iOS 7 Messages (Saved) Can't Delete

I'have tested the Nickc25's hints successfully, I want to drill down a little bit more annotated versione of the procedure .

(OSX)

0 - [save],clean-up iMessage attachement on you phone (*1)

1 - Make a backup in iTunes, Exit Itunes

1.1 - Make a safe further copy of this backup on alternate drive (*2)

2 - Use a tool that allows you to browse and change the

backup and delete the 'zombie' files (*3)

I used iBackupBot .

3 - Expand yourphone tree

4 - Select 'Multimedia File Manager'

5 - Click on 'Other Multimedia files' TAB

6 - Scroll down to 'MediaDomain/Library/SMS/Attachments/

Select all , eventually export , delete them

7 - Go back to yourpohone's backup tree

expand 'System Files'/MediaDomain/Library/SMS/Attachments

8 - Go to the list and sort it by Size (Descending)

then delete all non-zero files (*4)

9 - Exit iBackupBot, Open ITunes, Restore this 'edited'

backup, I recovered 256Mb of garbage.

10 - If something gooes wrong and you result in a corrupted

backup, close iTunes, restore the last-good from 1.1,reimage

your phone and retry.

(*1) because we are going to wipe-them-all in the backup

it is a good point to remove-them-all from the phone

first. After that, infacts , the remaining ones on the backup

have to be considered garbage.

IOS6,7 allows you to selectively delete single messages/attachments

within a thread.

(*2) it is recomended to backup this backup, becaus we are going

to 'edit' it with 3rdy-part tools that may eventually corrupt it.

You can trigger a TimeMachine backup or (simpler), copy the folder :

/Volumes/YOURDISK/yourusername/Library/Application Support/MobileSync/Backup/yourdeviceid

somewhere .

(*3) Backups are organized as anonymized files within the DEVID folder

described within a metadata database . All the structure and the contents

are crossreferenced in the metadata database and if you simply modify

the files without updating metadata, we may corrupt the backup .

There are tools around that allows you to browse and edit the backups.

(I used 'iBackupBot' successfully)

(*4)I observed that some more 'zombies' are listed here

despite the action at point 6.

The solution has been given numerous times throughout this thread but not any more recently than 2013 as far as I can see. Figured I'd update since I'm always one to go to the most recent replies for a solution.

iBackupBot is the only way to get rid of your iMessage attachments, that I have discovered. And believe me, I initially spent hours researching.

Download for free: http://www.icopybot.com/itunes-backup-manager.htm

(don't pay the $35, the trial allows you to do everything you need in order to removed SMS attachments)

I've written two versions- one for those that require extensive explanation & one for the more savvy. See below.

TECH SAVVY:

1. Download iBackupBot
2. Back up iPhone in iTunes
3. Close iTunes
4. Make a copy of iTunes backup in a different location (Library > Application Support > MobileSync > Backup)
5. Open iBackupBot
6. Most recent backup > Multimedia File Manager > Other Multimedia Files
7. Delete files with extension "MediaDomain/Library/SMS"
8. Go to System Files > MediaDomain > Library > SMS > Attachments
9. Delete all folders that are not "0" in size.

   IMPORTANT: DO NOT delete the folders that are sized at "0". These folders must remain in "attachments" for the restore to work properly.
   

OPTIONAL CLEANING (no reason not to)

Go to Most recent backup > Right Click > Clean

http://www.icopybot.com/blog/clean-up-iphone-junk-files-sms-message-attachments- camera-roll-photos-and-caches.htm

14. Close iBackupBot

15. Restore from Backup in iTunes

EXTENSIVE EXPLANATION:

1. Download iBackupBot
2. Back up iPhone in iTunes (to your computer)

   Note: To be safe, back up your applications as well

3. Upon completion, leaving phone plugged in, Close iTunes
4. Locate iTunes backup folder in Library > Application Support > MobileSync > Backup

   Note: If there are multiple folders within your "backup" folder and you're not sure which is the most recent, either "sort by date created" or Right Click Folder > Get Info

5. Copy & Paste the folder of your most recent back up into another location on your hard drive (example: Desktop or Documents)

   Note: Precautionary measure in case something goes wrong during your restore

6. Open iBackupBot

   Your most recent back up should auto populate in the "Backups" section.

7. In "Backups", click the arrow to drop down your most recent backup folder
8. Go to "Multimedia File Manager "
9. Go to "Other Multimedia Files" tab within the "Multimedia File Manager "
10. Select & Delete all files with extension "MediaDomain/Library/SMS"

    Note: You may want to export these images before deleting if you care to have them in the future

11. Once deleted, Navigate to the "System Files" folder (first folder below parent backup folder)
12. Go to "MediaDomain > Library > SMS > Attachments"
13. Sort the folders by "size" > select & delete all folders that are not "0" in size.

