Why are text messages disappearing

When I turn my phone off then turn it on later there is a text message on the lock screen but when I unlock the phone it is gone

Posted on Jan 25, 2018 11:53 AM

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Posted on Jan 25, 2018 12:04 PM

what you saw on lock screen is just a notification. the message is in the messages app.

80 replies

May 2, 2018 7:42 PM in response to kbryant823

I was finally able to get a VIDEO of this issue.


I must apologize twice over for the quality of the video. First because it was filmed while in the car and also for my very quick and rough attempts to blur out my text message numbers/content.


The video shows how I received 2 text messages when my phone was off, one from Android and one from iPhone. When turned on, the iPhone shows both texts on the lock screen, but then when unlocked, ONLY the iPhone message ever appears in the Messages app and the Android sent text message disappears and is gone forever.


iPhone Issue - Text Messages from Android Users Disappearing if Received when iPhone is Off - YouTube

Mar 30, 2018 8:18 AM in response to otheriau

It's the same with Verizon. As far as they are concerned, my phone DID receive the messages. I can go online and login to my Verizon Wireless account and can see a history of all text messages that were sent to me. I can see the date/time and the sender's number. Unfortunately, I can not see the text/content of the message. It is forever lost.


This is super awkward because I use fingerprint/Touch ID to unlock my phone once I turn the phone back on. There have been times where I just very briefly see the glimpse of a text message on the lock screen once it lights up and I have entered my passcode before it sends me to the Home screen. The text message never arrives (as we all have been noting in this discussion). I then have to login to Verizon Wireless online and look up my history to see who texted me. I then have to text them back and say, 'Hey, did you txt me? Because my phone is malfunctioning and I'm not properly receiving text messages'.

Mar 23, 2018 6:08 AM in response to anthonyfrombeeston

This just happened to me AGAIN yesterday. The symptoms were a bit different so I've listed them below. I am on Verizon with iPhone 6s.


1. iPhone is off-->Turn on iPhone.

2. On the lock screen, I can see that I have 2 new text messages (amongst some other notifications like Google News). One text is from a friend that has an iPhone, the other is from a friend that does not have an Apple phone. I can see/read the content of both messages from the lock screen as well as see the sender's number.

3. Unlock phone--> I can see there is the red badge on the Messages app with a 2 (so far so good).

4. Open Messages app. No new messages are showing (uh oh).

5. Within 2 or 3 seconds, one of the messages 'arrives' with a banner notification at the top of the screen and a new text message appears in Messages with the blue dot next to it showing that is it new. It is the text from the friend with the iPhone (iMessage). I am able to open and read it.

6. The other txt message I saw on the lock screen NEVER arrived! Because I looked at and read the message from the lock screen, I was able to remember what he said and reply to his text, but his original text message is NOT showing in my Messages app.


This is ridiculous. I am going to have to take a pad and paper and re-write down the sender and content of all text messages that show on my lock screen because I have no confidence that when I unlock my phone that they will actually show up in my Messages app!

Mar 27, 2018 9:33 AM in response to dianefromva

I've found that this issue is unfortunately difficult to reproduce.


Pre-conditions:

1. The iPhone must be OFF.

2. At some point in time when the iPhone is off, you must receive a text message.


The problem is that (for me) the issue doesn't always happen for every txt message. It seems to happen more with non-Apple txt messages than with iPhone iMessages.


I have tested this several times but have not been able to reproduce on my own. I do this by turning my iPhone off, asking someone to txt me and then turning the iPhone back on, and in each of my tests, the messages show on the lock screen and then appear (as expected) in the Messages app. I have not identified the pattern for what causes certain txt messages to disappear (not show up in the Messages app). These tests have all been using iMessages sent from a different iPhone though.

Mar 29, 2018 7:26 PM in response to kbryant823

The same thing is happening to me for a while now. At least couple months. I have an IPhone 7 with IOS 11.2.6. During work, I have to leave my cell phone in my car and I usually kept it off.


At first, I did not even notice the notifications. People around me were asking why I wasn't responding to text messages I never saw. They were not in the message app either. I contacted Telus and they could not help me since their servers were saying that I received all the messages. The next days after work, I paid more attention to my phone while I was unlocking it with my finger prints and I was sometimes able to see text message notifications. But right after the unlock, all these messages were gone for good. This is a really annoying. Apple has to fix this. I don't turn off my IPhone anymore to make sure I don't miss important text messages.

Apr 14, 2018 8:06 PM in response to Optimihomecare

There are tons of people on this thread that have this same problem.

Unfortunately, it looks like Apple already 'recommended' an answer to the original post, but that post was not an actual answer and misunderstood the original post.

It's possible that this thread is not going to show on Apple's radar because they may think it's already been answered, even though this is a REAL PROBLEM.

This thread has been closed by the system or the community team. You may vote for any posts you find helpful, or search the Community for additional answers.

Why are text messages disappearing

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