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Monday, October 17, 2011

Transfer SMS Messages from Nokia (Symbian) to Android


Two months ago, I switched from my Nokia N8 to my new Samsung Galaxy S II handset. Of course, I had to move all my data from the old phone to the new one. Didn't know, however, that switching between Symbian and Android isn't very well facilitated. It was pretty easy to move contacts, pictures and media from Symbian to Android but the complicated part was moving sms messages. I found some helpful methods online such as this (I suggest you try it first before reading further and trying my method) but unfortunately it didn't work for me because my Ovi Suite version was new and not supported by the Nokia2AndroidSMS application (it failed to extract my messages). So, I had to figure out a different way to do this, which required some coding. I decided to share my method with the world as I'm sure lots of other users faced similar problems. This should work no matter what version of Ovi Suite you got:
  1. Connect your Nokia handset and start Nokia Ovi Suite on your PC
  2. Create a backup .nbu file (it doesn't matter what you select for backup, as long as it includes messages)
  3. Download NBU Explorer (open-source program which allows you to explore .nbu backup files and export them)
  4. Run NbuExplorer.exe > File > Open > Browse to your .nbu file and open it
  5. Go to the Messages tab and click on "Export Messages" button located above the table on the right pane
  6. in the "Save as type" field, select (*.xml) and save the file
    • ATTENTION: As of version 3.0 of NbuExplorer, it now natively supports exporting messages in SMS Backup & Restore XML format, so you can export your messages in this format and skip to step 13. Thanks to Petrusek for adding this useful feature :)
  7. I wrote a little tool which converts the .xml file to the format accepted by the SMS Backup & Restore Android application. Download XML2Android.exe
  8. Save the tool in the same folder where you saved the .xml extracted file
  9. Open the command line console (Win7: Start > type "cmd" and press enter)
  10. CD to the directory where you saved the files (e.g. CD C:\my_messages\)
  11. Execute: XML2Android <yourfile.xml> (e.g. XML2Android my_sms.xml)
  12. This will generate a file called AndroidSMS.xml, copy this file to your Android phone
  13. On your Android, download the SMS Backup & Restore app from Google Play
  14. Now, simply run the app on your phone and Restore your old messages from the generated XML file. You're done!
Note: A user reported that he faced some problems with weird characters in the exported XML file from NBU Explorer. The XML2Android app will report the location of the invalid character(s) so make sure you modify the file using a text editor (I recommend Notepad++) to remove the bad lines and re-run the app against it (to avoid missing messages). Thanks to "Dr. Manjit M" who reported this problem below in the comments.

Note 2: The XML2Android.exe tool requires .Net Framework 3.5 to run, if you have Windows 7 it shouldn't be a problem (you might need to install the required framework on other Windows versions). Also, it is a basic tool which I wrote roughly without capturing any exceptions or false usage... Make sure you use it correctly before reporting any bugs

Edit5: Updated link to XML2Android.exe executable.
Edit4: Updated post with NbuExplorer's native support for exporting messages in the appropriate format
Edit3: Updated the XML2Android.exe tool to set empty values for missing elements (should reduce error possibility)
Edit2: Added exception handling to skip erroneous messages
Edit: There was a bug with the XML2Android.exe originally uploaded app. It has now been fixed

204 comments:

1 – 200 of 204   Newer›   Newest»
Albert said...

Hello, I tried to use the XML2Android.exe, but it crashes directly, when I start it and deletes all informations of my xml file. I'm using Windows 7 64 bit, so it shouldn't be a problem with the net framework. Can you help me somehow?

Anonymous said...

there need to be the AndroidSMS.xml file present on the same directory for the tool to work. Is a bug???

Albert said...

Still not working.

FZ said...

Hi Albert, it seems there was a bug with the originally uploaded app. I have fixed it and uploaded the fixed version. Please try with the new file. Thanks for reporting this :)

Anonymous said...

Tried but XML2Android crashes while execution

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>d:

D:\>galaxy:
'galaxy:' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

D:\>cd galaxy

D:\Galaxy>XML2Android my_sms.xml

Unhandled Exception: System.Xml.XmlException: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an
invalid character. Line 2665, position 20.
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Int32 pos, String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ThrowInvalidChar(Int32 pos, Char invChar)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseNumericCharRefInline(Int32 startPos, Boo
lean expand, BufferBuilder internalSubsetBuilder, Int32& charCount, EntityType&
entityType)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseText(Int32& startPos, Int32& endPos, Int
32& outOrChars)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseText()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElementContent()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlReader.SetupReadElementContentAsXxx(String methodName)
at System.Xml.XmlReader.ReadElementContentAsString()
at XML2Android.Program.Main(String[] args)

Plz Help...!!!
Thanks..!!! :-)

FZ said...

Hello Anonymous, I'm currently away from my PC but I'll get back to you as soon as I look into it :)

FZ said...

Ok, so it seems the problem is with some erroneous character(s) in your exported messages file. I have updated the XML2Android app to skip erroneous lines and print a warning instead. Please try again and let me know if it works.

Anonymous said...

Hey thank you so much for helping.....
This time it did not crash...got the converted xml file transferred to galaxy s2, but out of some 2300 sms only 280 got converted and rest of the sms were missing.....
so what could be done...??!

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Windows\system32>D:

D:\>cd galaxy

D:\Galaxy>XML2Android my_sms.xml
Warning: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 2665, positi
on 20.

