Extract text from mobile messages (PDU)
To convert PDU messages to another format, you need MMS Client or other Encoded software.
To convert other file formats to the "MMS Protocol Data Unit" file type, you need software like MMS Client or a similar tool.
The .PDU file stores a Protocol Data Unit, typically containing a Multimedia Message Service (MMS) or Short Message Service (SMS) message. These files are frequently generated when users back up their mobile phones to a computer using tools like LG Backup. The file captures the exact raw data packets transmitted over the GSM or 3GPP cellular networks, including timestamps, sender details, and the message content.
Because they contain raw network data, .PDU files consist of encoded hexadecimal strings or binary data. You usually need specialized parser tools, mobile backup software, or a dedicated Protocol Data Unit parser to decode the contents into a readable format.
The primary disadvantage of the .PDU format is that it is a raw telecommunications protocol layer format. It is completely unreadable to humans. You cannot simply open a .PDU file in a standard text editor or image viewer, even if it contains a picture. Standard online converters fail to process it because the file contains complex network routing headers mixed with encoded media payloads.
You will usually want to parse and convert the .PDU file to extract the hidden media into standard formats. The best conversion targets are JPG or PNG for extracted images, MP4 for video, and TXT or XML for the text contents and message metadata (like the sender number and timestamp).
This format is notoriously difficult to open or convert because it relies on strict 3GPP telecommunication standards to encode multiple parts of a message into a single continuous data block. Often, only specialized decoding software can correctly separate the headers from the actual media. However, you can drag and drop your file to see what it is and convert it if supported. convert.guru can inspect the internal data structure of the .PDU file, and if it detects embedded images or text, extraction may still be possible.
Convert.Guru analyzes your PDU file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted MMS, 12, UDPF and BS files.
If you want to convert PDU file to , you can use MMS Client or similar software from the "Mobile Message Data Storage" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to PDU, try MMS Client or another comparable tool in the "Mobile Message Data Storage" 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 PDU converter.