iOS 18 Messages Bug: Fix and Recover Now

by Jenefey Aaron Updated on 2024-09-19 / Update for iOS 18

iOS 18 bug reported: If you own an Apple Watch, you might have noticed a frustrating bug with the Messages app after sharing your watch face. When you try to reply directly to the shared watch face—whether by swiping right or long-pressing the message—Messages crashes for both you and the recipient. This crash can lock you out of the conversation and even affect your messaging with others!

But don’t worry! In this article, we’ll guide you to fix iOS 18 message bug without losing data. And if you do happen to lose any messages, we’ll share a simple method to recover them with just one click. Let’s get started

Part 1: What Happens When iOS 18 Messages Bug Occurs
Part 2: How to Avoid iOS 18 iMessage Crash Bug
Part 3: Common Way to Fix iOS 18 Messages Bug
Part 4: Fix iOS 18 Messages Bug without Data Lost
Part 5: How to Recover Deleted Messages Due to iOS 18 Bug

Part 1: What Happens When iOS 18 Messages Bug Occurs

If you encounter this issue, the Messages app will crash repeatedly whenever you try to open the conversation containing the shared watch face. This makes it nearly impossible to continue chatting in that thread or even send messages to other contacts, as the app may keep crashing. This bug affects both users involved in the conversation, creating a frustrating experience.

Note:

This problem only occurs on iOS 18. Users on iOS 18.1 can reply to shared watch faces without any issues. However, those on iOS 18.1 beta, iPadOS 18.1 beta, and macOS 15.1 beta may still face crashes when trying to respond.

Part 2: How to Avoid iOS 18 iMessage Crash Bug

If someone shares a watch face with you from their Apple Watch, do not reply in the message thread. Following this advice can help you steer clear of the frustrating crashes and keep your messages safe. In the next section, we’ll provide solutions to deal with the issue if you’ve already encountered it!

Part 3: Common Way to Fix iOS 18 Messages Bug

Currently, the only official way to stop the Messages app from crashing is to delete the conversation where the watch face was replied to. This might mean losing a chat that’s been around for years, all because of one reply.

Unfortunately, even restoring the deleted conversation from the "Recently Deleted" folder won’t help—it just brings back the bug. A potential workaround is to erase your iPhone and restore it from a backup made before the watch face reply. However, if you use Messages in iCloud, this could be tricky, as everything—including the buggy reply—might already be synced to the cloud.

For now, the best strategy is to avoid sharing watch faces altogether. If someone does share one with you, don’t reply directly to it, and advise them not to do so either. You can still send separate messages; just avoid using the threaded reply feature for the shared watch face. You can also try to use third-party software to fix this iOS 18 crash.

Part 4: Fix iOS 18 Messages Bug without Data Lost

One of the great features of Tenorshare UltData is its professional iOS system update repair. It can fix more than 150+ iOS/iPadOS system issues, such as stuck on the Apple logo, black screens, update issues, network errors, and more. It can also fix the iOS 18 message bug without losing data.

How to Fix iOS 18 Messages Bug without Data Lost:

Download and install Tenorshare UltData. Please switch to "Fi1x iOS System" in the main interface.

Connect your iOS device to computer via a USB cable, select the recovery mode you want and click on the "Start Repair" button to continue the process.

Once the download finishes, the program will quickly start repairing your iOS system. Please keep your device connected, as disconnecting it could cause issues. In under 10 minutes, your device should be back to normal.

Part 5: How to Recover Deleted Messages Due to iOS 18 Bug

For recovering deleted messages without losing any data, Tenorshare UltData is designed to safely restore lost messages, photos, and other important files from your iOS device. Whether you’re dealing with the iOS 18 bug or any other data loss issue, Tenorshare UltData is an excellent solution to keep your data safe and intact.

Why We Choose Tenorshare UltData?

Multiple Recovery Options: Retrieve lost data from iTunes, iCloud backups, or even without any backups.
Support Multiple Scenario: Quickly restore lost data, such as accidental deletion, water damage, broken iPhone, factory reset, lost/stolen iPhone, iOS system issues.
Selective Recovery: Recover over 35 different types of data.
Free Preview: Free preview and selectively recover only the data you want.

How to Recover Deleted Messages on iPhone without Backup

launch UltData on your computer, choose "iPhone/iPad Data Recovery" option. Then connect iOS device to pc/mac.

Tick what you would like to scan and recover, or just select all, then tap on "Scan" to proceed.

Next, you can preview the data and tap the Recover button to get the lost data restored on the iOS device.

Conclusion

This article describes how to fix the iOS 18 message bug from third-party software without losing any data, as well as how to quickly recover after message loss. An update to iOS 18 is expected to officially address the current bug affecting messages. Until a patch is available, avoid opening chat conversations that include a shared Apple Watch face, as this can cause the app to crash. If you have any bug problems caused by iOS 18, you can download Tenorshare UltData - a dedicated data recovery and repair expert.