Text & SMS Recovery

[mikesil93]

Despite obvious requirement to have Text & SMS & Call History & Voicemail & Contacts & Settings backup to a web server of customer choice, Fongo has none except individual text conversations backup, even with Unlimited Texting paid add-on. And it goes for decades like this with no improvement. Now they added a lot more ads, but still no backup solution.

So my question is, how I can backup the above Fongo DBs manually or using a 3rd party Android app (which one?) on a rooted phone, meaning manual access to Fongo folder is available, and on unrooted phone using USB connection to a specialized Windows & Android remote access soft?

What are Android file names that contain Fongo Text & SMS & Call History & Voicemail & Contacts & Settings DBs? In what folder (full pass) they are stored in Android 16 Pixel or another current model generic mobile phone?

Btw, referring such questions to Fongo Support doesn't work, they seems to not know and never provide such answers. More, my ticket is persistently answered by a support guy who claims that Fongo "text massages" are stored on fongo.com in a customer account, but refuses to give any direct link or step-by-step access to such treasures or contact of his supervisor & 2nd level support.

[Liptonbrisk]

Despite obvious requirement to have Text & SMS & Call History & Voicemail & Contacts & Settings backup to a web server of customer choice, Fongo has none except individual text conversations backup

I suspect that if Fongo wanted to provide support information for backups, they would.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post this link (I guess I'll find out, eventually), but I didn't post this originally: https://www.reddit.com/r/VOIP/comments/ ... ccount_do/

I can't test with an Android device at this time. I think Android apps' SQLite databases are typically stored at /data/data/<package>/databases/, so for Fongo that might be /data/data/com.fongo.dellvoice/databases/ (I'm not sure that it's com.fongo.dellvoice; I'm guessing).

even with Unlimited Texting paid add-on

I suspect they would need to charge some sort of additional fee for backup storage, and the suggestion to include that as part of an "Unlimited" package may be worth mentioning to Fongo the next time you update or submit a ticket.

Btw, referring such questions to Fongo Support doesn't work, they seems to not know

I doubt they're trained to know. It's not as though there's official support documentation for backups other than https://support.fongo.com/hc/articles/2 ... t-messages and https://support.fongo.com/hc/articles/2 ... t-messages

Voicemail is accessible after logging in at https://account.fongo.com/admin/reports/voicemail/ (provided you haven't deleted voicemail or passed 10 days).
Text messages are not.

or contact of his supervisor & 2nd level support.

This is the escalation process: https://support.fongo.com/hc/articles/2 ... -complaint

You can check the status of your ticket at https://support.fongo.com/hc/requests. That's an account for tickets
(zendesk) only and is completely separate from your Fongo Mobile account or
any other Fongo account you may have. If you don't have a zendesk account yet, click "Sign Up" after visiting the link.
Use the same email address that you use to submit tickets. Do not use the same password as your Fongo Mobile account,
since these accounts are unrelated.

[mikesil93]

Thank you for detail informative reply! Will walk through it...

Not sure why would they want to block or fail to offer a full DB backup option to a customer chosen web server or local phone folder, since there seems to be no paid alternative offered to free Fongo app by the vendor, and no add-on likely includes such backup? Does any Fongo app or service include such DB backup?

On another note, what would cause a notable delay after dialing a phone number on a Dial Screen till Fongo Calling screen appears to attempt a connection? Does it depend on a size of Fongo SQL DB, probably to find the Contact info for a call logging or such? I even assumed my possibly hijacked phone calls may be monitored by a 3rd party by silently re-directing them through another phone number with a recorder during that time?

[Liptonbrisk]

Does any Fongo app or service include such DB backup?

Not that I'm aware of

Again, the suggestion seems worthwhile to me, especially if there's an incentive for Fongo to make money from it.

On another note, what would cause a notable delay after dialing a phone number on a Dial Screen till Fondo Calling screen appears to attempt a connection? Does it depend on a size of Fongo SQL DB, probably to find the Contact info for a call logging or such? I even assumed my possibly hijacked phone calls may be monitored by a 3rd party by silently re-directing them through another phone number with a recorder during that time?

