Help to Stop using iCloud for message storage bc they won’t download onto phone properly

Question

Level 1

4 points

Help to Stop using iCloud for message storage bc they won’t download onto phone properly

Hi,

I no longer want my messages on iCloud because it takes too much space & I have enough storage on my phone. Every time I remove it off iCloud, the pictures sent in messages hhave a blank page icon with question mark in the middle and are not displaying or opening.

I tried settings>name>iCloud> apps using iCloud> Messages> manage storage> “Disable & Delete”. Another blurb appears: “this will disable messages in iCloud and delete all your messages stored in iCloud. You have 30 days to undo this action. Your device will automatically download messages.”but pictures are still gone.

Also tried turning off “sync this iPhone” for messages and the option pops up to “disable & download messages”. It always says “Messages have not been fully downloaded to this phone“ even though the bar on the bottom of messages turns blue for downloading from iCloud and goes away. I pick “Disable & download messages”. BUT all the message stays in my storage so they’re not really deleted.

YET my pictures don’t all download from the Cloud no matter how long I leave my phone on and charged to give it time to download. My wifi is strong too. I restarted my phone multiple times. I updated to latest version of iOS 16.4.1 and thought it fixed because I could see the 5 GB of iMessage storage now on my phone. But 4 days go by, I check my messages, and most of the pics and saved audio recordings I saw/played without issues are unreadable and have a blank page icon with question mark in the middle. And the documents and data number for messages went down by 2GB but I didn’t delete anything.

It’s like they’re stuck in Cloud and won’t download properly to my phone. It’s frustrating! I’ve turned messages in iCloud on and off many times and it won’t stay downloaded to my phone.

Please help me keep my messages, pictures, voice memos, and links on my phone.

iPhone XS Max

Posted on May 2, 2023 07:53 PM

Reply

Answer 1

bruno75

Community Specialist

May 4, 2023 01:31 PM in response to rxp24

Hey there rxp24,

The first thing we recommend is to not repeatedly disable/enable iCloud Messages. Since you mentioned wanting it disabled, please leave it disabled for now. We'd like to help by learning more about what's happening, along with ruling out some possible causes:

While four days is a while, have you had your iPhone connected to a charger and Wi-Fi overnight during those four days?
You mentioned updating to iOS 16.4.1, but the latest version is iOS 16.4.1(a). In case you needed it, this link shows how to first back up, then Update your iPhone or iPad.
If you already have iOS 16.4.1(a) installed, sometimes unexpected behavior can be resolved with a restart: Restart your iPhone

Cheers!

Reply

Answer 2

mingoslkd

Community Specialist

May 5, 2023 07:54 AM in response to rxp24

Hi rxp24,

If you should happen to again not see attachments or photos with Messages in iCloud enabled, we'd advise to contact Apple Support, as this isn't expected. They'll be able to look further into why this is happening.

Get Support

One other thing, Low Power Mode should be used when the battery is low and a power source is not available. When enabled some functions are paused, as shown here:

Use Low Power Mode to save battery life on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Take care!

Reply

Answer 3

rxp24 Author

Level 1

4 points

May 4, 2023 07:38 PM in response to bruno75

Hi, I only disabled/enabled repeatedly because when I tried to leave iCloud off , all the media wasn’t downloading and I had to manually do it so I wouldn’t lose them. I gave it days to download automatically like iCloud said but it didn’t work and I was missing a lot of things.

I had it fully charged and then unplugged & on low power mode + it is always connected to my home wifi. I checked back days later and the media wasn’t working like I mentioned previously. So I turned iCloud back on and they were all there. That’s why I turn it on/off because that’s the only way to see the info sometimes.

iOS 16.4.1(a) just came out today or yesterday and it’s a security update it says. I’ve restarted my phone multiple times without help.

Now I have time stamps in some conversations but no message. Right now it seems like my messages are on my phone but I don’t want the same thing to happen again where the media goes away

Reply

Help to Stop using iCloud for message storage bc they won’t download onto phone properly

Similar questions