D:\Galaxy>XML2Android sms.xml
Warning: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 2665, positi
on 20.


D:\Galaxy>

Thanks once again....
Plz help... :-)

FZ said...

Open your original xml file and go to line 2665 (ctrl+g) and see what if you can find the weird character(s), feel free to paste it here so I can help (remove sensitive information if any).

Anonymous said...

Thanx....
Hey which programme should use to open that original xml file (Notepad, explorer or...???) to find that particular line....?

FZ said...

Notepad is fine. I personally use Notepad++ (free).

Dr. Manjit M said...

THANKS A LOT.....!!!!!! :-)
The word thank you is not enough for this great help.....!

A lot many people use an android phone now a days, but after searching internet for a long time unfortunately i failed to find a proper solution to do this sms transfer from Nokia to a Android phone until i found this webpage.

As per your advice I did download Notepad++ and opened up the file in it, selected and deleted all those the messages having unusual characters. Finally i got the file converted without any errors with the help of XML2Android.exe. Right now i have copied my 3305 sms from the NBU backup file of nokia to my new Samsung Galaxy S2. And i feel this is the best method....

I'm sure a lot many people out there would be searching internet and struggling to get all those sms migrated to an android phone from nokia with out errors.....

So i would request you to put up this method in all those social networking websites, android forums etc...etc... so that everyone could easily migrate to a new android phone and keep exploring....!!! It would be agreat help to all....

Thanks a lot once again...! :-)

FZ said...

You're welcome, I'm glad it worked out for you :)) Hopefully this method will eventually spread all around the web after it proves its usefulness. So spread the word!!

Anonymous said...

hi! i got this error!

C:\Users\user\Desktop\Installers>XML2Android my_sms.xml

Unhandled Exception: System.IO.FileNotFoundException: Could not find file 'C:\Us
ers\user\Desktop\Installers\my_sms.xml'.
File name: 'C:\Users\user\Desktop\Installers\my_sms.xml'
at System.IO.__Error.WinIOError(Int32 errorCode, String maybeFullPath)
at System.IO.FileStream.Init(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access, I
nt32 rights, Boolean useRights, FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions o
ptions, SECURITY_ATTRIBUTES secAttrs, String msgPath, Boolean bFromProxy)
at System.IO.FileStream..ctor(String path, FileMode mode, FileAccess access,
FileShare share, Int32 bufferSize, FileOptions options)
at System.IO.StreamReader..ctor(String path, Encoding encoding, Boolean detec
tEncodingFromByteOrderMarks, Int32 bufferSize)
at System.IO.StreamReader..ctor(String path)
at XML2Android.Program.Main(String[] args)

C:\Users\user\Desktop\Installers>


Thanks,
R-18

FZ said...

Hi Anonymous,

my_sms.xml is just an example, you must specify the name of YOUR file instead (the one you exported using NBU Explorer) and it must be in the same directory.

Anonymous said...

i was the last to comment. I changed the file name and it worked.

Thanks a lot sir!

kevin69 said...

Hi FZ,

This is the error im getting when i try to execute the file..it however created AndroidSMS.xml file but its just 0 bytes..I copied it to my phone (samsung I9003) and tried anyway but it jus shows the copy count as 0...really would appreciate if you could help me out , Thank You :)

C:\Documents and Settings\xxxx\My Documents\Txts>XML2Android txts.xml

Unhandled Exception: System.InvalidOperationException: The ReadElementContentAsS
tring method is not supported on node type None. Line 10018, position 22.
at System.Xml.XmlReader.SetupReadElementContentAsXxx(String methodName)
at System.Xml.XmlReader.ReadElementContentAsString()
at XML2Android.Program.Main(String[] args)

I also used the notepad ++ and went to the line as per your previous posts ,line 10018 is the last line in the file and below is how it ends at column 22.There are no other characters after the '>' symbol.I have removed the '<' symbol at the beginning of the below line as it wasn't letting me paste it.

/DataSetNbuExplorer>

If you require i would send a screenshot of it. Awaiting your reply.

Thanks :)

FZ said...

Hi Kevin,

I'm not sure what could possibly be the problem, can you post the last few lines before that line (or just send a screenshot).

kevin69 said...

Hello Fz ,

Thanks for the quick reply ,if you can tell me a way to mail you the screenshot will do so...as its not letting me paste the html code here
Thanks :)

FZ said...

You can send it to sirr.fz (gmail)

kevin69 said...

Hello FZ ,

I've added the lines before line 10016 as per your suggestion

'
'

And it worked like a charm ,i now have all my old txts back on my android phone. THANKS TO YOU . I really appreciate your effort in helping me resolve this issue and your prompt replies. Keep Rocking !!

Thank you Soooo Much :)

God Bless !!!

FZ said...

Glad it worked for you. Thanks for your input, I'll update my tool accordingly :)

Anonymous said...

M not conversant with des technical things so nt able to understand how to do dis cmd functions..pls help me...m giving extract of cmd window below



Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\compaq>CD D:\praju\prajakta\New Folder\XML2Android mes
sages.xml
The system cannot find the path specified.

C:\Documents and Settings\compaq>CD D:\praju\prajakta\New Folder

C:\Documents and Settings\compaq>D:\praju\prajakta\New Folder\XML2Android messag
es.xml
'D:\praju\prajakta\New' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\Documents and Settings\compaq>

Anonymous said...

Very useful post!
working fine : Nokia N900 to Android
Thanks a lot.

