iMessage pictures not saving to info section photo gallery of iMessage iOS 16.0.3

[Maxell]

iPhone 14 Pro 512GB with 300GB available and Apple One Premier 2TB iCloud storage plan (1.6TB available)
Installed iOS 16.0.3



ios 16.0.3. Apple fix this!

I got a new iPhone 14 pro and transferred from iPhone 13 pro. At first there were no pictures in the information section AND new pictures coming in on iMessage text threads were not saving to the photo gallery or sometimes they did but only for a hour or until I plugged phone into charge and then boom! pictures disappeared. Thankfully still on the thread but I can't scroll endlessly looking for pictures. What's the point of having the photo gallery if nothing is saved there?

I spent hours on the phone with Apple Support senior level techs. Opened a case. Did screen recording, let Apple install tracking software on my phone to capture issue in real time, ran diagnostics, screen share etc etc and that was all after the usual turn phone off, hard reboot phone, toggle iMessage, go to icloud and toggle sync iMessage, toggle air plane mode, turned iCloud back up off etc etc.

Apple said none of those things work. iMessage is not part of the back up so issues related to iMessage are a software issue but the Apple engineers who reviewed the information I sent them clearly showing the problem said they don't see a problem. Even worse was the suggestion for me to buy another new phone, set it up as new and see if the problem still happens and that was after I was told it is not a device issue.

After I uninstalled and wiped the phone entirely and restored THREE times, some (not all) old pictures have returned to the photo gallery after indexing for 18 hours (I have 25GB iMessage) but new photos coming daily are still not being saved to the photo gallery. I have to save each one manually to the photo app if I want it. In fact, sometimes a photo does appear saved in photo gallery but it disappears either by itself within a few hours or when I plug in to charge.


Apple: this is not a new issue. Please stop denying there is an issue. This needs to be fixed now or in iOS 16.1 please


Anyone else still having iMessage issues in iOS 16.0.3 related to

1. none or only some older iMessage pictures loading in photo gallery
2. Not having new iMessage photos saved to the gallery that stay on iPhone without disappearing in hours or when charging and not being able to get them back from iCloud

Anyone have any ideas how to fix this?

Thank you

 

[Sarah444]

I am experiencing this EXACT same thing. I was on the phone with Apple for 2+ hours on Tuesday. I had to backup my phone and then update the software. They told me to give it 24 hours to sync. I literally got one old picture added back to the text gallery and then nothing. This really sucks. I switched from Android to iPhone for the first time and lost all my texts and pics. I did use Message+ on my droid so not sure if that plays a part. I registered today to comment because I was hoping someone might know a fix by now.

 

[mrios25]

Having this same issue. I used to be able to click on a txt thread and then the persons name at top and then click photos and see everything we've sent. Now it's just a few. I have to go back through the message and click on all the images that are not loading. Takes way too long and I shouldn't have to do that. Anyone fix it? I was thinking of doing a full restore but that takes too long.

 

[contacos]

This has been happening to me for YEARS. I also clean out my iMessage attachements every week and suddenly days later it is full of photos that have not been there before

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/icloud-message-usage-makes-no-sense.2376677/

 

[Sarah444]

Update - Ended up making an in-store appointment. They said anytime you call tech support it's basically a call center with limited experience and knowledge. We backed up everything and then did a complete reset. I was told to use it for a few days and follow up later that week if I was still experiencing the picture issue. A few days go by and it becomes clear to me that, while some photos were saving in information area of text message, other photos were being arbitrarily deleted or not saving.

I went back to apple store and swapped out the device, created a new apple ID, and started completely fresh. It has now been a few weeks. I can confirm that most photos are saving where they should be. I've been purposely not painstakingly checking for the issue due to the stress and longevity of dealing with a fancy new phone that doesn't work properly.

The other day, my partner and I were sending pics of food back and forth (as you do). I didn't look to see if they were saved, but the next day I decided to... They weren't there!! I plug my phone in each night and am always connected to wifi. I asked him if they were saved in our chat on his phone (he has an iPhone 14 too). They were!

Two days later, they popped up, in the text shared gallery. Absolutely ridiculous. It seems there is some sort of software glitch with apple iphone 14 pro where pictures that are meant to be gathered in the shared gallery section in text convos are being deleted. Some, not all. Completely bizarre and frustrating. I want all features of the phone to work and texting is 75% of phone usage so get it together apple!! Good luck everyone!

