Partial Loss of Draft iMessages and Texts

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Level 1

5 points

Partial Loss of Draft iMessages and Texts

When I’m typing a message in an existing conversation in Messages, and switch to another app, answer a call, etc., then switch back to Messages, I sometimes find the message I began typing has reverted to an earlier state. Usually I’ll find one sentence remains of a multiple sentence, possibly multiple paragraph message. I can’t find any way to recover what was lost.

Does anyone else encounter this? Is there a resolution other than to copy the text into memory frequently or only type messages in the Notes app?

iPhone X

Posted on May 17, 2021 12:34 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

IdrisSeabright

Community+ 2026

Level 10

190,227 points

May 18, 2021 11:23 AM in response to Walktrue

When you switch away from Messages (or any app), it goes into a suspended state. If iOS needs more memory, it will recover it from that app. With Messages, this means that anything unsent can be deleted.

Messages has no built-in draft function. If you are inclined to take a while to type messages and switch in and out of Messages, I'd suggest you type your messages in Notes and then use the sharing function to move them back over to Messages.

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Answer 2

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

May 18, 2021 11:07 AM in response to Walktrue

Hello Walktrue,

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities forum. It sounds like your content is disappearing mid-message when using the app switcher. We have a few probing questions that may help us learn more about what's going on.

How long are you away from the message before returning to finish?

Is the entire message gone, or just a portion?

Does this happen on any other device, if available?

Which iOS version are you using on your iPhone X?

It's always important to ensure your device is backed up and updated, then force close messages and restart your iPhone. Let us know if this remains.

How to back up your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch

Update your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch

Enjoy your week!

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Answer 3

i_rina

Community Specialist

May 18, 2021 1:43 PM in response to Walktrue

Great, thanks for the update Walktrue!

Next, let's be sure to do the backup and update mentioned as the current iOS version is 14.5.1. This may help resolve any issues occurring. If not, the next recommendation would be to get in touch with Apple Support here - Contact Apple Support.

Further evaluation may be needed to help determine why this is happening if unresolved after the update.

Take care.

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Answer 4

Walktrue Author

Level 1

5 points

May 18, 2021 11:30 AM in response to Jeff_W.

Hi Jeff,

I may be away from Messages for a second or two, 30 seconds or a few minutes and see this happen. Most recently, I switched to Safari for a moment and right back and saw this issue.

As I said, it’s just a portion of the message (most of it) that is missing in the particular issue I’m posting about.

I’m currently on iOS 14.4.2, and began to see this issue somewhat recently, possibly after the 14 upgrade.

I don’t use Messages on any other device often enough to have experienced this.

I've force-closed Messages and restarted my iPhone many times since I began seeing this issue.

I appreciate any input and help with this!

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Answer 5

Walktrue Author

Level 1

5 points

May 19, 2021 9:06 AM in response to i_rina

As a matter of follow-up, and for anyone else who may read this, I updated my phone to the latest version of iOS yesterday (14.5.1). Just this morning, I wrote a text message in Messages that was four short sentences. I switched to another app for a few seconds, and when I switched back to Messages, only the first sentence remained.

I’ll reach out to Apple Support for further assistance. Thanks for all the replies.

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Partial Loss of Draft iMessages and Texts

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