Ism.

FZ said...

If the path contains spaces, you must enclose it in quotes to CD into it. The correct command would be: CD "D:\praju\prajakta\New Folder"

Glad it worked for you Ism :)

Anonymous said...

Can't thank you enough for your help and such a simple solution to this problem..
Will try to publish this post's link, wherever people can find it beneficial.
Thx a ton again :)

Anonymous said...

sry m not able to do it..can u pls write whole programme for me plssssss..... :(
my file is in D drive... path is D:\praju\prajakta\New Folder

nd d file name is messages..

pls write the whole programme for me.. thnks a ton in advance..

FZ said...

At what point are you stuck so I can help you out?

Bhaskar said...

Hi FZ,
I'm experiencing the same problem as Kevin69 - an error on the last character of the last line of the XML.

What lines did you suggest to him to add?

Thanks,
-B

Anonymous said...

Hi, I am up to the part of running the XML2Android.exe but it won't run. It comes up with XML2Android has stopped working...

Any clue what I'm doing wrong?

I am desprate to get this to work. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

FZ said...

@Bhaskar: there were missing tags in the last sms record: <number/> and <name/>, not sure if it's the same in your case.

@Anonymous: Did you read the note and make sure you got .net framework 3.5 installed?

Don said...

THANKYOU SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH BOSS..........

THANKYOUUUUUUUUUUU SUPERB POST......I GOT ALL MYMSGS....
YAHOOOOOOOOO

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, it's working fine ! Great work.

CarlosAMG said...

Hello, I tried to use the XML2Android.exe, but it crashes directly, when I start it and deletes all informations of my xml file. I'm using Windows 7 64 bit.I read that it was a bug,but you have already fixed it.can you give me the link with the fix version of the XML2Android.exe??thanks :)

FZ said...

CarlosAMG, what do you mean it crashes? does it print out any errors?

CarlosAMG said...

FZ , when I open the XML2Android.exe,the black window appears and then inmediately windows tells me that "XML2Android stop working" and it gave me two options "close the program" and "find an online solution".After that it creates the AndroidSMS.xml file,but it weights 0Kb,because it's empty.Thanks FZ for be so quick. :)

FZ said...

That's because you didn't follow the steps correctly, please read carefully and you should be ok.

Anonymous said...

hi fz
i;m using Windows 7 64bit and net framework 4, when I open the XML2Android.exe,the black window appears and then inmediately windows tells me that "XML2Android stop working" and it gave me two options "close the program" and "find an online solution".After that it creates the AndroidSMS.xml file,but it weights 0Kb,because it's empty.please help me. the step 11 how that applies?

CarlosAMG said...

FZ,you were right!I was making a mistake on step 11.Thank you very very much for everything :)

CarlosAMG said...

@ Anonymous,you have to open the command line console,and there,copy the direction of the folder where you have your files and then press enter.Then write "XML2Android (the name of your file).xml" and press enter again.And you should have a file called "AndroidSMS.xml" :)

Anonymous said...

Hi CarlosAMG, thanks very much, I have 1 folder in c smsmono called and inside this folder I have 3 folders named predefsent, predefinbox, predefdrafts saved the sms, and xml2android, that I execute step 11, please help me

NoobGirl said...

I ask my bro to find out what's wrong with my xml file, and he copy 2000 by 2000 line then run your XML2Android and found that 2 sms have bad lines.

One is my draft message and the other is a hotmail confirmation that goes into different folder (not inbox).

He deleted that 2 sets, from to , and yessss.... it works.

Hope my experience can help others that don't know how to find those bad lines.

Now all my 2595 sms from Nokia E52 is restored perfectly in Samsung Pocket. Thank you so much for your guide and tools. You should make it a package and sell it at Android Market :)

Pavan said...

Thanks a ton!!!!!!!!!
It worked like a charm. Thanks for detailed instructions.

Margaret said...

I'm having trouble with the command line prompt section: it keeps saying that what I've written is "not recognized as an internal or external command, operable program or batch file".
The basic command line for me is'C:\Users\User>' and I don't know what to write directly after this as I'm assuming the '>' character is the reason why it won't accept my commands. I've followed the instructions as much as I can and my .xml doc and xml2ndroid.exe are saved here: C:\Users\User\Documents\SMS.
I have limited technological abilities, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.

Margaret said...

I forgot to say in my earlier post that I'm running Windows 7 Professional; 64-bit edition.

FZ said...

@Margaret your cmd console's default directory is c:\users\user, you just need to change directory to C:\Users\User\Documents\SMS by typing 'cd C:\Users\User\Documents\SMS' and then follow the steps from this post

Unknown said...

Thanks for you messages and i followed they to transfer messages but i got one error "
C:\>xml2android eeee.xml
Warning: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 1922, position 16." how could i identify the error. please inform me to do. i have more sms backup..

Unknown said...

I got a error when i am going to change xml2android... please inform me how to identify the error
"C:\>xml2android eeee.xml
Warning: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 1922, position 16."

FZ said...

@Mohamed, what does Line 1922, position 16 in your file contain?

Anonymous said...

Thanks, it works perfectly:), but you have take care of the lines with invalid characters. The easiest way is to delete the whole line although it might mean you'll lose one message.

FZ said...

Yeah I was planning to handle these lines but it never comes to my mind when I actually have time to do it... hopefully I'll update it soon :)

Frinx said...

