avoid further data loss. Here are 3 proven methods to recover deleted messages on a MacBook Air:

Fix 1. Recover Deleted Messages on a MacBook Air Using Software

The most effective way to recover deleted files on a Mac is to use professional data recovery software EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac. It can quickly scan your Mac hard drive and display all recoverable files on the software window, which you can recover with one click.

With this powerful and trusted data recovery tool on your MacBook Air, you can recover permanently deleted files on Mac, including deleted messages, notes, photos, emails, and more. Besides, EaseUS software has a user-friendly interface to help users without any data recovery experience to recover deleted data quickly!

Check out the following steps to recover your deleted messages on a MacBook Air:

Step 1. Search for lost files

Select the disk location to search for lost files (it can be an internal HDD/SSD or a removable storage device) on macOS Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, and the latest Sonoma. Click the "Search for lost files" button.

Note: Before data recovery, you'd better click "Disk Backup" from the left sidebar to create a backup of your Mac to avoid further data loss. After backing up, the software can recover data from the Mac backup, and your computer can wirte new data again.

Step 2. Go through the scanning results

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac will immediately scan your selected disk volume and display the scanning results.

Step 3. Select the file(s) and recover

In the scan results, select the file(s) to preview and click the "Recover" button to have them back.

If this article is informative, share it on social media to help others learn how to recover deleted messages on a MacBook Air.

Fix 2. Recover Deleted Messages on a MacBook Air with Time Machine

To recover the deleted messages on your MacBook Air, you can restore your Mac from the Time Machine backups. Here are the steps to refer to:

Step 1. Click the Time Machine icon at the top menu and select "Browse Time Machine Backups".

Step 2. Choose a backup containing your deleted messages by the date and time, and click "Restore" to return the deleted messages.

Don't find a Time Machine backup with the deleted messages? This article will help you resolve this problem; take a look!

Fix 3. Find Deleted Messages on a MacBook Air from Other Devices

You can find deleted messages from your iPhone or iPad if your messages are synced on the same Apple ID. So you can recover iMessages on your iPhone or iPad.

However, sometimes the iMessage doesn't sync on Mac. This article will solve this error, so take a look if you encounter the problem!

Conclusion

This article introduces how to recover deleted messages on a MacBook Air. If you accidentally deleted essential conversations from the Message app on your MacBook Air, install EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac to recover your messages within three steps!

How to Recover Deleted Messages on MacBook Air FAQs

Here are questions people frequently ask when they search for how to recover deleted messages on a MacBook Air:

1. How do I retrieve accidentally deleted iMessages?

You can download the professional data recovery software EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard for Mac, choose your Mac hard drive, and use this powerful software to view all files on your Mac hard drive.

2. How do I recover deleted messages without software?

You can use the built-in program Mac Time Machine to restore your Mac and recover deleted messages from a Time Machine backup.