After transferring everything to a new phone, all the photos from my previous phone are missing in iMessage. Everything else, including documents, was transferred. The photos are visible within the iMessage conversations, but they don’t show up at all in the contact’s media overview. Has anyone experienced this?
iPhone 17 Pro, iOS 26
If you had turned on Messages in iCloud then if you delete Photos and Videos from the iCloud it is deleted from iPhone Photos too, and vice-versa.
And if you happen to take a backup either over iTunes or iCloud after deleting Photos and Videos all the photos are deleted from the backup (iCloud/iTunes) too.
If you had turned on Messages in iCloud your content including photos are automatically stored in iCloud and is available on all devices that use the same Apple ID. See the pic below.
Tap and open any message or conversation
Also you have an option if the Photos were sent to you. See the pic below.
Missing photo in imessages
