iPhone 4s PUK code reset

[MargaretStanley]

My daughter put a PIN onto her iPhone 4s and forgot what it was.  She entered in the wrong code 4times and the sim locked.  It then asked for a PUK code, which I got from Vodafone.  However the phone has now reset and she can't get any of her texts or contacts back.  Is there a way of retrieving them on the phone?  It was last backed up over a year ago and she doesn't have the computer she backed it up on anymore.  Can she retrieve the texts and contacts from the phone?

[BandOfBrothers]

Hi,

Did she have iCloud back up turned on ?

Settings-iCloud-Backup

 help link http://www.apple.com/uk/support/icloud/backup-storage/

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/HT204184

If she uses Gmail then the contacts coukd be in there too. 

Texts would be lost if no back up was activated. 

[MargaretStanley]

Unfortunately her e mail is with yahoo. I did tell her to get gmail. But she's a teenager and knows better than her old mum.  I don think she activated iCloud because I tried that.  Because it's a contract will I be about to contact Vodafone and get the text messages printed out by them?

[BandOfBrothers]

Networks don't hold onto text messages on their servers for long after the text has been delivered. 

Perhaps if the texts are wanted you could ask the reciever of them to forward them back to her. 

I do not think Vodafone Customer service will be able to assist with this. "Vodafone does not record the content of the calls you make or the wording of your messages."

A learning curve for your daughter is to activate iCloud back up on her iPhone,and I also back up to iTunes myself too as well as iCloud. 

Gmail certainly has its uses for storing contacts. 

Another option she could use is DropBox which can hold all sorts of data in its online vault. I find this invaluable. 

[MargaretStanley]

The thing is the texts are from someone who is no longer with us.  The contacts I'm sure she'll get back via Facebook and whatever.  I don't think she's too bothered about that. It's more the texts she's wanting. The person that sent them meant so much to her.

 I think I'll give them a phone tomorrow and try.  Is there absolutely no way to restore the phone to its original state? 

Ive told her now to back up her phone at least once a month. I do with mine every 14 days just in case.  Teenagers eh? Can't live with and you can't tell them anything. They know it all.  

[BandOfBrothers]

I'm sorry to hear the circumstances behind the text messages and I appreciate their importance.

I myself lost the last Voicemail message my mum left me while she was on holiday abroad. She passed away on that holiday. 

The iPhone would back itself up automatically when on Wifi / connected to a power source - if iCloud back up was turned on.

I know I've already asked this but Is iCloud definitely not turned on in the iPhone ?