karenfromsawbridgeworth

Q: Iphone 5 upgraded to ios9.3.1 now lost all text messages, get no notifications, stuck 'sending'

I've recently upgraded to IOS9.3.1 (previously on much earlier version but cant remember which) using iphone 5.

Several issues now all related to messages

1) all messages have disappeared and any new ones only stay for few hours then disappear of their own accord (settings set to keep forever)

2) no alerts work on receipt of any new messages (changed audio sounds, checked notifications are on)

3) when sending messages (both imessage and text) status bar says sending 1 of ... forever - never goes away till message has disappeared from the message list.

 

Prior to upgrade to IOS 9 I backed up to PC and I think icloud

I've tried the following things most of them several times!

turn on off on off on off....

checked notifications are on in settings, messages, notifications,

turned i message on off on off

reset all settings (more then once)

restored from PC backup from just before the upgrade - dont know how to restore from any earlier backup if this is possible or to find out if I have a backup on icloud.

 

Please help I'm at my wits end, used to use messaging all the time and now completely useless.  Please no jargon and clear instructions for any fix I'm not an Apple expert.

thank you

iPhone 5, iOS 9.3.1, Messaging issues

Posted on Apr 13, 2016 8:55 AM

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Q: Iphone 5 upgraded to ios9.3.1 now lost all text messages, get no notifications, stuck 'sending'

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  • by dave8619,

    dave8619 dave8619 Apr 22, 2016 3:21 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 22, 2016 3:21 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth

    Hi Karen,

     

     

    I have exactly the same issues since I updated the software on my iphone 5C. 9 days since your post, have you had any luck in resolving the problem?

     

    I have tried similar things to yourself:

     

     

    1) Re-booted the phone (several times)

    2) Reset all the phone's settings a couple of times

    3) Toggled i-message and SMS messages on and off a few times.

     

     

    Everything else seems fine, in terms of my contacts, call history, apps, email etc. Just the text messaging app. I can see from my iphone storage that I
    have 140mb of messages saved somewhere, but just don't seem to be visible.

     

     

    I have been advised by Apple Support via DM on Twitter to do a full back up and restore of my phone, to completely wipe all data and settings, effectively
    becoming a "new" phone again with factory settings. I am hoping to try and avoid this option if possible. Am due a phone upgrade, so think I might
    just get a new phone if I'm going to end up having to do a full restore anyway.

     

     

    Thanks,

    Dave

  • by karenfromsawbridgeworth,

    karenfromsawbridgeworth karenfromsawbridgeworth Apr 22, 2016 4:03 AM in response to dave8619
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 22, 2016 4:03 AM in response to dave8619

    Hi Dave,

    As I'd had no replies, no-one could offer me any solution despite trawling the internet and phone is still having same issues, I can still message but don't get any notifications and messages always send but on phone the progress bar never gets to end and it says 'sending' until all of a sudden the whole lot disappears again and I have blank where messages used to be - it's so annoying my primary use of the phone is messaging!

     

    Right now I'm currently in the process of a full factory reset following an icloud backup (hopefully an icloud backup as phone says it happened 11:01 but I tunes says never been backed up to icloud! - it's taking ages so may not be working (approx. 15 mins in now)

     

    When I upgraded to ios9 the phone was full so I had to remove photos first to free up space for upgrade, then upgrade failed on first attempt so I wonder if it's corrupted somewhere along the line.

    I'll keep you posted if it actually works or not

    Karen

  • by dave8619,

    dave8619 dave8619 Apr 22, 2016 5:15 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 22, 2016 5:15 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth

    Hi Karen,

     

    Same here, I can send messages and people do receive them. However the 'sending message' bar gets stuck and then after a while the actual text message itself completely disappears. Just leaving me with a list of names who I have had text conversations with, but not the actual messages, just blank. I have also realised over the last week, just how much I use text messaging, very frustrating. Thankfully Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger are there to keep me going in the mean time.

     

    I ignored the software update for months and my phone was working fine prior to updating. Usually very sceptical about any software updates, so don't know why I decided to download it. Just had a moment of 'yeh why not'!

     

    I imagine that the software has probably corrupted somewhere along the line, but unfortunately I'm not the most tech savvy person. Had to delete a lot of music before updating to free up space.

     

    I'll also keep you posted, should I come across a solution.

     

    Thanks,

    Dave

  • by karenfromsawbridgeworth,

    karenfromsawbridgeworth karenfromsawbridgeworth Apr 23, 2016 9:37 AM in response to dave8619
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 23, 2016 9:37 AM in response to dave8619

    Hi Dave,

    So an update for you but alas not good news.

    I've now carried out a complete factory reset of my phone (twice) once via iTunes and once direct from the phone yesterday.

    After the iTunes reset I used a PC backup from prior to all my issues (31st March)

    After the phone reset used the icloud backup from earlier that day.

    Both restore from backups did not complete properly but I have apps etc and am sure this will complete once I sync again so its probably just my music missing

     

    Neither has worked and still have the same issue of 'messages stuck in send mode', none of my old messages have reappeared and I still don't get audible alert with a new message.

