Switching Macs or phones
Move to a new device without leaving years of messages behind on the old one.
The problem
Migration Assistant and iCloud move what is on the device today. They do not move the messages that were already trimmed, or the ones that only exist in an old backup on the outgoing Mac. People discover the gap months later, after the old machine has been wiped.
Why Message Vault helps
- Captures the old Mac’s Messages database and every iPhone backup on it before you hand it over.
- Merges old and new sources, so the archive is the union of everything, not just the latest device.
- The coverage view shows exactly which dates each source holds, so you know what you are about to lose.
- For every old drive or backup, the app says whether every message and attachment is verified present elsewhere before you erase it.
How to do it
- On the old Mac, install Message Vault, add the Messages database and each iPhone backup, and scan into a vault on an external drive.
- Move the drive to the new Mac and open the same vault. Add the new Mac’s Messages database as another source.
- Check the deletion-safety report for the old sources before you wipe the old Mac.
Message Vault archives messages. It does not put them back into the Messages app on the new device, and it reads backups only from a Mac, not from a phone directly.
$29 per year, per Mac. 14-day free trial. Cancel any time. Requires macOS 14 or later.
Other use cases: Family memories · Corporations · Executive teams · Legal cases · Custody disputes · Estate and executors · Journalists and researchers · macOS deleted my messages · Small business owners