TextExhibit Android App

Android FAQ

Find answers to common questions about TextExhibit Android App.

General Questions

What is TextExhibit?

TextExhibit Android App converts text messages from Android devices into professionally formatted, court-ready PDF documents. It’s used by attorneys, paralegals, and anyone who needs to convert text message evidence into professional PDF documents.

Is my data sent to any servers?

No. TextExhibit processes message data locally on your phone. Your text messages never leave your device. See our Android Privacy Policy for more details.

Android-Specific Questions

Some text messages are missing from my Android export. Why?

First, make sure you are using the latest version of TextExhibit and that you did not set a date range that excludes the missing messages. Close and reopen TextExhibit before scanning again.

If the messages are still missing, the most common cause is RCS, called “RCS chats” or formerly “chat features” in Google Messages. Android’s documented Telephony provider gives ordinary apps access to SMS and MMS records; it does not provide a general consumer API for reading a messaging app’s complete RCS history. Google can include RCS in its own Android backup and restore service, but that does not make the restored RCS history available to normal SMS export apps.

This can appear as:

  • One or several missing messages, sometimes after a conversation switched between SMS/MMS and RCS.
  • An entire conversation missing, especially when it contains only RCS messages.
  • Older history missing after a new phone, restore, or messaging-app change, even though Google Messages can still display it.

TextExhibit can export every SMS/MMS record Android returns to it, but it cannot bypass Google Messages’ private storage or retrieve data from Google’s cloud backup. Google does offer RCS access to approved archival apps on fully managed enterprise devices, but Google currently provides no equivalent supported access for ordinary consumer phones.

Has this been reported to Google?

Yes. Two public Android Issue Tracker reports now document the problem:

Google’s response acknowledges that the issue is under review, but it does not yet confirm the root cause, promise a change, or provide a timeframe for a fix. You can sign in to the Issue Tracker and select Vote: I am impacted on either report to follow it and show Google how many users are affected. Because the reports are public, do not post phone numbers, message contents, screenshots containing private conversations, or other sensitive information there.

How to verify the cause:

  1. Open the same conversation in another ordinary SMS app, or create a backup with SMS Backup & Restore.
  2. Check whether the missing message or conversation appears there.
  3. If it is missing there too but remains visible in Google Messages, Android/Google Messages is not exposing it through the SMS/MMS provider that export apps can read.

What you can do:

  • If you still have the old phone, export from that phone before resetting, trading in, or erasing it. It may expose more of the history than the new phone.
  • For a small number of unavailable messages, preserve screenshots from Google Messages and include them as supplemental exhibits.
  • Turning off RCS will not recover earlier messages. It only changes how future messages are sent.
  • Email support@textexhibit.com with the phone model, Android version, Google Messages version, and the two message counts. We can help determine whether Android supplied the records to TextExhibit.

Please also send feedback from the affected phone. Open Google Messages, tap your profile picture, then choose Help & feedback > Send feedback. Allow one-time access to system logs if Google offers it. Include your phone model, Android and Google Messages versions, carrier, the approximate date and time of a missing RCS message, and whether the problem began after an update, restore, or phone migration. Ask Google to provide a user-authorized way for consumer export apps to read or export the complete RCS history. In-device feedback can include diagnostic information that an Issue Tracker vote or general forum post does not.

TextExhibit Android App will not open, crashes immediately, or appears stuck at startup. What should I do?

First, uninstall TextExhibit completely, restart your phone, and reinstall the app from Google Play. Your Android purchase is tied to your Google account, so reinstalling from the same Google account should not charge you again.

This can happen if Android or Google Play installs an incomplete or corrupted copy of the app, or if saved app data from a previous install becomes stuck. Reinstalling gives Android a clean copy of the app and resets its startup state.

If the app still will not open after reinstalling, email support@textexhibit.com and include your phone model, Android version, and the approximate time the crash happened.