I'm uncertain, probably because I don't use Android that much (one of my TVs runs Android, but that doesn't count). I suppose App or UI thread blocking during contact or database lookups can cause visible UI delay if heavy I/O runs on the main thread. Android’s Application Not Responding (ANR) guidance warns that database or I/O on the UI thread causes input/UI stalls that users perceive as lag: https://developer.android.com/topic/per ... vitals/anr. Theoretically, a very large local DB might exacerbate poorly threaded lookups, but Fongo doesn't mention that limitation (granted, that's not proof of anything), and in practice, I find network and power‑management factors affect dialing delays on VoIP apps.

I'm not sure in your case.

Also, silent redirection through another number is not a normal failure mode for consumer SIP apps and would generally require some compromise that I haven't encountered (unauthorized outbound calls, unrecognized world credit depletion, device hijacking, open port responses, etc.). I think it would be better to test from multiple networks and use Fongo’s echo test number to validate immediate setup and media/RTP flow without third‑party hijacking: 226-244-4444 . Also, there's the 416 and 250 numbers from https://thetestcall.blogspot.com/ (it offers more features; actually I think the test call might be better for testing). A practical approach is to place multiple echo calls across different networks (Wi‑Fi vs. cellular) and note setup time and round‑trip delay; consistent low delay alongside slow or odd behaviour only to certain, real numbers points to destination‑specific routing or signalling issues rather than universal hijacking, while elevated delay to all numbers suggests a general network path issue.

The only times I've experienced obvious delays was when there was clearly a network issue with either the cellular service provider (and I also had a weak signal) or when I was on public wi-fi (not on my own LAN). DNS or transport resolution slowness before the call is placed might be causes. I don't use Android a lot, but Android battery optimization and background restrictions delaying network wake or socket use could be culprits. Fongo advises disabling battery optimizers, enabling background data, and using its Wi‑Fi Lock option to keep radios awake, all of which could, possibly (theoretically, I guess), reduce slow call setup behaviour: https://support.fongo.com/hc/articles/2 ... ngo-Mobile

Also, if you're using a VPN while using Fongo Mobile normally, disable it, and test again.

[mikesil93]

Thank you for valuable feedback. Not likely to get similar one from Fongo 1st level Support. Will try these suggestions, but leaving the phone on WiFi even at home for awhile depletes its battery much faster than 5G only, especially with Fongo running in background. I noticed lately that lack of Fongo running in background just slightly delays a call response by the app, especially after it was started once and then exited after the phone wakeup from night sleep.

I'm still hinting towards phone hijacking option since right before the phone was updated to latest Android 16 release recently, the Call Screen delay becomes unbearable, and audio quality was horrible regardless of chosen Settings options, with contacts complaining about me sounding like on a remote speakerphone. Is there any proven way other than mentioned Fongo test calls to exclude general phone hijacking? That prompted me to reinstall the app and loose all DB records in the process. Immediately after updating the OS, Fongo Call Screen delay was unnoticeable, but now the delay seems raising again despite the app DB is very small.

I wonder also, why this forum becomes so quiet over time? Is it because of WhatsApp popularity or what CA Fongo competitors? I mean, its obvious for users that known deficiencies of Fongo app were not remedied over time.

[Liptonbrisk]

leaving the phone on WiFi even at home for awhile depletes its battery much faster

Some routers have Wi-Fi settings (depending on what they're set to) that drain batteries faster. You can try asking here and mentioning your specific router's model to see if anything may help you: https://www.snbforums.com/.

I'm still hinting towards phone hijacking option since right before the phone was updated to latest Android 16 release recently, the Call Screen delay becomes unbearable, and audio quality was horrible regardless of chosen Settings options

By the way, make sure to disable the low bandwidth codec (it sounds worse), if that setting is available to you: https://support.fongo.com/hc/articles/2 ... io-quality.

