I am trying to access texts from a period of time that I can't access when I scroll to the very top of the text thread. it just stops on jan 5th, 2024 and I need to be able to go back further. I did the Finder > Go(option-click Library > Messages but there is NO Archive folder. I am worried it was deleted during a hard drive clean up.
The Archive folder should be here, but its not (see pic).
How can I get them back?
MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 12.3
If you have Time Machine enabled you can go into it, go back in time and and look in the Messages folder and see if the Archive sub folder is there. If not keep going back in time till you find it. 🤞
There hasn't been an Archive folder for many years. As Old Toad stated, you would have to find a backup from whenever it was you need to retrieve the message. You will then have to manually dig through it to find what you need.
iCloud is not an off computer backup facility but allows multiple devices signed into the same iCloud account to have access to the same files and be able to edit and save them. The files in iCloud are also mirrored on your boot drive so you can access them if you don't have internet access.
It does not backup your Library where the Messages folder is located, only the Documents and Desktop folders.
If your drive crashes you would be best served to have a Time Machine backup to restore the Macintosh HD portion of the drive.
Wasn't aware that Archive folder is no longer a thing. Will try - thank you both.
I stopped using time machine awhile ago and have no backups bc I use iCloud
iMessage Archive folder is missing or deleted
