User profile for user: TJJL2000
TJJL2000 Author
User level: Level 1
71 points

iMessage only showing the first letter of text messages since updating to iOS 17 (currently running 17.4.1)

This happens randomly and it's unpredictable, often several times a day. It can happen in a group text, single thread, with iMessage only users and/or SMS users, so it's not isolated to one type of text message. The full message will preview on the notification lock screen but when I go to read the message this appears. I'm using a 12 Pro Max and my friend with a 15 Pro Max has the same issue. The only fix is to close the messaging app then reopen it, which is only a temporary fix. I updated to 17.4.1 and the issue is still occurring. I don't have the option to postpone upgrades due to corporate accounts which require updates to run.


Is there another software update coming to fix this bug? It's extremely annoying (and pretty much inexcusable) to have a bug that fundamentally renders useless what is arguably the most used application on an iPhone. Please like if you have the same issue so this get's noticed by developers. Thanks



iPhone 12 Pro Max

Posted on Apr 22, 2024 11:56 AM

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User profile for user: MarkMMD
MarkMMD
User level: Level 1
32 points

Posted on Jun 28, 2024 10:18 AM

The order that comments appear here when using Reply is annoying, so I'm reposting a solution:

I just got off with a very helpful Apple Care supervisor. The problem appears to be using Accessibility to increase font size and elect Bold text. Turn those off in Accessibility, and instead use Display and Brightness to select Bold and larger text. That worked on my iPhone 15 Pro.

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User profile for user: MarkMMD
MarkMMD
User level: Level 1
32 points

Jun 28, 2024 10:18 AM in response to MarkMMD

The order that comments appear here when using Reply is annoying, so I'm reposting a solution:

I just got off with a very helpful Apple Care supervisor. The problem appears to be using Accessibility to increase font size and elect Bold text. Turn those off in Accessibility, and instead use Display and Brightness to select Bold and larger text. That worked on my iPhone 15 Pro.

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User profile for user: RicoRay
RicoRay
User level: Level 1
8 points

Jun 13, 2024 10:19 AM in response to TJJL2000

I just spoke with Apple support and in troubleshooting have found out that if BOLD is on in your messages then it will not show your complete message. We mess around with font size and bold and it appears that when we took bold off that no matter what size we made the font, the complete message showed up. I’m going to try to link a message from Apple to this, but I’m not sure I know how to do it and it will explain it much better than I can

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User profile for user: MarkMMD
MarkMMD
User level: Level 1
32 points

Aug 23, 2024 10:42 PM in response to TJJL2000

I'm reposting this, which I've posted a couple of times over the past few months -- this is a valid solution that isn't just a partial workaround:


I just got off with a very helpful Apple Care supervisor. The problem appears to be using Accessibility to increase font size and elect Bold text. Turn those off in Accessibility, and instead use Display and Brightness to select Bold and larger text. That worked on my iPhone 15 Pro.

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User profile for user: Maxfoster1
Maxfoster1
User level: Level 1
20 points

Oct 2, 2024 7:12 PM in response to WillowB2024

What worked for me was enabling Bold Text in the display settings instead of going through Accessibility. It's been working just fine now. Not sure if it’s a long-term fix, but I found this tip in the article on fix iMessage only showing the first letter of text messages. It looks like only folks with accessibility settings turned on are dealing with this bug, since my wife doesn't have any issues. Hope this helps!

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User profile for user: TJJL2000
TJJL2000 Author
User level: Level 1
71 points

Sep 10, 2024 10:19 AM in response to MarkMMD

UPDATE FROM ORIGINAL POSTER:

There are only 2 real work arounds listed below, neither of which are solutions to the software bug. Users affected by this issue are inherently those who need the accessibility features you must change to avoid this problem, so please continue to like this thread to draw more attention from developers. I don’t think it’s a hardware issue because the problem didn’t occur on my older phone until this year.


1. Removing Bold print entirely

Despite previous responses, removing bold under accessibility settings and adding back under display settings does not fix the issue from spontaneously occurring. You must remove bold completely.


OR


2. Reducing font size to 135% or below.


Personally, I keep both settings on and when the bug happens, which is at least a couple of times per day, I swipe down from top left on my screen to the quick action menu & reduce the font to 135% and can then read the message(s). I change it back afterwards. It’s not a solution to a very annoying problem, but it’s the quickest work around that works every time. Let’s hope it’s fixed soon.

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iMessage only showing the first letter of text messages since updating to iOS 17 (currently running 17.4.1)

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