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All text messages have disappeared!

Georgeee1
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Yesterday I had all my text message history and during the day I sent and received a couple - all was well and behaving normally.

Last night, like every night, I powered down my iPhone 6 - switched it off. 

This morning I switched it on and there was a text message waiting for me.

But it was the only visible text message!

Every other text message sent or received had disappeared.

 

- My settings have not altered - messages are set to keep forever.

- My phone's local storage is barely half full.

 

The witless O2 website sends me round in circles with links to how to send or receive a text message and other useless nonsense. The 'chat to a guru' asked me to enter my number and then sent me a code which I entered and then nothing happened - just the O2 page header and footer and lots of white space in between.  I called customer service but they  cut me off (not surprising, I guess they are short-handed and overloaded at present).

 

So here I am hoping someone here can shed some light. Did anything happen last night? Am I the only one with this issue? What could have caused it? Can it be fixed (which I doubt, seeing as texts a ephemeral and do not exist off-phone)?

 

As one of the 1.5million high risk/extremely vulnerable told to stay indoors for 12 weeks, I've been using texts more than usual and do not want them to disappear without warning again, especially when sent other people's contact details and not yet copied them off to Contacts (or paper). Plus, I had a history of texts with some people with important content that will not easily be replaced without much effort.

 

OK - so I should never rely on texts persisting - mea culpa - but every single text disappearing overnight does need an explanation!

 

Anyone got any clues?

 

 

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MI5
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@Georgeee1 

I can't think why and I don't ever recall coming across this before without human intervention.

Have you tried restting the phone by holding home and power until the Apple logo appears on screen?

I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)

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jonsie
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They should be backed up to the cloud

Connect to itunes and restore to the last backup.

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Georgeee1
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Thanks for swift reply, jonsie.

I do not back up to the cloud - only to local PC. 

For assorted reasons current new PC does not have recent backup. Last backup likely too old for the key messages I would liek to recover. I can find other ways.

I know, I know - mea culpa (and Schofield's Three Laws of Computing apply - Google them if unfamiliar)

 

Anyway, once they're gone, they're gone.

 

BUT - what I want more than to recover them ('cos I fear that's a lost cause) is to know WHAT HAPPENED - why/how it happened

 

Sadly O2 aren't answering the phone so no likelihood of any technical support from there.

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MI5
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@Georgeee1 

I can't think why and I don't ever recall coming across this before without human intervention.

Have you tried restting the phone by holding home and power until the Apple logo appears on screen?

I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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jonsie
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Georgeee1
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MI5 - well, I've powered off and on again - and everything returned! 

 

That was seriously weird! That somehow my device would not display ANY text messages except those received after today's power-on... and then put them all back after another power cycle.

 

I guess this is an Apple problem, not an O2 one. So thanks for chipping in - no more discussion really needed, I'll take it to Apple.

 

(Off to do a current, proper backup!!)  😉

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MI5
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Good news slight_smile
I have no affiliation whatsoever with O2 or any subsidiary companies. Comments posted are entirely of my own opinion. This is not Customer Service so we are unable to help with account specific issues.

Currently using:
Pixel 7a (O2 & Lyca), One Plus 6 (Sfr), iPhone 12 Pro Max (Vodafone)
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jonsie
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