 

[contacos]

Not an issue limited to iPhone 14. It’s the same on my iPhone 12 PM, iPad and MacBook. Each device shows and misses photos or shows photos that shouldn’t even be there anymore

 

[mrios25]

I ended up doing a full restore and once everything synced I was able to view it normally now so that was the fix for me.

 

[whuzmyname]

Does anyone have an update on this? Currently experiencing the exact same issue. When I got the new iPhone 14 pro max everything transferred over correctly. It was only until I left my phone plugged in overnight and connected to Wi-Fi that pics in my message thread started disappearing. Many are still missing from the info thread. Anyone have a fix or any suggestions?

 

[ihakim]

Update - Ended up making an in-store appointment. They said anytime you call tech support it's basically a call center with limited experience and knowledge. We backed up everything and then did a complete reset. I was told to use it for a few days and follow up later that week if I was still experiencing the picture issue. A few days go by and it becomes clear to me that, while some photos were saving in information area of text message, other photos were being arbitrarily deleted or not saving.

I went back to apple store and swapped out the device, created a new apple ID, and started completely fresh. It has now been a few weeks. I can confirm that most photos are saving where they should be. I've been purposely not painstakingly checking for the issue due to the stress and longevity of dealing with a fancy new phone that doesn't work properly.

The other day, my partner and I were sending pics of food back and forth (as you do). I didn't look to see if they were saved, but the next day I decided to... They weren't there!! I plug my phone in each night and am always connected to wifi. I asked him if they were saved in our chat on his phone (he has an iPhone 14 too). They were!

Two days later, they popped up, in the text shared gallery. Absolutely ridiculous. It seems there is some sort of software glitch with apple iphone 14 pro where pictures that are meant to be gathered in the shared gallery section in text convos are being deleted. Some, not all. Completely bizarre and frustrating. I want all features of the phone to work and texting is 75% of phone usage so get it together apple!! Good luck everyone!

Were you ever able to resolve this issue? It is occurring on both my iPhone and iPad. It’s always something with apple and their software these days. Full of bugs.

 

[Maxell]

New iPhone 15 Pro Sept 23 2023. I did the transfer in the Apple Store using Quick Start and the issue in iMessage with photos not being in the iMessage photo gallery is still there! With an Apple tech present, I wiped the phone and tried again using iCloud to transfer. Same iMessage issue again. I wiped it again and this time did the transfer using Finder (old iTunes) on my computer and it happened again.

I called Apple Support from the Apple Store and they have no idea what the issue is. I was told iMessage is not part of the back up so it’s a bug in iMessage. It’s not the device.

This is the exact same issue I had on iPhone 14 Pro. Hours of calls to Apple Support and Genius Bar appointments make no difference.

Come on Apple!! Fix this!

Anyone else have this?

 

[Maxell]

Were you ever able to resolve this issue? It is occurring on both my iPhone and iPad. It’s always something with apple and their software these days. Full of bugs.

No!

 

[Maxell]

Not an issue limited to iPhone 14. It’s the same on my iPhone 12 PM, iPad and MacBook. Each device shows and misses photos or shows photos that shouldn’t even be there anymore

And now issue remains on iPhone 15 Pro

 

[Maxell]

Apple engineers now says it’s a syncing issue between iCloud and iMessage which is supposed to happen automatically and that’s why it’s not part of the back up. In other words, I can go on trying to wipe and reinstall and it will make no difference.

Anyone have any ideas how to fix this syncing issue because clearly waiting for Apple to fix it isn’t happening anytime soon

 

[ios3]

I recently had some messages issues when I updated from iOS 15 to 16, searched many forums and came across various posts on similar issues.

Are you using iMessage in iCloud? If so, is it fully synced with your old iPhone(i.e. are all your messages in iCloud?) Or are your messages on your iCloud/Computer backup?

Some things I’ve read and tried personally with success is to:
1) restore your backup/sync with iMessage in iCloud
2) give it some time to download and index your messages, so leave the phone plugged in and connected to wifi
3) once “finished”, turn off and on your iPhone
4) go to settings>Siri & search>Messages and toggle everything off then on. This will force iOS to re-index your messages and media
5) go to Messages and go to any convo with media, click the media viewer and at the bottom it should say it’s indexing

The last step’s wait will of course depend on how many messages and media you have. But should be finished if left plugged in overnight. You can always re-try step 4 if needed.