My Android phone is low on storage. What are my options?

TextExhibit can automatically use low-storage streaming mode when the phone does not have enough internal storage to stage the full export. In this mode, each PDF and its media files are written to the output folder as they finish instead of waiting for the entire export to complete. The result is a folder of files rather than a single ZIP archive.

You can also reduce the amount of phone storage needed for the export:

  • Save directly to Google Drive. In the Output Folder picker, tap the three-line menu icon in the top-right, choose Drive from the list, and select a Google Drive folder instead of a folder on your phone’s storage.
  • Choose a network drive as the output location. If your network storage appears in Android’s folder picker, select a folder on that drive before starting the export. Keep the phone connected to the same network until the export finishes.
  • Use a connected SSD. Connect a compatible external SSD to the phone, select it in Android’s folder picker, and leave it connected for the entire export. Make sure the SSD has enough free space and, if necessary, external power.
  • Free space with Google Photos. First confirm that your photos and videos are fully backed up to Google Photos. Then use Google Photos’ Free up space on your device option to remove backed-up local copies from the phone. Do not manually delete message attachments or any source evidence you still need.

Streaming mode lowers peak internal-storage use, but TextExhibit still needs some free space to build the current PDF and process its attachments. Keep at least about 1 GB free on the phone, and make sure the selected output location has enough room for the completed export. For very large exports, using a date range to export one year at a time can also help.

I tried to open an exported video on Android and got a “Problem with this file” message. How do I play the video?

This is an issue with Android, not our app. We recommend downloading the VLC app, which does not have any problems playing all exported video formats.

How do I get the device serial number for Android?

Android apps cannot access the device serial number for security reasons. If you need this information in your PDF footer:

  1. Open Settings > About Phone.
  2. Find and copy the Device name and Serial number.
  3. Paste this into the Serial number box in TextExhibit Android App.

Output & Features Questions

What is Bates numbering?

Bates numbering is a method of indexing legal documents for easy identification and retrieval. Each page receives a unique sequential identifier, such as DOC-000001 or DOC-000002. TextExhibit can automatically add Bates numbers to every page of your output PDFs.

What is the hash verification report?

The verification report documents the integrity of your output PDFs using cryptographic hashes, including SHA-256 and MD5. This provides chain of custody documentation showing that the files have not been tampered with.

How are large conversations handled?

Conversations with more than 100 messages are automatically split into monthly PDFs for easier navigation. Each PDF covers one calendar month of messages.

Can I filter messages by date?

Yes. TextExhibit includes date range filters so you can include only messages from a specific time period relevant to your case.

What happens to images and videos in messages?

MMS attachments, including images, videos, and audio, are extracted and saved to media folders. The PDFs reference these files so you can view them alongside the message content.

No. This is unrelated to the trial. The exported PDFs link to image files saved next to the PDF in an images subfolder, and not every PDF viewer follows clickable links to local files.

Viewers that handle these links well:

  • Google Chrome on Windows and Mac
  • Foxit PDF Reader on Windows and Mac
  • Adobe Acrobat Reader on Windows and Mac

Viewers that commonly do not follow the link:

  • macOS Preview, because the built-in Mac viewer does not open links to external local files
  • Microsoft Edge’s built-in PDF viewer, which blocks local file links for security
  • Mobile PDF viewers on iPhone and Android, including Files, Books, Quick Look on iOS, Google Drive viewer, and most default Android viewers, because they generally cannot open links to other local files

You can always view the full-size images directly by opening the folder containing your exported PDFs. You’ll see an images subfolder with every extracted photo and video at full resolution. This works under the free trial as well.

Licensing Questions

Is there a trial?

Yes. TextExhibit Android App runs in trial mode with watermarks on output PDFs and some text messages redacted. This allows you to evaluate the app before unlocking the full version with the in-app Google Play purchase.

Still Have Questions?

If you didn’t find your answer here, email support@textexhibit.com.