I get stuff like the one below for drafts! I deleted them but have a look at what you could do about it ;)
great tool. thank you!

2012-04-24T23:49:41+02:00
&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;?? &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;
&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;?? &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;
msg text

Anonymous said...

Really really thanks...... Damn good explanation... worked like a charm on my Moto Defy Mini .. :) - depp

Anonymous said...

Thank You!!! Very much!!!
I tried millions of different methods and the only one that worked was your tip!!!
I can't thank you enough!!!

Ishan said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
dejantik said...

it WORKS :)
(Nokia 6303 -> SGS2)

,)

uglyrayul@gmail said...

simply too good ..... superb .. best on the net ... the only one solution after spending tyring full 2 days behind it ...SALUTE ...

AGAIN ...AWESOOOME

Unknown said...

when I open the program always crashes when starting. I have net framework 4 on it.

FZ said...

Thanks for the positive feedback everyone!

@Fabio, the post states that the program requires .Net Framework 3.5 to run

Unknown said...

I have activated 3.5.1 on windows 7 in windows functions but it crashes ):

FZ said...

Does it give you any messages or it just crashes? Try looking up the error number if any

Unknown said...

I start the program and if the program that created it androidsms depends on and I can only conclude

I apologize for my english with google translate

Jaanvi said...

Excellent App! Only thing that works :) cheers to you .. glad that I did not loose any of my messages :)

Unknown said...

I have done it differently now, thanks to the Nbu Explorer.

Nbu Explorer -> File content -> Messages -> File -> Export selected folder

Now we have the input, output and other folders.



MyPhoneExplorer -> SMS -> Archives (PC) -> right-click with your mouse in the window on the right -> Import ...

Then, the input messages in the input import (load on mobile phones) and output in the initial import.

Excuse my English (:

Anonymous said...

Works great Nokia N8 to galaxy 3, have to create folder smsbackuprestore on android..AWESOME

vijayaraghavanr said...

you are a genius thank you so much god bless you

manish said...

i m having trouble in step 10 & 11
i created a xml file named my_sms.xml & save both the file & xml2android.exe file in d directory in a folder named sms....
i tried many times bt it wont work further in command line....
can smbdy pls write the whole command for me....pls help...

Anonymous said...

It actually works! After reading so many forums and DL'ing so many executables to no avail. These steps were simple, few and clear. It worked on my first try, no errors, everything is there. I transferred 2, 835 messages from a Nokia C1-01 to a Samsung Galaxy Ace. Thank you so much! More people need to know!

Anonymous said...

There's even this app called VeryAndroid something that people buy for $20! It's crazy.

Prathamesh said...

worked like butter

Anonymous said...

Use SMS Backup & Restore, but it cannot find the xml file :(

FZ said...

Place the xml file inside your internal sd card (you can create a special folder for it as well) and select it through the backup & restore app

Prasenjit Podder said...

My xml2android still crashing... Please help me.. I tried a lot of time.... I have windows 7 64 bit...

Unknown said...

Hi! FZ,
It is awsome thing i found on this page to help out many to put back the SMSes on Android, Thanks a lot.

In my case when i try to run cmd get the warning as and full file is not converted; only 109 files out of 1100 were able to get along

C:\SMS>Xml2Android out.xml
Warning: '.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 893, position -106.

but it generates AndroidSMS file with only 10% contents.

I tried to open the out.xml file and go to line 893 it just contains

Please help to proceed.
Thanks in advance.

Unknown said...

I meant it contains
tag and no weird character.

Henry said...

You're THE MAN! Great job, works perfectly! Thank you!

popi said...

Help please! I run tthe command from the command line and I get
Exception not handled: System.Xml.XmlException: Data in TX
root structure is not valid. Line 1, position 1.
    in System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw (Exception e)
    in System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw (String res, String arg)
    in System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseRootLevelWhitespace ()
    in System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseDocumentContent ()
    in System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read ()
    in System.Xml.XmlReader.ReadToFollowing (String name)
    in XML2Android.Program.Main (String [] args)

rahul_skincold said...

ZABARDASTTTTT... TOOOOOOOOOOOO

GOOOOODDDDDDDD

MANNNNNNNNNN


HATS OFFFF TO YOU...I GOT ALL MY 1500 MSG BACK .....


LOVELY..

rahul_skincold said...

toooo GOOODDDD MANNNNN


HATTSSS OFFFF TO YOU


THANK YOU SO MUCHH

Anonymous said...

thanks a ton!

Anonymous said...

i;m using Windows 7 64bit and net framework 4, when I open the XML2Android.exe,the black window appears and then inmediately windows tells me that "XML2Android stop working" and it gave me two options "close the program" and "find an online solution".After that it creates the AndroidSMS.xml file,but it weights 0Kb,because it's empty.please help me. the step 11 how that applies?

Anonymous said...

please some one explain me step 11 clearly with right command cos every time it keep on saying file is not specified command is not proper it is really irritating me. i've done the whole procedure right i know just their is some mistake by me in step 11 :( or if possible write it down here the full command..so that i can copy and paste it exactly and properly will only do some edit thing about my folders where i have put those files.. for ur info my files xml2android and mysms.xml is in drive c under the folder name my_messages thnk u :)

FZ said...

@Mish: Steps 9-11:

9) Win7: Start, type cmd then enter
WinXP: Start, run, type cmd then enter

10) In the cmd window type: 'cd c:\my_messages' then enter

11) type 'xml2android mysms.xml' and you're done

Anonymous said...

