Photos in iMessage not showing up

Hello rebecka62,

​Thank you for using the Apple Support Communities. I understand you're unable to open older message attachments in threads.

You've done some great troubleshooting so far. I notice these attachments may be from April of 2018; do you see the same behavior with more recent messages as well, or only with older messages?

Were these photos from iCloud Photo Library, or were they stored directly on your device? Are they still in your Photos app, or in iCloud? To check iCloud, you can Use iCloud.com and sign in, and then click Photos.

Also, are you using Messages in iCloud? You can check by tapping Settings > [your name] > iCloud, and then scrolling down to Messages.

If you tap Settings > Messages > Keep Messages, which option is selected?

Also, you mentioned sending photos to your own iPad; what type of device are you sending from? Do you see similar issues in threads where you've sent photos to other people?

I hope this helps get you started.

Take care.

Hi rebecka62,

Thanks for the reply. If you're using iOS 11.4 on your iPad, I recommend an update as your next step. Here's How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch and Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Bringing your iPad fully up-to-date may help resolve this issue. Once updated, check it out to see this has cleared things up. If not, getting in touch with Apple would be a great next step to look into this further: Contact Apple Support

Have a great night.

Hello rebecka62,

We appreciate the follow-up information. If you open the Messages thread and then tap the bar at the top, followed by the "i" icon, try checking out the Images and Attachments tabs. Do you see any of these photos showing up here?

Also, to double-check, are you using the same devices now that you used when you originally sent them to the iPad? Or did they originate from a different iPhone?

Cheers.