iPhone message thread completely missing from all participants’ devices

I recently noticed that I could not find a message thread in my iPhone messages app, between myself and both my parents. I thought maybe the conversation had just been removed from my iPhone, but when I checked with my parents, they could not find it on either of their iPhones or on their iPad.

We had not had a new message on the thread in several months, but all of our devices have “Keep messages: forever” selected.

It was a long thread with loads of photos; it was how I shared photos of my infant son with them. I hadn’t kept up with it recently, so went to pick up where I had left off, and noticed it didn’t exist anymore.

How can a message thread completely disappear from three phone numbers, over four devices? Is there anything I can do?

Posted on Apr 23, 2023 3:18 PM

Top-ranking reply

init_bobjames

Level 1

12 points

Posted on Jan 28, 2024 11:03 PM

Hi, Not sure if you have the same issue as I did Big Sammyy, but this solved for me;

The solution that worked for me, at this point I had a full backup, was to navigate and select 'Reset All Settings':

Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPhone > Reset > Reset All Settings

After performing the reset, it took a few moments and the message thread history started loading.

Quick Tips:

You are able to tap and hold the scroll location indicator, then drag it. Hold it up to keep loading history.
You are able to tap the time indicator, the clock i.e 15:55, to quick jump to the top of the currently loaded history.

Moderators: I am sorry for my poor spelling of Disappearing!

Full Post > iPhone Messages Disappearing, but 'Keep Messages Forever' enabled.

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iPhone message thread completely missing from all participants’ devices

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