Thank u sirfz for ur quick response but im stuck at step 11 i had type 'xml2android mysms.xml' as u said but it comes up with an error that it is not recognized as an internal or external command,operable program or batch file now wat to do.. i badly need those messages.. :(
p.s- i have windows 7 and is it necessary that it should be .net framework3.5 only as its not compatible with 7 i guess its only for xp or older version not for windows 7. i have version 4.5 installed.please get back to me soon waiting for ur reply..

FZ said...

You need to place xml2android.exe in the same directory (i.e. c:\my_messages)

Anonymous said...

yes i've already put those 2 files xml2android.exe and mysms.xml in c:\my_messages but when i write command for step 11 as u mentioned it comes up with some error like i said earlier something is wrong or wat i dunno..

FZ said...

Read the steps and apply carefully and you should be ok

Anonymous said...

HELLO FZ ive done wat u said and at this time it allowed me to generate that androidsms.xml :) but i got one problem like the above comentor dr mangit said i had also solved that problem by removing those weird characters with notepad++ but got again one error like kevin69 told u now i really dont know wat to do ? so please help me..

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

You Sir are amazing, I've spent the last 5 hours trying to find a method that works, and well congratulations, this was it! Thanks a heap!

Anonymous said...

thanks! it works as you said. 100%

Anonymous said...

thanks! it works as you said. 100%

Tushar Singla said...

it took me 3 days to research but this is the only working and easy method i found.. THANKS N CHEERS!!!

Anonymous said...

Worked perfectly with my Nokia E72, thanks!

Anonymous said...

Working and awesome :) No malware, no ads, just follow the procedure and everything works like a charm! Thank you very much!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this tutorial man, its working.

Thanks again !

q said...

Great Thank You! Works perfectly.

Anonymous said...

hi..i'm having a problem at the start itself.
i can't save as XML..all i'm getting as option is to choose the folder to export the files and that's all..inside the folder i'm getting all the sms as shown in the nbuexplorer.can you please provide a screenshot.thanks.

Anonymous said...

Dear FZ
am impressed by reading yr post and comments. my problem is slightly different. i lost my beloved nokia5800xm & was forced to upgrade. opted for android for obvious reasons. i don't have current backup of my phone. however, i luckily synced it with nokia suite 3.5.34 a day before losing it. so i have all messages & they can be exported as csv only.
can u plz help me in converting them to xml suitable for sms backup & restore.
will be extremely grateful

Anonymous said...

Dear FZ in continuation to my last comment. i was able to get an xml using this method.
http://www.yourkarthik.com/2012/07/sms-nokia-to-android.html
i tried to use yr code to convert it to format suitable for import. initially it gave error message due invalid character:
E:\Nokia\fzmethod>XML2Android messagessql_2.xml

Unhandled Exception: System.Xml.XmlException: '?', hexadecimal value 0x1B, is an
invalid character. Line 18277, position 51.
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Int32 pos, String res, String[] args)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ThrowInvalidChar(Int32 pos, Char invChar)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseText(Int32& startPos, Int32& endPos, Int
32& outOrChars)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseText()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseElementContent()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlReader.ReadToFollowing(String name)
at XML2Android.Program.Main(String[] args)

i removed those characters (ESC in notepad**) from relevant line. now it executed fine but the output file is 1kb only and contains this text:






i think it is a problem with xml format from nbu and my method

Plz help

regards
usman

FZ said...

Probably the exported xml format is different than the one generated by NBUExplorer. If you want, you can send me a small sample of your file (with at least one sms, you can remove it's actual content I don't need it) and I'll try to adjust the xml2android tool for it (if I have time, in the mean time try searching for methods to import csv - you might find something). Email to sirr.fz (gmail)

Anonymous said...

Hi

was able to solve my prob by following instructions here.

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/25213/transferring-messages-to-android-from-a-sqlite-db-on-my-laptop

i hope u can improve yr tool using this so that people can benefit. for me the hardest part was running php. may u can provide some exe to help people like me

Usman

Anonymous said...

Moving from a Symbian 60 to an Android myself, I can empathize with you totally. The limitations of Nokia's PC Suite were beautifully resolved by NBU Explorer. I am using a Samsung Galaxy Y Duos (a lack-luster phone compared to your S II). Both Samsung's own suite (Kies) as well as 3rd party softwares literally suck. Have you come across something that has the same/similar features as NBU Explorer for an Android OS? Eg., explore a backup without a connected phone, edit stored items, and, selectively restore items to a phone.

Request #2: I need a SMS counter capable of keeping a separate track of SMS sent out over each SIM. Searched the 'net; no such App.

I will be grateful if you or a reader of your blog can help with these issues.
Best regards
Farid Ansari
Karachi, Pakistan

FZ said...

When it comes to Android there are many apps to backup different data which can be easily moved from one droid to the other. As for your 2nd request, try asking at a dev forum (xda?) Someone might help if they find it useful

Anonymous said...

Works like a charm :-)
Thanks a lot.

Anonymous said...

Sir, your post's been such a great help (such clear instructions too! hahaha, the epitome of idiot-proof). I'm glad i came across this post of yours. Thank you so much!

Badal said...

Great I got transferred all my sms from Nokia n8 to Galaxy S III, Thanks a lot to @FZ and @CarlosAMG for point out the the exact ways of doint it.

Request to FZ to explain the key process mentioned in post through screen shots, so it will be easy for noobs..

