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?"
If your iMessage pictures are not showing on your iPhone, it can be frustrating, especially when you rely on the app for communication. This issue can be caused by various factors, including network problems, incorrect settings, or iOS glitches. Don't worry. 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.
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. A weak or unstable network can prevent iMessage from loading pictures, 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 troubleshooting iPhone network issues..
In addition to poor network connection, conflicting network settings or congestion may also cause the iMessage tap to download not working. If these steps not work, try Resetting the network settings.
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.
If MMS messaging is disabled, iMessage may not display pictures.
Go to Settings > Messages and toggle on MMS Messaging.
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. Outdated iOS versions often cause app-related issues. Now that Apple has released iOS 18, you can go to Settings > General > Software Update and install the latest version manually or use iSunshare iOS Repair Genius to smartly upgrade iOS 18.
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.
If software glitches are causing the issue, you can use tools like iSunshare iOS Repair Genius to fix iMessage without data loss.
iSunshare iOS Repair Genius is the reliable iOS system software to repair a variety of system issues, which is compatible with both Windows and Mac computer. You can download and install to fix your iMessage pictures work normally.
Step 1: Open the software and click System Repair option. After that, select the Standard Mode to proceed.
Step 2: Hit the Start button and then connect your iPhone to the PC. In seconds, the iPhone will be detected by your computer. At this time, hit the Next button on the software bottom left corner to continue.
Step 3: To repair the software glitch, you need to download a match firmware software for the iPhone. Just select one and hit the Download button.
Step 4: Finally, you can hit the Repair button on the software interface to fix the software glitch on your iPhone. After that, you can go to check whether the pictures can be downloaded in iMessages or not.
1. Why can’t I see pictures in group iMessage?
This issue is often related to MMS settings. You can navigate to Settings> Messages and enable MMS Messaging and Group Messaging.
2. Do I lose my pictures if I delete an iMessage conversation?
Yes, unless the pictures are saved to your Photos app. It is better to save the important images before deleting conversations.
3. Why do pictures only show as question marks in iMessage?
This happens when the image fails to download due to a network or software issue. You should check the network connection and then restart the iMessage to get it back to normal.
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.
