I keep very few message threads on my iPhone, as it can get cluttered and overwhelming. Prior to January 27, all of my message threads would remain on my iwatch, regardless of if I kept them or deleted them from my iPhone. Now they are totally in sync. Meaning, if I delete a thread from my phone, it also deletes from my watch. Is there a way to switch it back, so that all threads remain on my watch? Thank you so much.
Apple Watch Series 7, watchOS 9
I don't think the behavior was changed from Apple. That said, there is a difference between messages deleted, which are iMessage (apple device to apple device) and SMS (carrier sent messages). If I delete a message on my iPhone which is iMessage, it deletes from my watch as well as all other devices. If I delete a message on my iPhone, which is SMS (green, not blue), it remains on my Apple Watch.
I also meant to add that due to the limited storage space on Apple Watch, messages automatically delete from Apple Watch after 30 days. They don't however delete anywhere else as a result.
So, the OP's hope they can keep messages on their watch forever, is not a feature of Apple Watch, to begin with.
I'm just throwing these ideas out to you.
Could it be that Apple changed the behavior because too many folks complained that deleting conversations from the phone didn't remove them from the watch?
It could be an issue with setting the watch to mirror the phone. However, turning the mirroring off could cause you to lose other features of mirroring that you want such as mirroring your Notifications and Do Not Disturb.
M1 Mac mini, macOS 13.2; Watch, series 7 GPS/cellular, watchOS 9.3; iPad Pro 2nd Gen, iPadOS 16.3; iPhone 12 Pro, iOS 16.3; TV 4th Gen, tvOS 16.3; HomePods, audioOS 16.3 and Airport Express w/ Airplay 2
Keep All Messages on iWatch