I even assumed my possibly hijacked phone calls may be monitored by a 3rd party by silently re-directing them through another phone number with a recorder during that time

That's not how SIP works. Ignoring the potential for malware on your phone, the call can't be intercepted before INVITE occurs. If the call proceeds with a normal SIP INVITE and completes to the intended destination, the delay is networking/app/OS responsiveness, not interception. In SIP terms, hijacking or interception would occur during or after signalling, whereas your observed lag is before or at INVITE time, and the subsequent successful call setup is consistent with normal call flow, not a diverted call path.

Pre-INVITE lag may be due to

- Android battery optimization throttling the app or delaying service wake when initiating a call,

​- network path selection delays (DNS resolution, transport negotiation, IPv6/IPv4 fallback) before INVITE is sent,

​- UI thread blocking from database lookups (contact info, call log), ad rendering (I haven't checked for this regularly), or synchronous network checks,

- ​Fongo connectivity settings that affect how quickly the app establishes its signalling path (Alternate Connection, Alternate DNS, IPv6 toggles),

​- background data restrictions, or

- Android Doze mode preventing timely network wake

with contacts complaining about me sounding like on a remote speakerphone. Is there any proven way other than mentioned Fongo test calls to exclude general phone hijacking? That prompted me to reinstall the app and loose all DB records in the process.

The pattern you're describing points towards network/device state than active compromises, particularly over cellular data, if your smartphone never connects to Wi-Fi. An improvement immediately after the Android 16 update followed by gradual return of delay and poor audio is consistent with network path or power‑policy regressions rather than persistent interception, especially on SIP apps where DNS/transport and battery optimization strongly affect call setup and media stability.

Fongo’s own guidance targets slow setup and bad audio with connectivity toggles and Android power settings, which is the documented path for these symptoms; none of them point to database size (but it could be as I mentioned before) as a cause of call‑screen lag.

If you're concerned,

1. Change your Fongo mobile password, avoid reuse, and re‑authenticate only your device; then monitor call history and any World Credits balance for unexpected activity over several days to check for abuse. Look for unusual call patterns, attempted logins, or prompts you didn’t initiate; these are standard red flags for account compromise across VoIP services.

2. Audit the device for interception apps: remove unknown VPN/proxy/recorder/overlay apps, review Accessibility permissions and microphone access, and run a reputable mobile malware scan.

3. Perform cross‑network A/B tests: place several short calls on cellular data and a known‑good Wi‑Fi network; if setup is fast and audio is also clean on one path but not the other, the issue is environmental--not hijacking.

4. Re‑establish a clean app state: after password rotation and device audit, reinstalling and re‑granting minimum permissions is appropriate; then compare behaviour with Fongo’s connectivity options at defaults to verify normal setup.

5. In Fongo Mobile, toggle these one at a time, and retest: Alternate Fongo Connection, Alternate DNS Resolver, and Allow IPv6 Connection; these specifically address “connection failed,” slow setup, and poor media paths on certain networks.

6. Adjust Android power/network settings per Fongo's guidance: disable battery optimization for Fongo, allow background data, and use Wi‑Fi Lock only when needed since it keeps the radio awake; these steps improve reliability but can raise power use (drain your battery) while active.


Renewed delay after initially normal behaviour post‑update aligns with changing network or power‑policy conditions on the device rather than local data growth, which Fongo does not cite (granted, again, that doesn't prove anything) as a performance factor.



Also, check for connectivity issues to Fongo when the problem was happening.

Understanding ping, jitter, and VoIP call quality

a. Ping (latency): measures the time it takes for data to travel to the Fongo servers and back. A ping higher than 200 ms can cause delays and audio problems.

b. Jitter: measures the variations in latency between data packets. High jitter can result in choppy or dropped calls, or even prevent the connection from being established.

c. Packet loss: when data packets fail to reach their destination, calls can sound robotic, be interrupted, or fail to connect altogether.

