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Messages App Shows Unread Messages But I Can't Find Them

The other day I went through my messages because I had nearly 700 unread texts (I know its a problem lol). Now when i go into a message thread the back button in the top left corner will say 1 or 2 messages depending on how many i have at the moment (like normal), but when i go to my home screen it says i have 121 + whatever number of unread messages i actually have. I have restarted, re-synced, and checked my messages apps on my other devices. What can i do?

iPhone 14 Pro Max

Posted on Aug 25, 2023 8:52 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on May 8, 2024 9:50 AM

I have checked the filters AND I am still showing “2” unread messages on the message app display BUT NOT in the filters.


I also went thru EVERY message & contact to see if anything with a sticker or something was unread. That reduced a few. But still WONKY.

17 replies

Aug 15, 2024 2:24 AM in response to hofferman98

Ok...


I had the same problem. Here is what happened:


I tried everything except for asking Siri to "read my unread text messages". Being unable to solve the issue and seeing message numbers increasing, I decided to give it a try.


Tip: Try turning on "type to siri" because after reading messages, Siri asks if you want a reply, sometimes, even if I yelled "Nooo!" it did not detect, but typing no always worked.


Anyway, with a little patience, I managed to get the unread msg counter down by about 200 (took half an hour, as Siri read spam sms messages from the same sender in a chain).


Seeing that it worked, I decided to do this whenever I had the time.


But...suddenly, after Siri read about 200 msg, today several hundred messages in like 20-30 conversations "reappeared" and I deleted most of them manually.


There are still 85 invisible messages hiding somewhere, but I am sure Siri will find and read them or they will re-appear after Siri locates conversations.


This is how it worked for me...


Also I would like to report this to Apple Admins here as this seems to me as a bug that needs to be addressed.


Hope it is helpfull...

Jun 24, 2024 6:48 AM in response to Msl52

Msl52 wrote:

I have a unread message line under my messages how I can get it off

Assuming that you have iOS 16.....In Messages, tap in the upper left corner on "Filters". You should see a listing, for "Unread Messages". Does it show that you have 121 (or whatever) unread messages?


Another thing you can try is to ask Siri to read you your unread messages.

Messages App Shows Unread Messages But I Can't Find Them

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