Let me know if you already tried those steps before or if it helps you out. It’s actually unacceptable that Apple’s support is so useless for how expensive their products and services are. Besides the iPhone you bought, you pay a lot monthly for iCloud and shouldn’t have to deal with this.

Good luck with the troubleshooting!

 

[ihakim]

I recently had some messages issues when I updated from iOS 15 to 16, searched many forums and came across various posts on similar issues.

Are you using iMessage in iCloud? If so, is it fully synced with your old iPhone(i.e. are all your messages in iCloud?) Or are your messages on your iCloud/Computer backup?

Some things I’ve read and tried personally with success is to:
1) restore your backup/sync with iMessage in iCloud
2) give it some time to download and index your messages, so leave the phone plugged in and connected to wifi
3) once “finished”, turn off and on your iPhone
4) go to settings>Siri & search>Messages and toggle everything off then on. This will force iOS to re-index your messages and media
5) go to Messages and go to any convo with media, click the media viewer and at the bottom it should say it’s indexing

The last step’s wait will of course depend on how many messages and media you have. But should be finished if left plugged in overnight. You can always re-try step 4 if needed.

Let me know if you already tried those steps before or if it helps you out. It’s actually unacceptable that Apple’s support is so useless for how expensive their products and services are. Besides the iPhone you bought, you pay a lot monthly for iCloud and shouldn’t have to deal with this.

Good luck with the troubleshooting!

I initially had success with this but then found that only some new images are added as I get sent more from contacts in iMessage. Nothing I do seems to have fixed the issue and anytime I wipe or change devices I have this problem again which requires several days of the above steps to get the pictures back. Then the new ones don’t show up consistently as I mentioned. I’ve essentially given up at this point.

 

[ios3]

I initially had success with this but then found that only some new images are added as I get sent more from contacts in iMessage. Nothing I do seems to have fixed the issue and anytime I wipe or change devices I have this problem again which requires several days of the above steps to get the pictures back. Then the new ones don’t show up consistently as I mentioned. I’ve essentially given up at this point.

Ah I’m sorry to hear you still had issues. Were you using iMessage in iCloud?

 

[ihakim]

Ah I’m sorry to hear you still had issues. Were you using iMessage in iCloud?

Yes I am using iMessage in iCloud. 44 GB of messages stored in the cloud yet less than 100 pictures showing up in iMessage on my iPad.

 

[ios3]

Yes I am using iMessage in iCloud. 44 GB of messages stored in the cloud yet less than 100 pictures showing up in iMessage on my iPad.

44 GB!? Holy lol. How many devices are syncing with iMessage in iCloud? And does your iPad have enough storage to hold all of your iCloud messages? I wonder how this feature functions when coinciding with other iCloud services like photos and music

 

[Maxell]

I recently had some messages issues when I updated from iOS 15 to 16, searched many forums and came across various posts on similar issues.

Are you using iMessage in iCloud? If so, is it fully synced with your old iPhone(i.e. are all your messages in iCloud?) Or are your messages on your iCloud/Computer backup?

Some things I’ve read and tried personally with success is to:
1) restore your backup/sync with iMessage in iCloud
2) give it some time to download and index your messages, so leave the phone plugged in and connected to wifi
3) once “finished”, turn off and on your iPhone
4) go to settings>Siri & search>Messages and toggle everything off then on. This will force iOS to re-index your messages and media
5) go to Messages and go to any convo with media, click the media viewer and at the bottom it should say it’s indexing

The last step’s wait will of course depend on how many messages and media you have. But should be finished if left plugged in overnight. You can always re-try step 4 if needed.

Let me know if you already tried those steps before or if it helps you out. It’s actually unacceptable that Apple’s support is so useless for how expensive their products and services are. Besides the iPhone you bought, you pay a lot monthly for iCloud and shouldn’t have to deal with this.

Good luck with the troubleshooting!

I am using iCloud for messages and followed the exact steps to transfer. How do I force sync iMessage with iCloud? I went to iCloud, then messages and then disable and download/ toggled that off. Then restarted phone. Then went back and turned it back on to sync. Nothing happened and I have Ben plugged into power and strong WiFi the whole time

I have already done the toggle in Siri and search and tried to reactivate messages (your#4). Nothing happened.