Testing network stability with WinMTR (or mobile ping tools)

To diagnose network issues, run a WinMTR test to the Fongo server in Ontario at 208.85.216.39:

- Download WinMTR for Windows.
https://sourceforge.net/projects/winmtr/

- Enter 208.85.216.39 and start the test with more than 200 pings.
- Check the last hop for ping times and packet loss.
- Low and stable ping = good.
- High jitter = bad (example: pings ranging from 40 ms to 700 ms).

What you don’t want to see is: 40, 45, 50, 35, 500, 40, 30, 45, 700. That’s bad jitter.
What you want are relatively consistent ping times without too much variation.

For smartphone tests, use apps such as Net Analyzer or ManageEngine Ping Tool to check ping consistency over Wi-Fi and mobile data. Since Fongo Mobile is a SIP-based application, it needs to maintain an active connection with Fongo’s servers in Ontario. If the app is not registered (app closed, suspended, or due to a network issue), incoming calls will fail or go to voicemail. Broken up/poor audio can be caused by high jitter.

WinMTR or pingpath can sometimes help reveal where problems occur along the path between you and a server.

also, why this forum becomes so quiet over time?

If people don't have problems or otherwise learn how to solve their own, why post? Also, I suspect the number of SIP app users is decreasing, generally.

Is it because of WhatsApp popularity or what direct CA competitors?

These forums exist to discuss Fongo services--and not for the promotion or discussion of other, competing services.

I'll only say that most people I know own smartphones and upgrade them periodically, often at reduced pricing along with receiving winback plans after porting out (a game of porting out and back in after receiving a good offer), and don't use any SIP apps at all. Most of the market share goes towards cellular service providers in Canada. Some winback plans now include international calling and even international roaming.

I refuse to use whatsapp (deleted my account years ago), but that has nothing to do with Fongo Mobile or these forums.

I mean, its obvious for users the known deficiencies of Fongo app were not remediated over time.

I genuinely don't have Fongo Mobile call problems on iOS that can't be explained by jitter and pings (or, otherwise, network issues). Network path issues may include my being (temporarily) far away from Fongo's servers in Ontario.

I don't normally test on a Fongo Mobile account that has ads though, unless I'm specifically checking for a potential problem. I want to make it clear that I'm not suggesting you pay to remove them. I'm just not sure if they're a potential cause.

Beyond what I've expressed so far in this thread, I doubt there's much further I can do to assist you. I think it's fair to say that I tried.

[mikesil93]

I think it's fair to say that I tried.

I can only say WOW to that.

After updating to Android 16 Fongo call audio quality was greatly improved with default settings, while lag in Connection screen appearance seems longer on 5G compare to WiFi.

Without rooting the phone, I couldn't access /Data/data even with Shizuku in pipeline. In other places like Android/data the app folder com.fongo.dellvoice reveals only Voicemail DB. So I wonder how to fully backup the app including its DBs with popular Android Backup apps like Titanium or Swift Backup on a non-rooted phone without PC use? Would you recommend a proven way? And why Fongo doesn't offer it?

I use VoIP apps on Tablets without phone support, and on mobile phones to use dedicated phone numbers for different topics & activities as Calls & SMS & Contacts sorting feature. TextNow maintains free server based Call & SMS DB, but flooded with graphic ads. Fongo ads are also getting way too aggressive, with new windows popping up, yet it doesn't maintain Calls DB on the server, which requires different phone numbers use for each device as a major inconvenience even if cheap Data Only SIM cards are available.

Meanwhile, this thread contains a lot of useful information for every Fongo user imaginable.

[Liptonbrisk]

16 Pixel or another current model generic mobile phone?

Okay, I should have paid closer attention.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VOIP/comments/ ... ccount_do/

One device that I had was running an old version of the operating system. Eventually after a certain number of updates, Fongo could no longer log in. Not only was it was no longer officially supported, but it blocked from logging in at all.

