Can I retrieve a lost text message draft on my iPhone 12 Pro Max?

Here is what you need to do to have a text message save into a draft.

The message must be initiated from your contacts list. That is the only way it will save automatically if you need to multi-task while composing a message that I know of.

You will lose everything you have been working on in a message if you start typing the message by going to your messages and then tapping on the square right box on the upper right side. If you tend to save messages you may think what you are adding will automatically be saved. As long as you first begin by pulling up your Contacts List and tapping on the name of the contact and then you will view your options; call, text, edit etc. If you do your messages this way you will not lose your “draft”. Hope this helps.

RickFalls wrote:

Fix it Apple

Apple doesn't read here in this user-to-user forum for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let the know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

TheAstuteOne wrote:

Just moved… Hopefully, Apple integrates this feature at some point.

You can request this feature from Apple here: Feedback - Messages for iOS and iPadOS - Apple

I hope this is helpful. Good Luck!

AGREED! How can apple claim that there phones are so advanced when something as simple as a draft of a text message is not left available when navigating to other screens. Yet another reason I only use apple products because my employer forces it upon us

Unfortunately, the phone doesn’t have to lose power for us iPhone users to lose a text. if you leave it sitting too long or navigate to another app, there’s a good chance it will disappear.

how could they possibly not know? Unforgivable, ridiculous — and disrespectful if not downright arrogant that they don’t fix the problem.

With ADD this happens to me all the time on the Mac because it's easy to type long messages there and it's also easy to get momentarily distracted and launch off a quick text in response that obliterates your long winded text you were writing. This is a ridiculous feature. Any chance of enabling drafts in Messages? I don't think it's too hard to do. :-)

Thanks.

pruscito wrote:

Any chance of enabling drafts in Messages? I don't think it's too hard to do. :-)

Any time someone says they think it wouldn't be too hard to add a feature to a complex system, I tend to think they don't have much programming experienced.

You can let Apple know what you'd like to see here:

Product Feedback - Apple

The fact that Apple and iPhones do not auto save long, thoughtful (group) texts has me grumpy! Now, I’m preferring to draft detailed communication in iNotes FIRST!!! Really inexcusable and very UN user friendly!!! Ooouuufff! (That’s French for fill in your own profane words!). 😆

I was writing a very long, sensitive message on text (iPhone 14 Pro) for my God daughter to her dad whose health is declining every minute. She is in Georgia with 3 children all under 5 with a newborn. He’s in Florida with us. It had taken me 5 1/2 hours to compose because as I said it is sensitive. I had to read and reword and add to it. I was done with it and before I hit send my phone rang for FaceTime with my pregnant daughter so I hit answer and talked to her less than a minute. Went back to my text message and the whole thing was gone. Of course I seriously freaked out. Now I am SO UNBELIEVABLY MAD 😡 AND SICK TO MY STOMACH. Beyond mad actually. How does this happen and why isn’t there a solution. I’m sure there is a very simple thing to resolve and add. All the MANYYYY GURUS AT THE KINGS OF TECHNOLOGY can’t fix this something this simple!! WAY TO GO APPLE.COM

EllenSellers wrote:

I was writing a very long, sensitive message on text (iPhone 14 Pro) .... It had taken me 5 1/2 hours to compose because as I said it is sensitive. I had to read and reword and add to it. I was done with it and before I hit send my phone rang for FaceTime

You're using the wrong tool for the job. Text messaging programs were designed to send short messages, not long epistles. If you do want to use Messages to send longer messages, I would recommend you compose them in Notes. You won't run into the same problem if your composition is interrupted. It's very easy to share a note to Messages. Or copy and paste.

hennie36 wrote:

I recently moved from android and I must say it’s simple things like this that make me regret the move.

Apple doesn't read here in this user-to-user forum for feedback or suggestions. You can, however, let them know your thoughts here:

Product Feedback - Apple

I’ve had this happen with Apple messages too. VERY frustrating. It should be set up like email where it asks if you want t save draft before closing.

I was writing a long detailed text and while l was scooting my desk chair the screen timer timed out and l lost that entire message

Lost text message I was still composing.

Lost long draft text message to Ginger Alonzo