Extract text from iOS backup files (MDBACKUP)
To convert MDBACKUP backups to another format, you need Apple iTunes or other Backup software.
To convert other file formats to the "Mobile Data Archive" file type, you need software like Apple iTunes or a similar tool.
A .mdbackup file is a system-generated backup archive created by Apple iTunes (Windows) or Finder (macOS) during the synchronization of an iOS device. These files serve as containers for essential device metadata, configuration settings, and user data (such as contacts, SMS messages, and camera roll indices).
Technically, an .mdbackup file is often a Binary Property List (plist), a proprietary structure used by Apple to store serialized objects. While efficient for the operating system, this format is opaque to users; you cannot simply double-click to view your text messages or photos. A common friction point is that users encounter these files inside the MobileSync folder when attempting to manually recover lost data, only to find them unreadable by standard text editors. To make the data usable, the file must be parsed and converted. For forensic or recovery purposes, users typically convert the internal plist structure to readable XML or extract specific payloads (like messages) into PDF, CSV, or HTML formats for archiving and legal review.
Convert.Guru analyzes your MDBACKUP file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted M4V, ITC2 and ITL files.
If you want to convert MDBACKUP file to BAK, BACKUP, OLD, TMP, TEMP, ARC, ZIP, TAR, GZ, 7Z, RAR or ISO, you can use Apple iTunes or similar software from the "iOS Device Backup" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert SNAPSHOT, OLD, IMG, RESTORE, ISO, COPY, VMDK, TMP, VHD, BAK, ARCHIVE or BACKUP files to MDBACKUP, try Apple iTunes or another comparable tool in the "iOS Device Backup" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our MDBACKUP converter.