Messages frozen and crashes on iOS 17.5.1

I have tried all possible way

1- sign out and sign in to Apple ID it works for sometime and it went back freezing.

2- reset all network setting . It didn’t work

3- rest factory setting it work for some time and it freezes again

4- disconnected Apple Watch and switch-off the other phone connected to iCloud it work for some time and again now freezing .

5- offloading and deleting msgs with large files . It didn’t work

6- disabled iMessage to get at least sms it didn’t work .

7- now with Apple care they have enabled 24 hour diagnostics monitoring in my phone . Will keep you posted with final resolution. As per the call center this might require engineers involvement to get the patch update resolved.

thanks

As painful as this is for everyone. Don’t go to the Apple Store physically. You’ll need to call Apple Support and open a case. They still don’t understand how big of an issue this is. I’m going on two weeks now with this issue and I’m fed up with it. I’m not buying a new phone! They need to fix this immediately. I’m unable now to receive calls. Please call Apple support and report a case. The more the merrier and will get their attention to resolve this quicker. : +1 (800) 692-7753

I believe all “fixes” are red herrings. It seems to be indeterminate.

I have two iPhones, one has Messages crashing constantly and I have not been able to work around it anytime (12 mini). The other one worked (14 Max Pro) fine at first - but then froze too. But that one I got to work again - only to have it lock up a little later. After that it stopped / started working again with random causes.

Apple needs to get involved here. Severely crippled without messages..

Whoa! I think this fixed it for me. My time zone was set to the correct location, but I did it anyway and Messages is way more responsive now and doesn't seem to be freezing. I will see if it holds up. Thanks!

Krolingo wrote:

APPLE WE ARE DESPERATE HERE.

PLEASE HELP

This is a user-to-user forum. Apple doesn't participate here. If you want help from Apple, use the Support link at the bottom left of every page of this forum. Or, see here:

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I have done everything including a complete erase (the eSIMs too) of my iPhone15 Pro Max, and did not restore from a backup, it solved the problem for 10 days; then it recurred. Apple support and Verizon have no idea how to help.

I am facing the same issue on my iPhone 15 Pro running iOS 17.5.1. Apple chat support (and later escalation support on the phone) tried resetting the settings, signing out and back into iCloud etc and making me set everything up again, doh! But none of these gimmicks fixed the real issue but a statement that engineering team is aware of the issue!

I can’t try the fix mentioned here (turn off focus in message settings) as settings app also freezes when I attempt anything around messaging. I got almost everyone messaging me on iMessage and probably an eye opener to move conversations to signal or WhatsApp for reliability.

Same issue here. Two of the iPhones here. Restore resolves the issue for about a week.

[Edited by Moderator]

same issue here after iOS 17.5.1 update. Can’t open Text messages when they come in, can’t open message settings. iMessage works for short time frames. For the last month it has only worked for a total of a couple days. Black or white screen or freezes totally. Reset network does not work, reset all phone settings worked for 2 days. Then back to no work. The fixes with focus, resetting, and all the other recommendations are witchcraft and voodoo. Apple has a problem and they haven’t put fourth the effort to resolve.

[Edited by Moderator]

I’ve been experiencing this issue on and off since iOS 17.5.1. I know several others who have shared that they have this problem also. Doesn’t matter the iPhone model. The culprit is the current iOS. Waiting and praying for a September fix with iOS 18 is too long of a wait. Apple needs to push out a fix now. Messaging is 90% of most of our phone usage.

I’ve been having the same problems with my kids 11. My 12 and my wife’s 14 have no problems.

I’ve had countless chats and calls with support. Two trips to the store. One battery replacement. One phone replacement. Reset everything. Set up as new both with and without using iCloud backups. Completely wiped and reinstalled iOS from my Mac with a clean install.

after the phone replacement the phone was fine for about a week then it started again.

I’ve also had the engineers involved once but they couldn’t get the right tracking program or something and after that they gave me a new phone which brings me back here. Hopefully we’ll get an update soon that’ll just fix this.

This definitely works "for a bit".

When my iPhone messages isn't working, messages on my mac doesn't work either. If I do these steps (^^^ reply to a text from my lock screen), I get a fix for a while.

HOWEVER, my kids iPads (also on 17.5.1) are also broken, and this fix does not work for them.

I'm going to roll everyone back now.

Both of my teenage children’s devices are affected by this issue. They both have an iPhone XR and an iPad Air (2022). Messages becomes unresponsive on all of their devices - either a frozen Messages screen or it’s just black. All devices are running 17.5.1. I do not know when they updated to 17.5.1 but this problem is relatively recent.

iPhone XRs also do not respond to physical button presses to shut down the device. The screens are frozen and kick into SOS or the “Swipe to Power Off” screen shows up like 5 or so minutes later after we’ve given up. Asking Siri to power off has worked in a pinch. Searching for “Shut down” in Settings also works but only if the Settings app is working properly.

The iPad Air (2022) physical buttons seem to work consistently but the software is similarly affected like the iPhones.

I’ve tried to disable Messages as suggested by the previous poster but the option in the Settings app becomes unresponsive and the entire Setting app needs to be force quit. I’ve let it sit hoping it would eventually respond but they never do. To make matters worse on the iPhone I am unable to get the phone to respond at all outside of screen shots and Siri. Fortunately, Siri let me restart the phone.

I have only been able to get into Settings > Messages to disable Messages twice on the one phone. I closed the Settings app and went back in to confirm it’s disabled and supposedly it is. However, when I rebooted the phone and went back in, it’s already re-enabled. I have not been able to disable Messages on any of the four devices, either due to it freezing or it not actually disabling when it said it did.

I had Screen Time setup on all of their devices but I’ve completely disabled it, to no avail.

Both of these devices do have eSIM (Mint Mobile). I also have an Apple Family setup for our Apple IDs and both Apple IDs are under 18. I don’t know if any of this is relevant but add it just in case it matters.

Having the same issue here. Apple says it’s a bug on the update. No solution as of yet

If your iPhone won't turn on or is frozen - Apple Support