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iPhone 12 and 12 Pro Users Complain of Missing SMS Text Messages and Message Notifications

It would be nice if apple would update their website with the proper iOS version drop down.

You go to that website to report a bug and it asks what version of iOS are you using and it only lets you select 14.1 or earlier. I am running 14.2.

Call CNN and tell them. They’ve got nothing better to report on at this time.
 
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Having the same issue here with my iPhone SE, so not just a 12 issue. I thought I was going bonkers when I wasn’t seeing notifications on either my phone or Apple Watch!
 
I doubt it’s phone specific as much as I think it’s iOS related. Screw the new emojis and fix a vital part of a phones os.
 
Ramchi said:
Thank God I rely only on WhatsApp and Telegram for messaging. SMS no one cares now a days.....mostly junks are coming as SMS in my region.
Click to expand...
For some reason, many banks here in Europe decided that sending SMS passcodes was the most fun insecure method they could come up with to enhance security.
 
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Summary of Missing SMS texts on iPhone group chats:

Doesn’t matter if the non-iPhone user has an older phone or newest, Android, Pixel
Problem is with all carriers
Predominantly iPhone 12, but happening on other iPhones


“Fixes” that do not work:

Reset All Settings (after backup and then restore)
Reset Network
Erase All Settings
Toggle off/on all Message’s settings
Carrier reset local cell towers
Doesn’t matter whether you are on wifi or not
Resetting/ turning on “Integrated Messages” (Verizon only)
Turning on iCloud Messages
Upgrading to iOS 14.2
Swapping out SIM card
Turning off 5G

Some data points to add:


There was a “Preferred Line” option on several contacts during edit. This is a function of having two lines, available via eSIM. I fixed that, chose my cell, thought it fixed… but did not.

I pinned the group chat in question, moved it up to the top of my message stack… and it disappeared from the “pinned” position.


I have text forwarding to my MacBook and here’s the group text, all addresses in red, not recognized (only two of these are non-iPhones).
bad text messages.png

Here's what happens when I click on the red-highlighted address (iPhone):
bad text message 2.png
 
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Mike MA said:
Only the ones who are not aware or don’t care about data privacy.
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Yes, messaging apps that only work on one platform (sorry, Apple, iMessage might be quite nice, but if it's not available to most of my friends or isn't end to end encrypted… 😕), or which are operated by data mining companies like Facebook or Google, are a dead end. The only sensible way forward is to use open source apps from trustworthy and security focused developers, such as Signal.
 
In fairness i text me daughter yesterday and didn’t come through on her phone but on the iPad it came through.
 
Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) said:
See plenty of others saying they're experiencing this problem. Please, if you want it resolved as quickly as possible, take a minute to go report it. The more people that report it, the quicker it'll be resolved. This is no different than voting, don't assume someone else will do it so that you don't have to. The more people that report it, the quicker they'll act to fix it. They track these reports and the more they get the more they prioritize them. 100 reports will get a little attention, 1,000 is better, and 100,000 is going to make it clear that it's a big issue that needs to be resolved. With hundreds of millions of iPhones out there, even 100,000 reports isn't many when it comes to knowing an issue is very widespread.

Take 30 seconds and make the report. It'll make a difference if everyone does it.

www.apple.com

Feedback - iPhone

Apple wants to hear from you. Send us your comments and feedback about iPhone.
www.apple.com
Click to expand...
I reported as well, thank you for the link.
 
Apple Desktop Bus (ADB) said:
See plenty of others saying they're experiencing this problem. Please, if you want it resolved as quickly as possible, take a minute to go report it. The more people that report it, the quicker it'll be resolved. This is no different than voting, don't assume someone else will do it so that you don't have to. The more people that report it, the quicker they'll act to fix it. They track these reports and the more they get the more they prioritize them. 100 reports will get a little attention, 1,000 is better, and 100,000 is going to make it clear that it's a big issue that needs to be resolved. With hundreds of millions of iPhones out there, even 100,000 reports isn't many when it comes to knowing an issue is very widespread.

Take 30 seconds and make the report. It'll make a difference if everyone does it.

www.apple.com

Feedback - iPhone

Apple wants to hear from you. Send us your comments and feedback about iPhone.
www.apple.com
Click to expand...
Thank you....reported it as well.
 
This is not a new issue. Messages have gone missing or delayed between iOS and Android devices for a while. Hopefully both sides can work on this but unfortunately it benefits both to have messaging work better when all devices are on there platform and in turn feeding their profits.
 
My wife and I both are having the same problem with our new iPhone 12 Pro’s. Very frustrating
 
IPhone 12 Pro on 14.2 through ATT. I’m having the exact problems.

My wife’s iphone Xs Max is still on 14.1 and she is not experiencing the issues.

Life on the bleeding edge.............

EDIT: I also used the bug report link posted in an earlier reply. Found it interesting that under the “select IOS Version” drop down the highest IOS version is 14.1
 
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I had this issue on my 8+. Was missing group messages. I switched to the 12 pro Max and those missing messages are now there.
 
I've not had the messages issue with my iPhone 12 but I have the issue of random drops in service a few times a day with Verizon. Some online research tells me this is a problem with other carriers as well and both VZ and Apple know about it. Very frustrating.
 
I'm shocked just to learn people still use SMS text messages for things other than getting one time passwords from their banks. Would've assumed that cheaper (ie free) alternatives - especially when dealing with international comms - have won long time ago.
 
7149041 said:
I'm shocked just to learn people still use SMS text messages for things other than getting one time passwords from their banks. Would've assumed that cheaper (ie free) alternatives - especially when dealing with international comms - have won long time ago.
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Why? Trying to coordinate all of my contacts and friends to get them to use one platform would be impossible and the benefits of doing so minimal. And you are making a huge assumption that others would even want to.
 
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iPhone 12 Pro, Verizon, Columbus, GA.

Spent several hours on the phone with Verizon support thinking there was an issue with the way my account was setup when I moved from iPhone X to 12 Pro. The rep could send an MMS text via one platform, but not via their Troubleshooting platform - i’d never receive it.

Same issue as described though, missing texts from Group MMS, etc.

I’ve done a network reset and confirmed with VZW that the correct IMEI and ICCID are listed in their software - no luck in resolving the issue.

I also receive an iOS error message about needing to activate MMS or something like that when attempting to send a picture or video via group MMS. I will grab a screen shot next time and share.
 
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I’m not sure why this article mentions SMS. This is affecting iMessages for me, not just SMS. It’s incredibly frustrating to not see what texts I’m receiving. And I have an iPhone 11 Pro, not a 12.
 
I believe this is an Apple server issue and not a device or iOS issue. The reason is our lousy experience with the Apple's OCSP authentication server with trying to download Big Sur: https://www.theverge.com/2020/11/12...oad-slow-big-sur-downloads-outage-down-issues What was interesting was the behavior of apps when the MacOS couldn't authenticate. All apps slowed down or couldn't load, including Messages. But they could be Google Chrome or other nonApple apps as well.

While all this was happening, Apple's own website reported things had been fixed. They weren't.

Apple isn't particularly gifted on the server side of the business, as opposed to Google, and are finding out that it isn't as easy as it looks. Remember it used to be that Messages couldn't be deleted on one device and hence on all. This sort of works now, but syncing servers isn't their thing.
 
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I’ve got the same problem. Very annoying. Messaging/texting should “Just work”. Its 2020 for heaven’s sake ...
 
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