FZ said...

Glad it worked for you :) will add screenshots when I find time (and remember)

Anonymous said...

You sir are a genius. Many Thanks!

Pratik Gupta said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Pratik Gupta said...

xml2android crashes as soon as i execute it. i am using windows 7 64 bit. i checked my .xml file it doesn't contain any invalid characters. its all text. kindly help.

Unknown said...

VEry very helpful. thank you for the help. I appreciate it

Pratik Gupta said...

This happens when i execute xml2android
Microsoft Windows [Version 6.1.7601]
Copyright (c) 2009 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Pratik>cd Desktop

C:\Users\Pratik\Desktop>XML2Android.exe sms.xml

Unhandled Exception: System.Xml.XmlException: Data at the root level is invalid.
Line 1, position 1.
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(Exception e)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Throw(String res, String arg)
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseRootLevelWhitespace()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.ParseDocumentContent()
at System.Xml.XmlTextReaderImpl.Read()
at System.Xml.XmlReader.ReadToFollowing(String name)
at XML2Android.Program.Main(String[] args)

C:\Users\Pratik\Desktop>

any possible help?

Pratik Gupta said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
peter einstien said...

hey!
XML2ANDROID.exe crashes.it says that XML2ANDROID has stopped working.Please fix it.
Thnx.

Anonymous said...

sir xml2android crashes as soon i open it after downloading please fix it

Mikail said...

Hi
I ve tryied to use your method to transfer my sms to my Galaxy S3 and the AndroidSMS was created but there is nothing inside and when I put this file in my phone i back it up and restore it but there's nothing ... could you give me a hand please ?

Anonymous said...

Thank you master,

thank u soooo much for this useful post

It work on nokia 5233 to samsung(S6102)

Ankit Vasudevan said...

Just had to comment. This was absolutely brilliant. Had been trying for quite some time to transfer texts from a N900 phone to HTC but nothing really came through,no software, no tiny workarounds.
This was a lifesaver.
Great job.

Cheers.

✓¡ǥηεsħ said...

u r simply genius

Anonymous said...

Worked like Charm! You made me restore some ones memories.. Cheers to you!!

You inspire me!

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU!!!!!

I've spent hours trying to work this out before I got to your site.

All worked fine for me.

The only "problems" I get:

1. In NBU there's no "Save as" field in the "File" line but only the "Save" icon above the messages box. Took some time to figure that out :(

2. I had a number of messages in "My folders" where I had my own notes (not messages sent or received), so there was no number in the "number" field in the XML and I had to do a lot of work in the NotePad++.

But eventually all worked out and I officially call you a SAVIOR!

Thank you :)

Unknown said...

It worked for me. I reached here after 1 week search.
Thanks

Anonymous said...

The deep you dig into the subject and give us the accurate data is appreciable.
exam sms

Anonymous said...

FZ, thanks for this. saved me time to write an xml to xml conversion script. worked like a charm! from Nokia Asha 202 to android 2.3.6

for those looking for a solution, have tried many others and this one works! why pay for those commercial/paid softwares like wondershare mobiletrans, PC Tool for VeryAndroid SMS Backup, Apolsoft Android SMS Transfer Software for android Phone, etc. when you can transfer Nokia SMS to Android for FREE!

Voodooman said...

I just wanted to express my deepest and most sincere thanks. It's wonderful that there are guys like you willing to help without asking for anything. I had lost all hopes to recover my messages and you saved them! Thank you so much!

heradhis said...

from nokia e63 to android 4 (sony tipo)
it's great work for me, thanks anyway

Anonymous said...

hi, thanks a lot for addressing the topic as I'm experiencing the exact same problem with my nokia/samsung phones. unfortunately, the XML2Android.exe won't work...

Skully said...

First I tried to use this manual http://www.simail.si/nokia2androidsms/ but I was not able to synchronize my messages using old version of Ovi suite. Your walkthrough worked just well! Many thanks to you Sir!

Anonymous said...

Hi
i am also getting the same issue "XML2Android.exe has stopped working"
the moment i try to run the file

ahmed said...

i dont work with me to it stop working first it give me 0 kb file then it stop working help pls

Anonymous said...

Hi man, can u please help me.
Everything is working perfect but there is a problem.

I drop my xml file that i have from nbu to the NBUexplorer and the i get a file called Androidsms.xml

Everything is fine but the problem is that i dont get all my messages, there are lika 3000messages thats missing.

What is the problem do u think?

Unknown said...

hi, i'm so sorry but i just cant seem to save the files under xml. there's isnt a save or even safe as button. all i got is save parsing log. help please.

Anonymous said...

Hi FZ!
THanks SO much for helping me! Everything worked. Just one problem.
Nbu explorer exported all the SMS's with different dates. Do you know WHY? and so all the sms's are all over the place on my android now (only realised the error when i saw it on my android).
And the Nbu explorer didn't export my send messages (997 of them)

Can you PLEASE help me???
Please!

Thanks for your MARVELOUS BLOG!
There is light in the tunnel!

Anonymous said...

took a bit of tinkering but Works great .... Thanks a lot you made my day!...
a suggestion use find in the notepad++ to replace all faulty characters at once ....

Anonymous said...

Hi people, i ahve a trouble with this.
Everything is good but when it comes til xml2andorid it pops a windows and it says that its wrong at the line 12589 position 16.

Iused notepad++ to remove the whole line and its working.