According to how the application is designed, uninstalling the app would delete data. This meant that call logs, voicemail messages, and text messages are at risk of being deleted. If you uninstall the app, they would be deleted. You can't view them by logging in though because the app is no longer supported on the device and it won't let you log in.

However, you can restore your information.

Step 1: Install adb

Step 2: Plug your phone into your computer, enable USB debugging, run adb, and create a backup using adb: https://teamandroid.com/adb-commands-list/#adb_backup

Step 3: Extract that backup into a regular set of files and folders using the line referenced here: https://android.stackexchange.com/a/78183

Step 4: Dig through your backup and look for a folder called com.fongo.dellvoice . In that folder there are more folders, dig through them a bit and there is a file called com.fongo.dellvoice . This file doesn't have an extension but it is a SQLite3 database.

Step 5: Install a SQLite3 database browser: https://sqlitebrowser.org/dl/

Step 6: Open the database with the database browser, navigate around a bit, and you should be able to see your whole text message history, call logs, and recent voicemails. I think voicemails might automatically get deleted periodically, so those might be only the past two month's worth or so.

Without rooting the phone, I couldn't access /Data/data even with Shizuku in pipeline. In other places like Android/data the app folder com.fongo.dellvoice reveals only Voicemail DB. So I wonder how to fully backup the app including its DBs with popular Android Backup apps like Titanium or Swift Backup on a non-rooted phone without PC use? Would you recommend a proven way?

Based on https://stackoverflow.com/questions/743 ... adb-backup (and something else I read) full, restorable backups of Fongo Mobile’s private databases are not possible without root. I hope someone else posts to prove me wrong, but, as far as I can tell, the problem is adb backup is deprecated or removed on modern Android, Shizuku cannot read /data/data, and Fongo only supports per‑thread message export.

Doing some more reading . . .

Okay, I'm guessing private app data lives under /data/data/com.fongo.dellvoice/ and is sandboxed; modern Android blocks unprivileged access; so, Shizuku can’t read it, and Android/data only shows limited external files, such as cached voicemail.

Private app data in /data/data requires root to back up or restore; Shizuku helps with APKs and some external data, not sandboxed databases.



For No‑root

Use Fongo’s per‑thread Export messages to email for any critical threads you must preserve before troubleshooting or reinstalling; this is the only supported export and cannot be imported back into the app later. See https://support.fongo.com/hc/articles/2 ... t-messages

And why Fongo doesn't offer it?

I expect the reason has to do with server costs, but as you mentioned, they could charge users for a backup feature.

Respectfully, I am not Fongo; I don't work for them. I honestly don't know. Maybe request a ticket escalation and ask? I'm not sure. I mentioned before that I think the suggestion has merit, especially since Fongo may be able to profit from it. But what do I know?

After updating to Android 16 Fongo call audio quality was greatly improved with default settings, while lag in Connection screen appearance seems longer on 5G compare to WiFi.

This delay is separate from SIP security; it’s the app/network wake stage before or at INVITE time, and successful completion afterwards is consistent with normal call flow. It's possible your Wi-Fi is simply more reliable (lower pings/less jitter). Try Fongo’s connectivity toggles (Alternate Connection, Alternate DNS Resolver, and Allow IPv6) to find the fastest route on the mobile network and compare with Wi‑Fi.

[mikesil93]

I will escalate the lack of App Backup issue as you suggested. The Backup feature doesn't necessarily require to engage Fongo servers, since users can upload backups anywhere they like, including to their own phone Backups folder, email, Google Drive or PC via Quick Share. The problem however may be their 2nd level support staff is not much different from 1st level support, with "text massages on fongo.com" in quick replies.

[Liptonbrisk]

I will escalate the lack of App Backup issue as you suggested. The Backup feature doesn't necessarily require to engage Fongo servers, since users can upload backups anywhere they like, including to their own phone Backups folder, email, Google Drive or PC via Quick Share.

Yes . . . viewtopic.php?p=79280#p79280