oemk

Q: How does iMessage sync conversation history across devices?

I am running El Capitan (upgraded a week ago from Yosemite) on my Mac laptop and running iOS 9.3.5 on my iphone 5s.

 

I recently turned on iMessage on the laptop and set up the contacts to sync from my iphone to my laptop via iCloud.  I am seeing the contact names properly and all messages that I am sending/receiving from my iphone or laptop are properly showing up the the other device. So it appears to working properly now.

 

I am also seeing some of the history of conversations, but for some reason, I am not seeing on the laptop any conversations or parts of conversations after 7/31/16 which are stored on my iphone. There are also parts of conversations missings from before then although it is clear from the iphone history that they were sent via iMessage.

 

I have not found solutions that would sync all of the history, most recent and older. But this brings up the question - how does iMessage actually do this sync? What source of imessage history does it use for the syncing? Why would there be such temporal gaps for whole conversations as well as for within conversations?

 

Answers to the above questions might make it easier to solve the problem or determine that it is not solvable.

Thanks.

Mac Pro, OS X El Capitan (10.11.6)

Posted on Sep 29, 2016 11:47 AM

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Q: How does iMessage sync conversation history across devices?

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  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Sep 29, 2016 1:02 PM in response to oemk
    Level 9 (73,239 points)
    Applications
    Sep 29, 2016 1:02 PM in response to oemk

    Hi,

     

    In this case sync means "Display on all Devices".

     

    It will only do this from the moment the Apple ID is entered on the iPhone to link the Number and Apple ID

    SO it will not grab older iMessages (they are actually deleted from the server at the time they are sent to the devices that were registered at the time)

     

    Whilst this is not quite how it happens you can regard it as an iMessages is "copied" for the number of devices you have registered.

    It then Pushes (the name of the Process) the iMessages to the devices until they accept.

    That "copy" is then deleted.

    No other device can Access that "copy"

    Unlike Mail that is left on the Server there is no "history on the server to enable you to see older items on a new device.

     

    There is also a time limit as to how long the server will keep trying a device that is not on line.

    iPhone that run out of power or are out of range of a Carrier service (and without WiFi) will be "deregistered" after about 5 days.

    This can have knock on effects with iMessages sent to the Number that you might expect on a Mac that was linked.

    A Mac can get iMessages sent to the Apple ID for longer (some report anything up to 11 days on these boards but it was only one post)

     

    So...

    If your iPhone has been connected or has connected to the iMessages server at least once a day then it will have everything.

    If the Mac's connection is more haphazard then it's "Sync" will be the same.

     

     

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    9:02 pm      Thursday; September 29, 2016

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (El Capitan)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     iPhone and an iPad (2)