1.Open the Messages app and enter the text conversation that you want to view the old messages.
2.Tap the search bar and enter a phone number or a keyword related to the message.
3.Go ahead and select the desired old messages from the list, and click "Recover" to save them on your computer.
4.Open the Messages app and enter All Messages > Swipe down with your finger to expose the search box.
5.Enter the phone number, the name or the keyword about the messages you are looking for.
6.Choose Messages and it will start scanning your iPhone > After the scan, it will show all your text messages and iMessages.
7.you can click on the "Messages" category on the left-hand side, and see a preview of specific text conversation on the right.
8.Repeat the same steps to turn off Messages in iCloud on your iPhone. When a notification pops up, select Disable and Download Messages.
9.Tap the search bar and enter the keywords or phone number > Preview the results list.
10.It will show all relevant results and you can tap the message you are looking for to have a check.
11.Proceed to Choose backup screen, then choose the backup you want to restore from in iCloud.
12.Connect your iPhone to the computer if you need to recover old messages to iPhone directly > Here we take Recover from Backup as an example, then click Right Arrow to proceed.
13.It will scroll up a few messages to the point where it is loaded. You can keep tapping the top bar until you find what you're looking for.
14.To retrieve old text messages from iPhone memory, connect your device to computer with a help of Lightning cable and launch the program. You will get a main screen shown below.
15.Click Standard backup. Or select Encrypted backup if you want to keep the data secure.
16.Enter the keywords or phone number in the search box and the results list will automatically update as you type.
17.When ask you to sign in to iCloud, type in with your Apple ID and password.
18.Confirm the action by logging with your Apple ID. A few minutes later, you will be greeted with a HELLO screen prompting you to set it up as a new device.
19.When it's done, click the "Messages" category located on the left menu. You can preview any backed up message conversation by click the specific name before the phone number.
20.Launch iTunes and connect your device to the computer. If you're running a Mac with Catalina 10.15 version or above, open Finder app.
21.When you see the device icon appear in the top left corner, click it. In Finder, select your device name under Location on the left side menu.
22.Wait for the sync to run. Uploading your old texts to iCloud takes a few time to complete, so you have to stay signed-in to your iCloud account the whole time.
23.Once logged in, uncheck other types of items, click the blue iCloud Backup, followed by Start.
24.The program will start searching for backup(s) you created in iCloud server and finally list them on the window, like the image below.
25.Touch the location of time (top-left corner of the screen) or network (top-right corner of the screen).
26.Sign into your iCloud account with Apple ID and password. The program won't save any of your information.
27.Tap the top bar on the screen interface. The bar displays the time, your carrier's name, battery level, etc.
28.Click "Start Scan" to take a deep scan on the device. Be patient, as the whole process might take a while. Once the scan is end, you will get an overview window, indicating how many of data files it found.
29. Then all old text messages will be listed here, including messages and attachments. Choose Sort by date and texts will be listed from old-time to newer date. Select the messages you want to retrieve and click To Device or To Computer button.