Losing Unsent Text in Messages App

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Level 1

27 points

Losing Unsent Text in Messages App

If I create a new message, select the recipient, type some text but do not send, then set down the phone until (or push on the power button) the screen locks. When I unlock the screen, the text that I have typed disappears and the Messages App is no longer in the conversation with the selected recipient. If instead of creating a new message I scroll through previous messages, tap on a conversation, the text is retained. I have experienced this bug for over a year on multiple iPhones and OS versions. Very annoying to loose a large text that I have started. Is there any way to retrieve this unsent text?

iPhone 8, iOS 11.3

Posted on Jul 23, 2018 11:04 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Toot Uncommon

Level 4

1,206 points

Jul 26, 2018 9:23 AM in response to mmiller5

Each item listed under the Messages heading is a conversation. Each conversation displays the names of all parties to the conversation other than yourself. When you tap on a conversation and enter text in the text field, this is a new additional message to the conversation but not the same thing as a New Message especially as far as addressing. The text will be saved in storage until you send it. You're not stuck there until you either send or cancel. In fact there is no Cancel for you can back up to the conversations list and go about other business in Messages or other apps and the unsent text in any conversations should stay there forever even through restarts until you either send or delete it.

A New Message has no conversation manifestation until it's sent regardless of how you populate the addresses. Which goes along with the fact that the addresses remain editable and are thus not finalized until the New Message is sent. A New Message including text you've entered should persist until you either send or cancel as long as Messages remains in memory even if you switch apps and come back to it later. From now, on, whenever you go to re-visit a New Message you started earlier, take notice of the memory state of the Messages app. If it's not already open to the fore, don't tap the app icon but, rather, open app switcher and select it from there. If it doesn't appear in app switcher, then it got bounced out of memory and it will open from scratch sans any new message when you tap the app icon. Otherwise, if the Messages app is already open to the fore or clearly still in memory via app switcher but the New Message is gone, I'd be interested to know.

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Answer 2

Jul 27, 2018 9:20 AM in response to mmiller5

I can confirm that an unsent New Message persists on my iPhone through screen locks and unlocks even while Messages remains open to the fore. Good to hear you've further isolated the fault conditions. It almost sounds like Cancel is somehow being elicited without touching it which obviously could only happen when Messages is in the foreground.

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Answer 3

Jul 27, 2018 1:33 AM in response to mmiller5

Thanks for the heads up for I think many people are experiencing the same fault effect. Not me though. My experience is exactly the same as yours except that the unsent New Message or New iMessage text continues to persist through screen locks as well as app switches until I either cancel or send as long as Messages remains loaded in memory.

I can confirm that I believe that you are experiencing some kind or memory fault or bug and maybe updating to iOS 11.4.1 would fix it. Otherwise it may just be normal memory caching if you have a lot of apps running with Background App Refresh enabled.

My experience is that there is definitely a difference between an unsent New Message or New iMessage versus an unsent message added to a conversation. An unsent New Message or New iMessage is not stored in any applicable conversation even if such is displayed. Which I would now call a prospective or pending conversation manifest as the address list happens to be pending until sent. It should persist in memory for as long as the Messages app but it isn't stored. An unsent message in a conversation (where you compose a message within an existent conversation) is stored in the conversation and should persist even through restarts.

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Answer 4

benlinx

Level 3

731 points

Jul 23, 2018 11:35 AM in response to mmiller5

Hey, mmiller5!

You could try using undo/redo text by shaking your device vigorously.

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Answer 5

mmiller5 Author

Level 1

27 points

Jul 24, 2018 10:27 AM in response to benlinx

Thank you. Unfortunately, shake-to-undo resulted in no change and did not solve this problem. Shake-to-undo is enabled on my device, and works on other apps. I think Undo doesn't work because when the device is reawakened, the Messages app is no longer in the state with any conversation selected. It has reverted to the view with the most recently active conversation at the top. If I scroll down to the desired recipient and click on them, my previously typed edits are gone. Remember, this only happens when getting to a conversation by searching on the name and selecting. It does not happen if I select a name by scrolling through messages history and selecting one. This symptom is consistent and only takes about 30 seconds to demonstrate. Does it happen on your device too?

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Answer 6

mmiller5 Author

Level 1

27 points

Jul 26, 2018 9:21 AM in response to Toot Uncommon

Thank you "Toot Uncommon" for your thoroughness and attention to the problem I am having!

I get the behavior you have described using app switcher. Messages app always appears in app switcher so has not been swapped out. No loss of unsent text. My problem is not with app switching but with screen lock/awake events loosing unsent text. The text is lost only when typed into a "New Message", not when typed in via tapping on an existing conversation.

Here is the result of some tests I have performed that may help diagnose:

1. Tap on an old conversation with recipients A&B. Message history appears. Type the following text: "Test 1". Do not send.

2. Press side button to cause screen lock (or wait for screen to lock automatically).

3. Press Home/TouchID Sensor button to awake.

4. Messages app is still in focus, in conversation with recipients A&B. Unsent "Test 1" is still there. Note: This is normal, expected operation.

5. Go up a level. Select New Message, add recipients A&B. Note: conversation populates with prior messages history, but "Test 1" is missing. Type the following text: "Test 2". Do not send.

6. Repeat steps 2 and 3.

7. The Messges app is in focus, but it is no longer in the conversation with recipients A&B.

Do the following steps in either order, the result is the same:

8. Select conversation with recipients A&B. Message history appears. Unsent "Test 1" is there. Unsent "Test 2" has been lost.

9. Go up a level. Select New Message, add recipients A&B. Conversation populates with prior messages history, but neither "Test 1" or "Test 2" are there. Unsent "Test 2" has been lost.

Conclusion: Unsent text in a New Message is lost through a screen lock/awake cycle.

In case it provides a clue, let me share another observation. When I start a new conversation, as soon as it recognizes the address I have typed in, the window populates with conversation history to that person (if exists). This behavior appears to be different than your statement: "A New Message has no conversation manifestation ...". Furthermore, if I add a second address, it switches and populates window with a different conversation history, one between me and both persons (if exists).

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Answer 7

mmiller5 Author

Level 1

27 points

Jul 27, 2018 8:26 AM in response to Toot Uncommon

Thank you again for your attention to the problem I am experiencing. Per your recommendation, I closed all but a few apps, turned off Background App Refresh for all but about 8 most important apps and the problem still persists. I have updated to iOS 11.4.1 and the problem still persists. I am running on an iPhone 8.

A new observation: If the Messages app is NOT in focus when the screen lock occurs, the new text IS retained!

Are you able to repeat my symptom with the Messages app in focus during the screen lock/awake?

Also, I notice that when the messages app is in focus and screen lock is invoked by pressing the side button, there is a brief refresh of the window before the screen goes black. I don't see this refresh when other apps are in focus. I think the Messages app is somehow interpreting the start of screen lock event as a canceling of the New Message before the screen lock occurs. Perhaps the Messages app returns to the conversation view just prior to screen lock. When the screen Iock is triggered via timeout (rather than side button), I can't see a refresh of the screen before lock because the display is dimmed, although the same symptom where the New Message is lost occurs when awakened.

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Losing Unsent Text in Messages App

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