Free online VMG to CSV converter

Older Nokia phones and Nokia PC Suite export SMS messages as .vmg files, while spreadsheets and database tools commonly require .csv. Converting the messages produces searchable, editable rows that can be imported or archived.

What the VMG format is

In the Mobile platforms context, VMG is the text-based vMessage format used mainly by older Nokia phones and Nokia PC Suite for SMS exports. A file can contain one message or multiple BEGIN:VMSG … END:VMSG records.

Typical fields include X-IRMC-FROM, X-IRMC-TO, X-IRMC-DATE, X-IRMC-SUBJECT, X-IRMC-BODY, mailbox information, and message status. VMG files are usually readable text, but their field names, encodings, line wrapping, and date formats vary between phone models and export tools.

What the CSV format is

CSV represents tabular data as records and comma-separated fields. Spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel and LibreOffice Calc, database importers, and data-analysis tools can open it. Regional spreadsheet settings may expect a semicolon or another delimiter instead of a comma.

A useful message CSV normally has one row per vMessage and columns such as date, from, to, subject, body, box, and status. CSV is convenient for filtering, searching, sorting, and combining messages, but it cannot preserve phone-specific message objects, multimedia attachments, folder behavior, or proprietary fields that are not exported.

Convert VMG to CSV on 101convert.com

1. Open the built-in VMG-to-CSV converter on 101convert.com; it can be used without installing software.
2. Upload the .vmg file. If the phone created one file per message, select multiple files only if the uploader supports batch processing.
3. Select CSV as the output format and start the conversion.
4. Download the resulting .csv file and open it in a spreadsheet or text editor.
5. Check several records, including messages with accents, long bodies, and embedded line breaks. For a multi-record file, compare the output row count with the number of BEGIN:VMSG blocks.

VMG files contain message text and telephone numbers. Do not upload them to a service if the messages are confidential or regulated; keep the original file until the CSV has been checked.

Convert locally with Python

A local parser avoids uploading private messages and is suitable for repeatable batch processing. Save this basic parser as vmg_to_csv.py:

import csv
import re
import sys
from pathlib import Path

source, destination = sys.argv[1], sys.argv[2]
text = Path(source).read_text(encoding="utf-8", errors="replace")
blocks = re.findall(r"BEGIN:VMSG(.*?)END:VMSG", text, flags=re.I | re.S)
columns = ["date", "from", "to", "subject", "body", "box", "status"]
keys = {
    "X-IRMC-DATE": "date",
    "X-IRMC-FROM": "from",
    "X-IRMC-TO": "to",
    "X-IRMC-SUBJECT": "subject",
    "X-IRMC-BODY": "body",
    "X-IRMC-BOX": "box",
    "X-IRMC-STATUS": "status",
}

with open(destination, "w", encoding="utf-8", newline="") as output:
    writer = csv.DictWriter(output, fieldnames=columns)
    writer.writeheader()
    for block in blocks:
        record = {column: "" for column in columns}
        current = None
        for line in block.splitlines():
            if ":" in line:
                key, value = line.split(":", 1)
                current = keys.get(key.split(";", 1)[0].upper())
                if current:
                    record[current] = value
            elif current == "body":
                record[current] += "\n" + line
        writer.writerow(record)

Run it from a terminal with:

python vmg_to_csv.py messages.vmg messages.csv

The script extracts common Nokia fields, creates one row for each standard vMessage block, and quotes fields correctly through Python's CSV writer. It is a baseline parser, not a complete VMG implementation. Extend it before use if the export contains quoted-printable or other encoded content, folded continuation lines, non-UTF-8 text, unusual field names, or records that do not use the standard block markers.

Quality and compatibility checks

• Character encoding: Older phones may use ISO-8859-1, UTF-8, or another character set. Reading the file with the wrong encoding can corrupt accented or non-Latin text; errors="replace" prevents a crash but cannot restore lost characters.
• Message bodies: A body can contain commas, quotation marks, and newlines. A valid CSV writer encloses such values in quotes. Do not create rows by splitting the VMG or CSV text at every newline.
• Dates: Phone-specific dates may include compact timestamps, timezone data, or two-digit years. Check that the spreadsheet has not changed the value or interpreted it in the wrong regional format.
• Attachments: Text and selected metadata may be exported, but images, audio, delivery reports, and other attachments generally cannot be represented inside a normal CSV row.
• Multiple files: If each SMS is stored in a separate VMG file, converting files individually can produce separate CSV files. A consolidated table requires batch support or a local script that loops over the source directory.