Modern smartphones have a lot of different ways that you can interact with something on the screen. There’s often a button that you can press or tap that gives you some contextual options.
But you can usually perform some less obvious actions by tapping and holding on something, or swiping in a particular direction.
The Google Pixel 4A has many of these gesture-based actions. While many are useful, they can lead to a lot of accidental actions.
One that is particularly easy to do is archive a text message conversation by swiping to the left on the conversation.
Fortunately, you can unarchive a Pixel 4A conversation by going to Messages > tapping the three dots > choosing Settings > selecting Archived > choosing the conversation > tapping the three dots > selecting unarchive.
Once a text message conversation has been unarchived it will return to the Messages app in whatever chronological position the most recent message in that conversation thread would dictate.
Our tutorial below will give you more information on text message conversations in Android 11.
How to Undo a Text Message Archive on a Pixel 4A
- Open Messages.
- Tap the three dots.
- Choose Archived.
- Select the conversation.
- Tap the three dots.
- Choose Unarchive.
Our guide continues below with additional information on unarchiving text message conversations on a Pixel 4A smartphone.
If you’ve been trying to make those little square barcodes work, then find out how to scan a QR code on iPhone using just the Camera app on the device.
How to Remove a Google Pixel 4A Text Message Conversation from the Archive (guide with Pictures)
The steps in this article were performed on a Google Pixel 4A in the Android 11 operating system.
Step 1: Open the Messages app.
Step 2: Touch the vertical row of dots at the top-right corner of the screen.
Step 3: Select the Archived option.
Step 4: Choose the conversation to unarchive.
Step 5: Tap the three dots at the top-right of the screen.
Step 6: Select the Unarchive option.
Our tutorial continues below with additional discussion about unarchiving text messages on an Android 11 smartphone.
More Information on Archiving and Unarchiving in Android 11
While I have found that I archive text message conversations accidentally much more than I do it on purpose, it is a really useful feature if you are trying to clean up your text messages.
Being able to remove a text message conversation from the inbox is a great way to keep the information in case you need it later. Your other option would have been deleting the conversation or screenshotting the important parts, so the ability to archive is a nice alternative.
While it may not be as useful during accidental archives, there is an “Undo” pop up window that appears at the bottom of the screen after a conversation is archived. But that does go away pretty quickly, so you need to catch it almost immediately.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing technology how-to articles and tutorials for over a decade. He has extensive experience in information technology both in small business and as a consultant.
His articles have appeared on dozens of websites and been read millions of times.
He covers many different topics concerning technology, but focuses primarily on smartphones, consumer software, and consumer electronics.
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