By Achilles Hill | Last Updated
Q: "iMessage Pictures not showing on my iPhone 14 with iOS 16.5, and when a friend sends me the photos via iMessage, the photos disappear and only show file name, why can't I see the pictures on iMessage?"
Since Apple launched the feature of iMessage, it greatly facilitates the communication between iOS users and iMessage gradually become an important chatting tool in their daily lives. Recently, some users complained that iMessage images don't show up on their iPhones, which caught my attention, and I decided to research this issue.
You will find the reasons and solutions for why images in iMessage are not loading in this article. Now, let's get to the point.
"Why I can't see pictures on iMessage?" this query comes from my friend Emma, and I think if you're experiencing iMessage not loading pictures or not showing them, you may also have this query. Here are the reasons that may cause iMessage to fail to display images.
1. Weak or unstable internet connection.
2. Insufficient storage space on iPhone to download pictures.
3. iMessage pictures are accidentally deleted when you clear your device cache.
4. iPhone jailbreak failed resulting in an iOS system error.
5. iMessage did not get permission to read pictures.
6. Outdated iOS system.
7. iMessage program crashes or malfunctions.
8. Error in Apple ID associated with iMessage.
The sending of iMessage messages does not depend on carrier services, it is free to use, but it requires that the device is connected to a WiFi or cellular network. When the network connection is weak or unstable, iMessage may show pictures not loading error, even cannot send audio messages at this time.
If you are using a cellular network and your phone's signal is weak, switch your device's network to a stable WiFi and then check if the iMessage download pictures feature has been restored.
Tip: You can head to the Test Network Speed website to test your WiFi speed if you're not sure if it has a strong network.
In addition to poor network connection, conflicting network settings or congestion may also cause the iMessage tap to download not working. resetting the network settings can easily resolve this issue.
Go to "General" > "Transfer or Reset iPhone" > "Reset", and then click and confirm the "Reset Network Settings". After that, enter the WiFi password to reconnect to the network and then open iMessage to load pictures.
The nature of iMessage is an instant messaging software, so it can crash or malfunction while running, in this case, you just need to quit the iMessage software and close the "Message" app to fix it. Now, reopen iMessage to check if there is still a problem with pictures not showing up.
Considering that software conflicts or unknown errors in your device's system can cause iMessage to not work properly, if restarting the "Message" app doesn't solve the problem, then you can try to restart your iPhone to refresh the device system even further.
iMessage not displaying images could be an iOS software bug. Various software glitches can occur more frequently on iPhones still running outdated iOS than on the latest iOS. Now that Apple has released iOS 17, you can go to "Software Update" on your device to update iOS manually or use iSunshare iOS Repair Genius to smartly upgrade iOS 17.
You need to make sure that your iPhone has at least a few GB of memory space to keep the system running properly. If the memory of a device is already almost full, then you will not be able to download any more files including GIFs, pictures, videos, etc.
Tips: Check here to learn more if your iPhone storage not loading.
Step 1: Go to "Settings", then type "Storage" in the search bar and click on the matching option.
Step 2: Then you will be able to see the usage of iPhone storage. If it has used 98% of its memory, then cleaning up the space on the device might be an urgent task.
Apple ID is an important account for iOS users, you can receive iMessage to any reply from your Apple ID, sometimes, it may also bring us some trouble, such as "photos not downloading in iMessage". To Fix that, you should sign out and then sign in to your Apple ID again to refresh the iMessage reception and then check if the pictures can be displayed.
Apple's Screen Time feature allows users or parents to set usage limits on their devices. You should check if the "iMessage" app on your iPhone is regulated by Screen Time, which may prevent it from displaying images.
Step 1: Click on "Screen Time" > "App Limits", and then click on "Messages" in the list of limitations (if any).
Step 2: Click "Delete Limit" to remove the screen time control from the "Messages" app.
Backup can avoid the loss of important files. If you want to save all the pictures on your iPhone and there is not enough space in iCloud or computer, then transferring photos on iPhone to a portable storage device is a perfect solution. How to back up pictures on your iPhone to an external hard drive?
iSunshare iSyncGenius allows you to easily backup data on iPhone to external hard drive without iTunes, including apps, contacts, photos, videos, call logs, messages, bookmarks and so on. Data transfer between devices can be done in just a few clicks.
Step 1: Download and install iSunshare iSyncGenius on your Windows PC, then connect your external hard drive and iPhone to the computer.
Step 2: Run the software, in the "BackUp" option, you can choose to encrypt the backup file with password or without password. Then click "Next".
Step 3: If you want to backup all the files on your iPhone, select "All Backups";
If you only need to backup photos or other files on your iPhone, then select "Classified Backup". Click "Start", then the software will start to back up the files on your iPhone to the location you choose,
Step 4: when the message "Backup succeeded" appears on the screen, it means the files have been backed up successfully.
If you have tried everything suggested in this article and the iMessage still not showing pictures, you can contact Apple Support for help. But before that, don't forget to back up your iPhone files as this is the only way to prevent accidental file corruption.
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