    IMPORTANT: DO NOT delete the folders that are sized at "0". These folders must remain in "attachments" for the restore to work properly.

OPTIONAL STEP (suggested)- Otherwise, move onto STEP 14

• Go to parent backup folder > Right Click > "Clean"

  This will clean junk files etc from your phone. When results are populated, reference the below explanations. Screenshot from iBackupBot's website:

• http://www.icopybot.com/blog/clean-up-iphone-junk-files-sms-message-attachments- camera-roll-photos-and-caches.htm

14. Close iBackupBot (it will automatically save all revisions to the backup, you were essentially editing the files as if you were in a "Finder")

15. Open iTunes & "Restore from Backup" (goes without saying, you should restore from the same backup in which you were just working with in iBackupBot)

Hope this helps a few of you out there! Sorry about the length. I know some require more explanation than others so I didn't want to disregard that 🙂 Good luck with it!

Mine had 3GB and I just got rid of it all, here is how:

1. Make a backup in iTunes
2. open iBackupBot (Google it)
3. Go to the relevant backup
4. Click on Multimedia File Manager and click on the other Multimedia files tab
5. Sort by filename by clicking the Filename tab
6. Find MediaDomain/Library/SMS/Attachments and highlight all of them, then press delete. You can also click to export to a folder of your choice, if you want to save them that is.
7. Then go to System Files>MediaDomain>Library>SMS>Attachments
8. They will be all listed here, highlight them all and press delete
9. Then just restore that backup using iTunes!

Tadaa! Space recovered, your messages are still there but without the attachments!

P.S You may want to make two backups in case you get any of the above steps wrong, but it is simple to follow the above and not do anything wrong!

mate try this it worked for me just repeat the process and each time its deletes a large part of the saved texts that cant be reached ive posted this on every apple wall as it took me ages to find a easy solution any questions dude just let me know

Lucerova you are a legend dude

How to fix it:

1. 1. Select Settings > General > Spotlight Search
2. 2. Un-Check Messages in the Spotlight Search
3. 3. Delete all text messages that show in the Messages app
4. 4. Open the multi-tasking bar by double tapping on the Home button
5. 5. Close ALL running applications
6. 6. Restart your phone

*You may have to repeat this process multiple times depending on how much storage yourMessages app is currently using. In Settings > General > Usage, You may only see the mb or gb drop by a few hundred mb each time (don't panic). You need to continue repeating this process until the Messages app is only utilizing 20mb or less. --If you get stuck and you still have a significant amount of data used by Messages and noMessages to delete, Simply backup and restore your device at this point to empty the remaining caches and allow you to permanently remove the remaining data.

**Also be sure to re-enable Messages in your Spotlight Search. Select Settings > General > Spotlight Search

Preventative Tip:

Always ensure to clean out your Messages often, as well as restarting your device often. iOS has self maintaining functions that only run on startup. As long as you don't allow your message threads to over-populate after extended time periods, you will not need to repeat these steps.

Enjoy

I repeated this three times and it emptied my text cache which freed up 3 gig of space.

(with each time of doing the process it emptied a large part of the stored text data)

This is by far the quickest and easiest way to free the space I personally found I tried Nick's way but ran into the problem as most will that my phone is so full due to having loads of photos and videos that I want to keep that it wouldn't let me restore as it kept saying I haven't got enough space on my phone.

The above technique worked for me on the third go it did delete all my current texts but its worth it for 3 gig of space

Thanks again Lucerova

P.S still think apple should sort this out as my emails is also doing the same thing and i cant delete them

I was having the same problem and consulting the boards was not helpful as everyone else seemed to be having the same problem with wipe and reinstall being the only solution.

After trying deleting all of the messages on the phone and restarting or rebooting, they always came back. I also use Messages on my Macs, and of course the messages are there as well. So I deleted them from my iMac as well as my iPhone, and still the same problem. But then I decided to be patient, tried it one more time and waited. Hours. But after about 4 hours, the memory freed on the phone, from 3.6 GB to 123 MB. Voila! No reboot or restart (in fact, I think that action actually stops the cleanup process).

I guess it just takes a while for whatever background process on the iPhone deletes messages to finish its job.

Hope this helps someone.

Thanks Morris Zwick!

I am not sure about the complete list of steps that I tried, but I did try the waiting game as a last resort, and it worked really well.

