Can’t find a particular thing on your iMessage app on your iPhone? Some iPhone users have escalated the same problem with the iMessage, where the search function seems to cease work in the app. If you are having the same problem, you can bypass it, enacting these easy solutions.
Fix 1 – Force quit the iMessage app
You must force-quit the iMessage app from your iPhone and, later, re-open the app to perform a search for the item in iMessage.
Step 1 – At first, swiping up from the left bottom to view the apps running on your system.
Step 2 – There, you will see the iMessage app running.
Step 3 – Next, just force-close the instance of the iMessage app.
Step 4 – After this, you can open the iMessage app.
Try to search the same thing on the iMessage app and see whether it can show you the search results appropriately or not.
If you are still not getting anything in the search result, follow the next solution.
Fix 2 – Change the Keep Messages settings
You must revoke the time limit of how many days of messages iMessage should hold from its settings.
Step 1 – Go straight to iPhone’s Settings.
Step 2 – Scroll all the way down to the bottom of the Settings tab and get to the “Apps” section.
[Jump over this step if you are using iOS17 or older.]
Step 3 – Later, go to your “Messages” settings.
Step 4 – In the Messages settings, find the ‘Message History‘ settings.
Step 5 – Next, tap the “Keep Messages” option.
Step 6 – After this, set this to “Forever” to keep all the messages.
This way, none of the messages will get removed from your iPhone, irrespective of the time period it was sent/received.
Searching contents in the iMessage should be fruitful now. Test if this works.
Fix 3 – Disable the Show App in Search option
Disable and re-enable the Show App in Search option on your iPhone. Doing this should take care of the iMessage search feature.
Step 1 – At first, head on to the Settings window.
Step 2 – Next, open the “Siri” settings on your iPhone.
Step 3 – Go down to the bottom of the page and go to the “Apps“.
Step 4 – Look for the “Messages” app while going up and down through the list of apps.
Step 5 – In the following page, disable the “Show in App” option and “Show App in Search” options (if applicable).
Now you have to restart your iPhone, later.
Step 6 – Simply, press the Power button and Volume Down button together and shut down the iPhone.
Step 7 – Next, restart the iPhone.
Step 8 – When you have restarted the iPhone, return to the same Messages settings in Siri, following this path –
Settings > Siri > Apps > Messages
Step 9 – This time, re-enable the “Show in App” option. If you can find the “Show App in Search” option, enable that as well.
Doing this should fix the search option in the Messages app.
Give it a test and see whether this actually works or not.
Fix 4 – Force-reboot the Apple device
You must execute this procedure to force-restart your Apple iPhone.
Step 1 – Quit all the apps right way on your iPhone.
Step 2 – Next, just pinch the Volume Up button on the iPhone.
Step 3 – Do the same thing (pinch and release action) with the Volume Down button.
Step 4 – At the final step of the process, press-hold the Power button on your iPhone.
Step 5 – Keep pressing that Power button, despite seeing the usual ‘Slide it to power off‘ message.
Your iPhone will go into the reboot mode. When that does so, you can leave the power off button alone.
When your iPhone does get force-rebooted, open the Messages app and retry searching for the item in the search box.
See to it if it can filter out the contents or not.
Fix 5 – Change the iCloud Messages settings
If the searching system in the iMessages is still broken, there are some changes you need to make in the iCloud settings.
Step 1 – After opening the Settings, open up the Apple ID on your iPhone’s Settings.
Step 2 – Next, open the “iCloud” menu.
Step 3 – Next, in the ‘Saved to iCloud’ menu, tap “See All” option.
Step 4 – You can find all the apps in the ‘Saved to iCloud’ list.
Step 5 – If you scroll down, find and open the “Messages in iCloud” option.
Step 6 – In the Messages option, turn on the “Use on this iPhone” option.
Step 7 – Later, tap the “Sync Now” option to start the syncing process in the iMessage settings.
After enabling the sync settings for the iPhone, you can search the messages without any worries.