But when i start xml2android the program shut down and says that "theres a problem and the program have to shut down"..

Can somebody help me please??
I appriciate

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Hi, thnx for this. Works 100%
But why does the time change?

How can i fix it? The time in my messages at android is not the same at my nokia phone

WHY?
please help!
thnx

FZ said...

Can you check the time stamps in the exported XML file if they are correct? If they're not then the problem is with NBU Explorer or the Ovi Suite which created the NBU file

Thunderbolt said...

Ohh thank you man u saved my life :) ....... it wasnt working in the begining but then i just picked up the xml file and dragged it to your application i.e XMLtoandroid.exe and voila it produced a new file which is compatible with the android app. thank you so much.

Thunderbolt said...

Ohh thank you man u saved my life :) ....... it wasnt working in the begining but then i just picked up the xml file and dragged it to your application i.e XMLtoandroid.exe and voila it produced a new file which is compatible with the android app. thank you so much.

Anonymous said...

God Bless you and thank you , thank you, thank you...!!!

Rohit Mundada said...

Hi !
I am facing a problem. Error comes as Warning :'.', hexadecimal value 0x00, is an invalid character. Line 8651, position 16.

I am copying the data at 8651 line in notepad++.



2012-07-01T07:49:02+05:30
&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;?? &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;
&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;?? &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0; &#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;&#x0;
Key no of pent house 2732396

Please help me to solve this.

Anonymous said...

Facing same problem as rohit...any help is highly appreciated...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

hey FZ... awesome post man... i tried wondershare mobile transfer, Nokia2AndroidSMS method bt all effort gone in vain... Lastly i tried following ur post n it was bingoo.. Really helpful n useful method... cheers mate...!!!

Anonymous said...

The best simple solution I've found! I was looking for 2 hours and trying many ways how to do that. Thank you very much. I did everytjing in less than 10 minutes, so this is the easiest way to convert smses from old mobile phone to smartfon with android.

Unknown said...

Thank you very much! Worked perfectly to transfer from a Nokia Asha 302 to a Samsung Galaxy Y Pro.

The Last Man said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Last Man said...

Anonymous said...

----
And the Nbu explorer didn't export my send messages (997 of them)

Can you PLEASE help me???
Please!

Thanks for your MARVELOUS BLOG!
There is light in the tunnel!
February 25, 2013 at 5:24 PM

----

Hi, the same problem here... I Just see my inbox sms not the outbox, any suggestions?

Thanks!

H.

Kavan said...

Hello, thanks for the solution, it works well. A great effort, Thanks a ton!!

Ak said...

Hi,
can anyone please help me how can i convert my parse log file into .xml, i tried the given software but it's creating .xml file of my messages,


and please let me know what should i remove from my file

my email id is ahmedkhan29789@gmail.com

Risla said...

makOMG Worked perfectly and flawlessly! well written post indeed sir! Kudos and thank u for all the help. i have been using nokia all my life and just cudnt let go of saved messages.! thanks a heap, worked to the dot on my S3!

Regards
Risla

Maz said...

Man i've been searching for over 3 days for a solution and i tried a lot of apps and programs but it didn't work. The only thing which worked was your solution. I just want to say I LOVE YOU.
YOU ARE THE BEST.
transferred sms from N8 to xperia Z

Anonymous said...

Thanks a lot....I had a huge cache of messages and was able to successfully transfer all messages to my new Grand

Unknown said...

Thanks. Worked like a charm. Just that one have to follow the instructions exactly.

Also, in Windows 7, it is not possible to execute your program directly from C:\. Nevertheless, thanks!

nad said...

i only have one word to say to the author and that is THANK YOU ......
i have restored all my msgs which i created with my symbian and fortunately i took backup before one day when my e52 died :) now m using jelly bean and it was not possible for me to restore all the msgs . but fro your advice i have now done this . Thank you very mush . jazak ALLAH .

Anonymous said...

Hi. Thanks a Million for your program. It's AWESOME. Works like a charm, transferred 1200 sms from nokia e72 to samsung s3 mini using Windows8. Very elegant solution and super easy to use. Thanks again!!!!!!!

Mihir said...

This was absolutely brilliant
Thanks a lot for all your help. It made my life so simple

Petrusek said...

Anyone interested in testing beta version of NbuExplorer with native support of "SMS Backup & Restore" export format? Just drop me an email. You can find my addres in NbuExplorer about dialog or readme file.

FZ said...

Hi Petrusek, that sounds like an excellent feature :) I can test with my old nbu if you want (just the export part but I can manually verify the contents). Feel free to drop me an email with the link to sirr[dot]fz on gmail.

donnyvandrio jakarta said...

thanks sir FZ. its very usefull.

Anonymous said...

This method works great. Thanks.

Now to find a way to transfer MMS.

Mark

Petrusek said...

New version (3.0) of NbuExplorer which supports export in "SMS Backup & Restore" format natively has just been released. Thanks to Sir FZ for testing!

Steven said...

It works

Thank You very much

God Bless U..

Jeff said...

Hello,
I'm having Nokia 700 & it gets freeze all the time. Fed up of these Finnish Bugs. Please can you help me in getting my msgs backup, so that i can switch to android.

FZ said...

@Jeff no need to bad mouth the Finnish (or any other nation for that matter) - not to mention Nokia as well. This post clearly details how to transfer your messages from Symbian to Android. If you have a problem with any of the steps then please give details.

Anonymous said...

