#Searching text messages on mac how to
#Searching text messages on mac download

To do this, navigate over to iPhone Settings, then General, select iPhone Storage, and then scroll down a bit to find Messages. Try cutting down on the number of files.

Just be patient, and if it's not running smoothly after a while, then you can try these other steps.

#Searching text messages on mac download

Give it time! Again, if you have a lot of Messages history, it will take time to upload and download all of that on other devices.

Here's what to you should try if you're encountering some issues:

Of course, even with Apple's tagline of 'it just works,' sometimes it really doesn't. What to do if Messages in iCloud isn't working for you When you get a new iPhone, iPad, or Mac, just enable Messages in iCloud on it with your Apple ID, and you'll get all of your Message history on it, rather than just new messages.For users who backup their devices with iCloud, this means smaller backups, as Messages are no longer included in the backup due to the implementation of Messages in iCloud.Photos, video, older messages, and other file attachments are stored in iCloud, so local storage on your device is spared.Apple has end-to-end encryption on all of your messages while it's stored in iCloud, so your data is safe and secure as they get uploaded and downloaded on each device to keep everything synchronized.All of your messages, whether they're iMessage or SMS, are stored in iCloud using your Apple ID or iCloud account.It's pretty easy, but here's how Messages in iCloud works: How exactly does Messages in iCloud work? Anything you delete from one device should be deleted from the rest as well. This means when you get messages and reply, they should show up on all linked devices in the correct order, including images, videos, and other files. Naturally, you'll want to be on a good, stable Wi-Fi connection when doing this, just to make sure there are no hiccups in the process.Īfter the initial syncing, from this point forward, everything should theoretically remain in sync with each other. If not, click on the Sync Now button to force a sync.Īgain, depending on your Message history, it may take a while for everything to download onto your Mac. Your message history should synchronize after that box is checked.Go to the iMessage tab in the preferences settings.Ĭheck off the box for Enable Messages in iCloud.Open the Preferences for Messages (⌘ and, or just click Messages and select Preferences on the menu bar).First, check and make sure that you're logged in to the correct Apple ID as your phone, otherwise, you'll find nothing.Apple doesn't want to drain your battery or cellular data plan doing this, so that's why you must be on Wi-Fi for the first sync.Īfter the syncing process (time depends on how much history you have, and larger files may need more time), that's it! All of your Messages history from your iPhone is saved in iCloud with tight end-to-end encryption, and can be accessed on any other device with your Apple ID as long as it's running iOS 11.4 or later.īut to get this working on your Mac, you'll need to do the following: Once this is done, ensure that your iPhone is connected to a Wi-Fi network so that your entire Messages history can be uploaded for the initial sync. Tap on your iCloud and Apple ID settings (your name and image at the top).Make sure that you are logged in to the same Apple ID across all of the devices that you want to access your Messages in iCloud on.

#Searching text messages on mac how to

Here's how to set it up! How to turn on Messages in iCloud However, since its inception, there have been many syncing issues that marred the reputation of Messages, such as erased threads only disappearing from one device, conversations showing up out-of-order, and more.Īpple added Messages in iCloud in iOS 11.4 and macOS 10.13.4 last year, and it is a big improvement on keeping all of your Messages activity (yes, including text messages) in sync across multiple devices. Apple's Messages is a great app for communicating with pretty much everyone, since it handles both iMessages between Apple devices and even SMS text messages for non-iPhone users.