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I am using Facebook Messenger without a Facebook account (only a mobile number), and would like to transfer my messages from one Android phone to another. What is the best way to do this?

I have tried using Helium Backup but it does not backup Facebook Messenger. Titanium Backup unfortunately is not an option as the phone cannot be rooted (rooting it would require a data reset, which would delete the messages).

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  • What do you mean "Facebook Messenger messages without a facebook account"? Are you saying you where using FB Messenger for SMS/MMS messages, like text & picture messages? There are plenty of apps that can backup those...
    – acejavelin
    Commented Mar 3, 2018 at 2:47
  • @acejavelin No, I meant that Messenger allows you to sign up with just your mobile number if you don't have a Facebook account. eg. WhatsApp or Viber. The messages I send in Messenger are IMs, not SMS or MMS.
    – user2181948
    Commented Mar 3, 2018 at 3:07
  • The other "phone" has a different SIM card/number I presume? So basically you want to migrate to a new account yeah?
    – wuodland
    Commented Mar 8, 2018 at 10:50
  • @KaranRajBaruah The other phone has the same number as the original phone. However moving the SIM card won't work, because the Messenger IMs are stored on the original phone, not the SIM card itself
    – user2181948
    Commented Mar 8, 2018 at 20:37
  • Without root I am feel fairly confident in saying you are completely out of luck.
    – William
    Commented Mar 9, 2018 at 23:17

2 Answers 2

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Added March 2019: the "Account Key Backup" seems to have been removed from Messenger, so I have updated this answer.

According to a Messenger help page,

In order to switch to a different account or access your account on another device, you'll need to add a password. To add a password to your account:

  1. From Chats, tap your profile picture in the top left corner.
  2. Scroll down and tap Password.
  3. Tap to enter a password and tap OK.

You should now have a password associated with your account and can Switch Account

The Messenger help page currently states "This feature is not currently available for Android" but it is present in the Android app.

Old solution: (cannot be used anymore)

To transfer Facebook Messenger conversations to a new phone without a Facebook account, while keeping the same phone number, do the following.

  1. On the old phone, open Messenger and tap your profile picture to go to your profile settings.

  2. Tap "Account Key Backup".

  3. Select the option to back up your account key to Google Drive. After the backup has been made, Messenger will say

    Account Key Backed Up - Your account key is saved to Google Drive with the email address ***. You'll be able to sign into Messenger if you switch phones or uninstall the app.

  4. On the new phone, install Messenger, and open it.

  5. Select the option "I do not have a Facebook account", and enter your phone number. You will receive an SMS with a verification code to enter in Messenger.

  6. Messenger will ask you if you want to continue with your existing account; answer yes. Messenger will tell you that an account key has been found on Google Drive and use it to copy your conversations. However, secret conversations won't be copied.

You will be logged out of Messenger on the old phone, and will no longer be able to use Messenger there.

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  • i have just the same story the only problem is that it cant find the backup key from my google drive..what do i do?
    – Nikos Fragos
    Commented Jul 20, 2018 at 20:20
  • Recent versions of Messenger allow you to add a password to an account with only a phone number. Maybe this can be used to log in on the new phone, but I can't test it.
    – vholten
    Commented Jul 21, 2018 at 21:37
  • @vholten It doesn't work. You cannot sign in to Messenger even with the password on any PC, tablet or smartphone except on the same original device that you signed up on. It's really frustrating, and completely nonsensical because that's what they (Facebook) promise you can do when they ask you to add the password, but they totally failed to deliver that promise.
    – ADTC
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 4:35
  • Where is this "Account Key Backup" option? Can you add a screenshot of where exactly to find this? I have been looking all over for ways to transfer Messenger from an old phone to a new one, but I don't remember seeing this option anywhere. [['Account Key' perfectly validates my hypothesis that the phone-number-based Messenger account is linked to the device and not actually to the phone number. This is again another instance of how Facebook is failing to deliver a promise that the Messenger account is retrievable through the same phone number regardless of any device.]]
    – ADTC
    Commented Jan 23, 2019 at 4:40
  • @ADTC The "Account Key Backup" option was removed; I have updated the answer.
    – vholten
    Commented Mar 10, 2019 at 17:28
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You can log in to facebook using that phone number and password whether or not that is the phone you are on, you could even log in to the website.

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  • I do not have a Facebook account, only a Messenger account (ie. I only signed up with a phone number). Therefore I cannot log in to Facebook.
    – user2181948
    Commented Mar 8, 2018 at 20:38
  • @user2181948 Have you tried logging in to Facebook with that phone number?
    – Nicolas Redfern
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 16:48
  • Facebook requires a phone number or email address and a password. Since I only signed up with a phone number, I do not have a password. So I can't log in to Facebook
    – user2181948
    Commented Mar 14, 2018 at 18:33

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