It worked for me.Thank you very much for putting lot of effort and make a useful tool like this.I really appreciate this.

SoleRider said...

Thanks for giving such a good tool and details. I just imported all my sms back on android. Thanks again.

Anonymous said...

NBU Explorer reads only 145 messages from my backup whereas I have 3000 Messages, what can I do?
Thanks

Anonymous said...

When I took a back up on the Nokia E6 running Belle & used the latest ver of NbuExplorer, everything went of smoothly but when I imported the .xml file thru ‘SMS Backup & restore’ into Galaxy Grand i9082 many of the sms wee restored as ‘Drafts’. The date & time stamp on such sms was corrected. I wonder what went wrong. Is it anything I did.

Anonymous said...

hello.i tried these steps but on the NBUexplorer the time of hte messages on outbox is "unknown" so when the .xml file is restored the messages on the outbox doent show..pls help

Anonymous said...

only the messages on the inbox of the NBuexplorer is transfered but the messages on outbox has an error... time on the messages on the outbox is unknown..

Anonymous said...

THANK UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU

Anonymous said...

It works.
Thank you very much.
God Bless you!

Anonymous said...

all is working fine....but created AndroidSMS.xml file is only 136 bytes and inside this file following is written ....






plz help.....

Anonymous said...

Created androidsms.xml has no content in it...only xml version stylesheet smscount="0" nd all that is written on it...
plz help

FZ said...

@Anonymous, that means there were zero smses exported. Make sure you properly backed up the messages using Ovi and review the steps for exporting them.

Anonymous said...

hey,from nokia i created xml file which has all messages(opened in browser and checked) after XML2Android conversion in cmd created file 'androidsms' contains nothing what to do???

Piani said...

Thank you! Thank you for this steps and your apps. They were a great help :)

Deepeshgavel_blog said...

i have nokia e72 and i want to all my sms which are in different folder i want to transfer my all message with folder name in android phone what can i do

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dear Sir, this worked perfectly. Just to share couple of things that now in Win 7 there is an option to save file as Android SMS xml (somthing like that) and no need to run the XML2ANDROID file.
Really really appreciate you sharing your knowledge on this one.
regards

Chandan said...

When I convert the xml using the application XML2Android, it shows zero message when I open with notepad++
Why is it so?
Can I mail you my Nokiasms.xml file.
Will you convert it for me & sent me ?

FZ said...

Hi Chandan, as noted in the post, in step 6 there's an ATTENTION notice in red which states that the latest version of NbuExplorer supports exporting messages in the SMS Backup & Restore XML format so there's no need to use the XML2Android tool. Just export in this format and skip to step 13

Unknown said...

I was having nokia c6-00, I stored sms in my-folder, took backup. Now my nokia phone is dead and bought samsung android phone. I tried through samsung kies to restore the data..it did everything except sms that i stored in my folder. now how I transfer that sms to my new android phone? NOTE: I do not have nokia phone now..please help

transfer messages from nokia to android said...

Maybe this can help you http://www.techwarn.com/help/7/transferring-text-messages-from-a-nokia-to-a-sgs

Anonymous said...

How about this scenario I have. Now I have some messages from year 2011 then gap, and it continues 2013 and then gap and 2014. But I have some messages from my old nokia phones that I used during that time and would like to inject the messages between the ones I have on my android 4.4.2 right now. Is it possible to do according to your tutorial or does it just overwrite everything only with the nokia messages?

Anonymous said...

C:\New folder>XML2Android_2 nokia.xml
'XML2Android_2' is not recognized as an internal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

its giving me this error
my file is named as nokia.xml and directory is c:\New folder

i used XML2Android, it starts and closes with no output.
As I press enter it comes to the directory.
Plz Help

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to share, i have the same problem. My solution to my problem is solved now. Just use nokia ovi suite. Go to msg. sync it. Then export the file to .csv and then copy to your android phone folder. The go google play download "Sms Tools All in one" this software can import msg from .csvv file. Good Luck guys.

Tushar Desai said...

Hi, Many Many Thanks! It Worked! A Suggestion: While saving as .xml File, there are two xml saving options. Select the one which is exclusively designed by "SMS Backup & Restore" App.

Anonymous said...

Hello FZ,

I am getting the messages in .vmg format but u have mentioned using .NBU explorer we can save it as .xml format i didnt get that option itself.

Anonymous said...

Many Many Thanks and Well Done for such a great Guidance . I was able to import all my messages from my old Nokia n97 to an android phone ( Pantech Crossover p8000 ) without any problem . All the messages were imported with correct dates and sender/receiver names . Am never going back to Nokia ( Symbian operating system ) .

NeD said...

Hello,

just wanted to join the crowd of your fans !
I've transfered some 5.000 sms/mms from an old Nokia Asha 210 to a "young" Samsung Galaxy S2 !
The longest part was for the poor Nokia to save/write the Nbf file on the SD card ;-)
All I had to do after that was to do an export with NBUexplorer as a SMS Back Up & Restore xml file and that was it !
All my congrats from France !!!

TIJO V VINU said...

Hai,
My name is Tijo and you made my day. Thank you so much!! No words to thank you enough

Hao said...

Thank u for ur solution, it works well!

Teddy_fr said...

I had 2193 post saved on my old Nokia E72. With your procedure, I have no messages lost during transfer to my samsung S5.

Congratulations and thank you!

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Thx so much !!!

I recovered my 831 SMS with this from a Nokia X2-00 !

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