Why are text messages disappearing

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.

I have less than 5 text messages so that’s not the issue. It has something to do with turning the phone off, and using a passcode. The trouble goes away if there’s no passcode option in place. I don’t want my phone free to anyone to use if it’s lost though so a passcode is a must.

For some reason, the texts appear if I don’t turn the phone off and use airplane mode along with keeping the option to have a passcode in place.

Since this thread already has an Apple Recommended Answer, I'm going to speculate that we are beating a dead horse, and no Apple employee will ever look at it.

New thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8384488

Actually for me it is the same. When I go to the messages, theee are many from 3-4 years ago, but shows me as new. When I search for the nr or for name, every is available, just not visible. Once I get a new message it starts to work again, but only until a restart.

Don't turn your phone off at night; there is no reason to. Messages that cannot be delivered are deleted after a period of time. The notification is queued to your phone, but the actual message is not.

Yes me too, exactly the same as you

Same here. I also hear the text come in! Where are the responses now? Anyone solve this? I was looking right at my phone when a text notification came in and poof no text in messages.

I have the same issue (for several weeks now). Has this been solved? Which network are you on?

Why are you telling us? We're just users like you. Tell Apple: https://apple.com/feedback.

This has been happening to me for a while now. At first I wasn't sure, but now it is clear that the messages are disappearing. I get a notification, I look at my phone, I see a text and can read the initial section, I unlock my phone, the text is nowhere to be found. This is happening for work and has lead to several upset clients and lost business. Please help solve this.

I’m having the exact same problem. I’ve already spent time with two Apple support people. The ”fix” didn’t work. I need to have this issue resolved as I’m missing important text messages since the latest software upgrades.

It only happens with text messages sent by Android users. This covers the majority of people though.

I have an iPhone 6s with 11.2.6 operating system. It appears to be a problem for others with this model, too.

1. iPhone is off.

2. Turn iPhone on and hear iMessage sound. See the start of one.

3. Put in passcode to access phone and message.

4. Text message is gone.

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.

Is Apple going to do anything to fix this as more folks are experiencing this? I held off for a while thinking it was just me but once I Googled it WHOA! Can we get a fix ASAP Apple? This is serious when we cannot get text messages. I am just about at the end of my Apple love affair.....