It doesn’t say “ indexing “ or uploading or downloading from iCloud

I will repeat these steps over the coming days

This is so annoying. I have 13 GB messages and pictures on some threads that I value. I should have downloaded every picture before getting a new phone or upgrading to iOS 17.

From now on, I will download every picture that I want from iMessage and save to pictures.

Is it possible that 13GB takes days to sync? I know people with 50gb or more in iMessage that got new phones with iOS 17 and had zero issues with this

It’s definitely a sync bug that Apple pretend they don’t know about or don’t know how to fix it!

 

[Maxell]

Yes I am using iMessage in iCloud. 44 GB of messages stored in the cloud yet less than 100 pictures showing up in iMessage on my iPad.

I have 13Gb and less than 20 pictures or links or attachments. ARGH!!!!

 

[Maxell]

Ah I’m sorry to hear you still had issues. Were you using iMessage in iCloud?

I am using iMessage in iCloud and it doesn’t work

 

[Maxell]

I initially had success with this but then found that only some new images are added as I get sent more from contacts in iMessage. Nothing I do seems to have fixed the issue and anytime I wipe or change devices I have this problem again which requires several days of the above steps to get the pictures back. Then the new ones don’t show up consistently as I mentioned. I’ve essentially given up at this point.

I want my old pictures and attachments back. Then going forward I will not rely on Apple. I’ll download and save to pictures any photos I want and download and save to files any attachments. Shame on Apple!

 

[ios3]

I am using iCloud for messages and followed the exact steps to transfer. How do I force sync iMessage with iCloud? I went to iCloud, then messages and then disable and download/ toggled that off. Then restarted phone. Then went back and turned it back on to sync. Nothing happened and I have Ben plugged into power and strong WiFi the whole time

I have already done the toggle in Siri and search and tried to reactivate messages (your#4). Nothing happened.

It doesn’t say “ indexing “ or uploading or downloading from iCloud

I will repeat these steps over the coming days

This is so annoying. I have 13 GB messages and pictures on some threads that I value. I should have downloaded every picture before getting a new phone or upgrading to iOS 17.

From now on, I will download every picture that I want from iMessage and save to pictures.

Is it possible that 13GB takes days to sync? I know people with 50gb or more in iMessage that got new phones with iOS 17 and had zero issues with this

It’s definitely a sync bug that Apple pretend they don’t know about or don’t know how to fix it!

Okay let’s do one thing at a time!

Do you by chance have any of the older devices that had all your messages and media on them?

And as of right now, your current phone is setup? And is iMessage in iCloud turned on?

 

[ihakim]

44 GB!? Holy lol. How many devices are syncing with iMessage in iCloud? And does your iPad have enough storage to hold all of your iCloud messages? I wonder how this feature functions when coinciding with other iCloud services like photos and music

Yes. It’s a 512GB iPad Pro and I have been using iMessage in iCloud since it was released with iOS 11 . I also have a 256gb iPhone 13 mini and a 2 TB 14” MacBook Pro (the only device it works correctly on). All have ample space with less than 50% storage used. This issue is not new and has persisted for years. Several years ago I used to be able to fix it by doing an iCloud restore, then backing up the device to my MacBook, and restoring again with that local backup. That no longer works and neither do the “new tricks.” Unfortunately this isn’t my first rodeo and since it has been broken since iOS 13, I have no hopes of Apple fixing it anytime soon.

No issues with iCloud Photos. I don’t store my music in the cloud.

 

[topdog9000]

Dealing with the same thing right now. No solution yet. Upgraded from a 13pro to the 15pro. Everything transferred over without issues, except for iMessage and photos. The photos do seem to be in the conversation though just not in the contact info section that shows all the photos, links, attachments, etc. there’s only a few of the recent photos showing up there. The whole iMessage iCloud experience has been buggy. The iPad never mirrors exactly what the iPhone shows. If I delete a picture on the iPhone it might still be on the iPad or conversations don’t go back as far in the iPad either. The worst is spending time deleting pictures and texts and the next day they just show up again. Can’t figure out how to get everything synced up 100%. I’m glad I didn’t lose the photos but it’s much more time consuming to find them buried in an iMessage conversation rather than pull of the photos of the chat. Not sure what else I can try.