Xperia Z - transfer/backup files and view them on PC

[Amantias]

Hi all,

I got a Sony Xperia Z earlier this year and now I am starting to get curious about how I can transfer contacts, SMS, MMS, etc to my PC and view them there. Maybe there is a dedicated Sony program that can do that like Kies for Samsung and I haven't been looking in the right places for it, but I am looking for something free, where I can easily view my SMS and MMS messages (eg: Backuptrans, Veryandroid, Phoneminer, or like Tansee for iPhone - to my knowledge these are all costly and the trials are basically useless). I've also tried using the Sony PC Companion by backing up the files, but then I have no idea how to view them or delve into them any deeper than changing the end of the file to .rar .

Many thanks to anyone that can help me 

[Rickard]

The backups you make in PC Companion are not made to be opened and viewed in the computer. You can open it using for example WinRAR but some files inside can't be opened.

If you want to manage for example SMS from your computer i would use a 3:rd party software like MyPhoneExplorer from www.fjsoft.at.

[Amantias]

Thank you Rickard, this seems like exactly what I need, but for whatever reason the program does not recognize my phone, but the computer does...

I'll keep messing around with it

[Rickard]

To use that software you need to enable USB debugging under Settings -> Developer options.

If you don't see "Developer options" under Settings, go to Settings -> About phone and tap "Build number" 7 times. After that you'll see "Developer options".