iMessage "Tap to Download" Issue

The same thing has happened to me with IOS 15. I’m so sad. I tried the whole iCloud turn messages off and then back on and restarting device etc and it didn’t help, in fact now it went from tap to download to the question mark. :( I am so sad and want to access photos that are special to me. I hope someone can figure out a solution or in the new update they fix it. I even lost the button that always said “tap to download” for images within the chat. Ugh!!!

I'll add to the strange behavior. After trying all of the suggested options, the pictures did not download to the iPhone. I went into Messages on my MacBook Air and clicked in "i" on one of my message threads. Under Photos, none are visible. If I click on "show more", the space where the pictures should be visible gets much taller and takes a lot of scrolling to get to the bottom. It's as if there are invisible placeholders for the many pictures , including the ones not downloading to the phone. I hope this means the pictures still exist.

Came here looking for help as this is effecting a lot of iPhone users. I guess Apple won’t address this? I’ve tried everything and I’m just like every single other user in here, frustrated and in a worse position than when I started. “Tap to Download” option has disappeared completely for me. When I look at photos through iMessage it says, “more photos will appear when iPhone is done indexing” but this has been there ever since the update. Come on Apple.

Just curious where apple is on this. The original post was December 2021 and I’m here in July 2022 having the same problem. An updated response from apple would be a really good show for these 1000+ loyal customers who are having this upsetting issues.

Completely agree, I have had an open case with Apple about this exact issue since mid Dec last year too. All I keep getting is it’s with the ‘engineering team’. It’s so evident this is a growing issue/bug that is impacting their customers greatly. To have no resolve or acknowledgment is super disappointing. The customer support is next to zero… :(

also having this exact same issue. tried contacting apple support and they pointed to a carrier issue. would really appreciate a response on this. I've run into many issues with not being able to get photos needed in text conversations and loading existing pictures.

I have had exactly the same problem!! Have enough storage space in iPhone and almost 2T in Icloud!! Please Apple post a solution to this instead of so many of us calling you!! We have all trouble shoot with your suggestions now we need a clear solution posted!! Thank you Apple!!

Thank you for your feedback. After turning Messages off a popup stated messages have not been fully downloaded to this phone, and below that 'Disable and Download messages' which I did. After that I did see a message at the bottom of my list of messages which advised 'Downloading messages' for a very long time. The one picture i wanted between two texts is still not there. Nothing else that know of was lost, and although I have the filename of the picture I have no idea how to access it in the cloud.

I don't have another Apple device i could use.

Has this issue been resolved? I have the same issue that many on here are having. Plenty of storage. iMessage active. All senders get a “not delivered” message when photos are sent to me. This phone is linked to another phone that has no issue. So messages with photos on both phones show photos on one and not in the other. This is maddening. There’s no reason for this to be happening. Has apple come across with a solution or is this on their back burner. Appears it’s been an issue for over a year.

You’re definitely not dumb - this is obviously an issue across the board, so no worries! To find your iCloud, go to your settings - click your name/profile at the top - and then you should see an iCloud tab about half way down the screen. I hope that helps!

Thank you so much! It worked! Not to be a negative Nelly, but I have tried other "fixes" and they worked for a week or so, and then it happened again. Here's to hoping this is a permanent fix! Thank you again!

Also having the exact same problem.

Same problem here! Apple, please advise!

Having the same issue. There are pictures I’m afraid are lost forever now. Would Apple Support please find a resolution???

I have the same problem. Called apple support, but they told me to reset the iphone. Wtf ? Is this how they solve a problem ? I told them that is a software bug…