Messages lost after iPhone updated to iOS 26

It's not always the iOS update's fault!  Many things can cause phone problems.  If you tell people you think it's an iOS update, it might make it harder to fix or find a solution for the real issue.

Remember, the right question often leads to the solution!

Was/Is your device Jailbroken? If that's the situation, please be informed that attributing the issues to iOS updates may not be accurate.

iOS updates aim to enhance user experience, boost security, and fix bugs rather than disrupt core features. The majority of the issues after updates might stem from underlying, unmentioned factors. Updates won't typically alter personal data but may refine settings or features. Backup before major updates for safety. Review Apple's update details and backup advice for a smooth process.

Kindly consider checking your settings and addressing any device issues before attributing the issue to external factors. This could be a pure coincidence that the iOS update affected the iPhone functions.

Before initiating a standard iOS update, it's advisable to create a backup. Have you completed this step? If yes, proceed with the restoration from the backup.

See what each update does: OS — iOS 26, About iOS 18 Updates, About iOS 17 Updates, About iOS 16 Updates, About iOS 15 Updates, About iOS 14 Updates, About iOS 13 Updates, About iOS 12 Updates, and so on...

Turning on Messages in iCloud streamlines your experience across devices by automatically storing your message content, including photos, within iCloud. This means that regardless of which device you use under the same Apple ID, your messages will be readily accessible. If you ever need to erase and restore your device, simply logging in with the same Apple ID will seamlessly restore all your messages back onto your device without the necessity of restoring from a separate backup.

It's important to note that while this content is synced to iCloud for convenient access across devices, it isn't included in iCloud Backup. The distinction lies in the fact that synced content in iCloud is already stored there for immediate availability, so there's no need for redundancy in an iCloud Backup for this specific data.

iCloud backup doesn’t include information that is synced and stored in iCloud, like Contacts, Calendars, Bookmarks, Mail, Notes, Voice Memos, Messages, shared photos, iCloud Photos, Health data, call history, and files you store in iCloud Drive.

See the pic below.

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