    Please do keep me posted if you find a solution and I will too

    Karen

  • by dave8619,

    dave8619 dave8619 Apr 25, 2016 6:05 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (8 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 25, 2016 6:05 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth

    Hi Karen,

     

    Thanks for your latest update. Doesn't sound like good news though unfortunately. I haven't yet attempted a full restore from either itunes or icloud. I haven't backed up to itunes for ages as my laptop has been playing up. Once I have backed up properly onto itunes I will give the restore a go. Doesn't sound too promising though, based on your update.

     

    I am due a phone upgrade, so I may end up just getting a new phone and restoring my data from itunes or icloud onto a new device. Hopefully Apple are working on alternative solution to get rid of these bugs/glitches.

     

    I will keep you posted, should I come across any other potential fixes. I'll keep checking the various forums etc, or hopefully Apple will come up with a new update to fix the issues.

     

    Thanks,

    Dave

  • by LNed,

    LNed LNed Apr 27, 2016 11:15 PM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 27, 2016 11:15 PM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth

    hi Karen

    I am having exactly the same problem as you. Upgraded to 9.3.1 on Sunday - exactly the same issues with messages as you have described. My new messages even get deleted if you change the Keep Messages setting from 'Forever' to '1 year' (but they don't get deleted changing back the other way).

    Just spoke with someone at Apple Support who said they had no knowledge of this issue. Tried the usual troubleshooting but no luck. They also suggested a restore but not sure it's going to help!

     

    Lee

  • by kay_redhawke,

    kay_redhawke kay_redhawke Apr 28, 2016 8:58 AM in response to LNed
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Apr 28, 2016 8:58 AM in response to LNed

    Hello,

    I'm having the exact same issue as you all. I just downloaded the new update (9.3.1) yesterday. I have been toggling messaging on and off, checking all of notifications settings, do not disturb, and have done a factory reset twice so far with no luck. Next step is to take my phone to the genius bar and hope they can fix it since no one on the phone or online seems to be able to fix this issue.

     

    Any progress for any of you?

     

    Thanks,

    K

  • by karenfromsawbridgeworth,

    karenfromsawbridgeworth karenfromsawbridgeworth Apr 28, 2016 11:33 PM in response to kay_redhawke
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iPhone
    Apr 28, 2016 11:33 PM in response to kay_redhawke

    I've still got exactly same issue despite doing everything mentioned above and 2 full factory resets so please do keep us updated if you find a solution.

    karen

  • by aant00,

    aant00 aant00 May 12, 2016 10:00 PM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 12, 2016 10:00 PM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth

    I had the exact same issue and finally fixed it by erasing all content and settings and not restoring from backup. If I restored from backup it would stop working again. I had a lot of old messages and am thinking that was causing the problem. It wasn't the most ideal solution, but at least I have a working phone again.

  • by PepperT,

    PepperT PepperT May 13, 2016 1:54 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iPhone
    May 13, 2016 1:54 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth

    Just another "me too" but with no solution I'm afraid;

    I have the exact same symptoms;

    - lost all existing messages on upgrade

    - any new messages are automatically deleted or removed after some time, (few hours, certainly <24 but more than 1)

    - when sending messages the progress bar stalls at ~90%, although the message does seem to be actually sent.

    - No audible notification of incoming messages.

    Incredibly frustrating. I too have tried reboot.  Reset network settings etc etc etc

    FYI I upgraded from iOS 7 (jail broken) to iOS 9.3 (not jail broken) just in case that helps anyone spot a pattern.

  • by farmercy,

    farmercy farmercy May 18, 2016 4:51 PM in response to PepperT
    Level 1 (4 points)
    May 18, 2016 4:51 PM in response to PepperT

    I have the same issue on my iphone 5.  I also have an iphone 5c and that does not have the same problem so I think it is a bug that only affects iphone 5.  I am due a call back from Apple Support tomorrow so will mention this thread.

  • by JemHadar UK,

    JemHadar UK JemHadar UK May 20, 2016 2:43 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    May 20, 2016 2:43 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth

    Finally upgraded from IOS 7 as some of my apps were starting to not work. Got the same problems as described above. After much research and time wasting I found a reset to factory settings did the trick. Bit of a drastic solution - it's your choice!

  • by PepperT,Helpful

    PepperT PepperT May 20, 2016 8:01 AM in response to PepperT
    Level 1 (9 points)
    iPhone
    May 20, 2016 8:01 AM in response to PepperT

    After several attempts to make this work I caved-in and did the factory reset thing too which *did* cure the problem...  then needed to re-set up all my apps from scratch which took several hours, but at least all is working OK now. 

    NB. If your old 'lost' iPhone messages are important to you, then I did manage to see all of them on my *iPad*,  I can't remember exactly how I did this, but I think it was the Settings|Messages|Text Message Forwarding option which showed all of my years and years of messages on my iPad even though they had seemingly vanished from the iphone.  At least it might help someone recover some vital information embedded in an SMS before they are lost forever.

  • by karenfromsawbridgeworth,

    karenfromsawbridgeworth karenfromsawbridgeworth May 20, 2016 8:04 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth
    Level 1 (14 points)
    iPhone
    May 20, 2016 8:04 AM in response to karenfromsawbridgeworth


    All, I posted this issues originally and still have no solution that's worked.

    I've managed to persuade my work to buy me an iphone 6 (yes very jammy!) so once that's set up I'm going to do a factory reset but with no restore from backup.

    Please update this thread if you have any solution other than setting phone up as new.

    Many thanks - I'm sorry you've all got issues but glad it's not just me.

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