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Level 1

23 points

iOS 9.3.1 auto deletes all text messages

I recently upgraded my iPhone 5 16 GB to iOS 9.3.1. This resulted in all text messages being deleted from the Messages app.

The phone was running low on space so I thought the issue could be due to lack of space.

I also noticed that any new text messages get deleted after a few hours.

I have now upgraded my phone to an iPhone SE 64GB (which is also iOS 9.3.1).

However, any new text messages that I receive are still being deleted after a few hours.

Also incoming messages don't creates any notifications even though the settings see to be OK

When upgrading to the new phone I restored a backup of the previous phone from iCloud

I have checked message settings and 'Keep Messages' is set to 'Forever'

I have also tried to disable iMessage but this does not have any effect.

I can live with losing the old text messages and there's plenty of online advice about retrieving them from backups.

However I really need to fix the issue for any new messages

iPhone SE, iOS 9.3.1, 64GB

Posted on Apr 29, 2016 2:47 AM

Best reply

ptorb

Level 1

9 points

Posted on Apr 30, 2016 11:51 PM

Was this solved? I have the same problem too. Just upgraded my wife's iPhone 5 to iOS 9.3.1 (16GB) and all old text messages were deleted and new ones don't create notifications and get deleted. All settings have been properly checked. I've hard started it several times without any luck. This is absolutely unacceptable.

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20 replies

Oct 12, 2016 9:27 PM in response to mattpotts

Same thing here. iPhone 5S, went to do a restore and it says "Not enough space". The messages are still on my iPhone, just not being shown in the message app. Everything gets deleted after a few hours as well and no notifications show up. Nothing drastic happened before this: no iOS update, no restore, backup, anything. I was using it regularly when this happened.

Dec 8, 2016 12:35 AM in response to mattpotts

Yes same issue with a 5C. I've just upgraded to an iPh7 and the guys in the shop weren't able to transfer my messages across to the new phone. I told them I've been having this problem - my messages being complexly erased every night for months- but they couldn't solve it. I'm sue it relates to that iOS upgrade. How to fix?

Dec 8, 2016 12:36 AM in response to Spagwestern

Space was not an issue for me

rickho2u

Level 1

4 points

Dec 18, 2016 8:11 PM in response to Spagwestern

This is an old problem that has been ongoing for years but yet Apple has not been putting enough priority to fix it. I am very disappointed & am contemplating switching to an Android phone.

Jan 20, 2017 7:55 PM in response to mattpotts

Any fix yet? Im on ios 10 now and the problem still persists. Could it be a sim carrier problem?

iOS 9.3.1 auto deletes all text messages