I tried many other things, including the smorgasbord of third-party programs that are out there sucking up everyone's free time and, in some cases, their money. The one thing I had not tried was waiting! After noticing that there was some fluctuation in the numbers on how much space my saved messages were taking up, I thought that it just might work. Admittedly, it is difficult to accept the challenge of waiting for your solution to materialize. 🙂

One thing I will add is that I had only 2.1-2.2GB of saved messages on there, and Morris had 3.6GB. His timeframe was 4 hours, but mine was much longer than that. After about an hour, my phone claimed that 0.1GB had been freed up. After another hour, another 0.3GB or so. Another hour, another 0.1GB. I left it overnight and checked it in the morning: 0.8GB in total over that span. I was initially disappointed, but then I found that about 30 minutes later that it had almost completely finished! My success story: from 2GB+ to 55MB using the patient approach.

It cannot hurt to try this if you're frustrated with other options.

Hi mate yes your messages will be deleted however you can save all your pictures to a hard-drive, because if your like me I fill up 16gb so quick. If this doesn't work click this link

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5345138?answerId=24615925022#24615925022&ac_cid=tw123456%23246159 25

there's a few threads on this now and the above link takes you to the main one look at page 6-7 will show you the Ibot solution which works trust me and you can choose what you delete but does involve a a free third party programme you have to run on a computer but it's really easy and I put a step by step guide and a link where to download it on a safe site.

There's over fixes too on the thread that people claim have fixed the problem which may work for you, I personally haven't tried them.

Hope it gets sorted mate

Cheers kurt

This sorta worked for me. After one iteration (de-select "messages" in spotlight search, then restart phone) I went from 1.3gb to 550mb, which is a big step in the right direction. However, after three more iterations I'm still stuck at 550mb of messages. Any suggestions on how to get the next chunk off would be appreciated.

What did not work was doing a "Restore iPhone" on iTunes sync. I had 1.3gb of saved messages both before and after I restored my device.

I am stunningly pleased to say that a day after using the method suggested by Kurty999 my saved messages usage has gone down even further. It is now down to 15.0mb.

To recap, it was at 1.3gb yesterday when I tried the Kurty999 method. It immediately went down to 550mb, but would go no lower. This morning, after leaving spotlight search for messages "off" overnight and then re-deleting the one remaining conversation in messages (I had deleted it yesterday, but it reappeared this morning for some reason) it was down to 15.0mb.

Fingers are crossed, but it appears that the problem has been solved.

this is really frustrating, ive been looking every were and the only solution that people seem to agree on restarting your device as new. This is a huge bug how come apple hastn solve this issue

Try:

- Reset the iOS device. Nothing will be lost

Reset iOS device: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at

least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

- Restore from backup. See:

iOS: How to back up

- Restore to factory settings/new iOS device.

I would not restore to factory settings/new iPod for your problem

Snowden has already commented on this. Messages are stored on Apple devices until they are uploaded for screening to the NSA. Apple holds these messages on your device and on the cloud service. Once the information has been uploaded to NSA, the messages then delete off your device. In order to not arouse suspecion, the device will always show you some amount to data as space being occupied on your device. Theorecically this data could be over written and not protected if they were on hidden sectors of your memory. The information stored on this "messages" partition is actually more than messages, thats why this space commitment can easily reach 3 gigs. Any computer science specialist will tell you that ASCII characters only use minimal kilobytes of data. Apple complies with this request to upload your personal data as outlined in the Patriot Act. The only way to delete this "messages" data hold is by doing a complete wipe of your device and not conducting a restore. It will clear the space off your device, but NSA actually has the information from the cloud service regardless.

After much searching on the web and reading many (sometimes amusing) posts on this topic here is what I have found.

In Settings>General>Usage my saved mesages were using 3.2Gb and no apparently immediate way of deleting them.

However as the good book says "seek and ye shall find".

SO this is where I went:

Settings>iCloud>Account> then scroll down to ADVANCED and select Mail; again scroll down to the bottom and select Advanced and yet again scroll to the bottom (well at least to DELETED MESSAGES) and tap on the line called Remove.

Here at last you will find a setting that enables you to select the period after which iOS will remove your deleted messages.

The shortest period is one day so you will haev to wait 24 hours to finally have that memory back but it should work and is a nice feature in iOS although it is well burried!!

what i did was i also cleared my missed and recent calls im not sure it will work for you but it cleared 1.6gbs for me

Use the phoneclean app. It works like a charm! cleaned out 14 GB of saved messages!