iOS 17.1 Beta 2 Fixes Messages Search Bug on iPhone 15 Models

A bug impacting search functionality in the Messages app for some iPhone 15 users appears to be fixed in the second beta of iOS 17.1 released this week.

iOS 17 Messages Feature
Some early adopters of iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro models have complained that the Messages app's search tool only displays recent messages after transferring content from another iPhone. The issue has been mentioned by several users across the MacRumors Forums and Reddit since the devices launched earlier this month.

The bug is present on all iOS 17 versions up to the first iOS 17.1 beta, but many affected users said it has been fixed as of the second iOS 17.1 beta. It may take a day or longer for the device to index and restore the older messages after installing the update. Some users said they needed to open the Settings app, tap on Messages, tap on Siri & Search, turn off all of the settings shown, restart the iPhone, and re-enable those settings to fix the issue.

iOS 17.1 is expected to be released in late October, so users not interested in installing the beta might have to wait a few more weeks for the fix.

(Thanks, Ray Wong!)

Related Forums: iOS 17, iPadOS 17

Popular Stories

iphone air thickness

Apple Said to Cut iPhone Air Production Amid Underwhelming Sales

Friday October 17, 2025 8:29 am PDT by
Apple plans to cut production of the iPhone Air amid underwhelming sales performance, Japan's Mizuho Securities believes (via The Elec). The Japanese investment banking and securities firm claims that the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are seeing higher sales than their predecessors during the same period last year, while the standard iPhone 17 is a major success, performing...
iOS 26 Feature

iOS 26.1 to iOS 26.4 Will Add These New Features to Your iPhone

Saturday October 18, 2025 11:00 am PDT by
iOS 26 was released last month, but the software train never stops, and iOS 26.1 beta testing is already underway. So far, iOS 26.1 makes both Apple Intelligence and Live Translation on compatible AirPods available in additional languages, and it includes some other minor changes across the Apple Music, Calendar, Photos, Clock, and Safari apps. More features and changes will follow in future ...
iOS 26

iOS 26.0.2 Update for iPhones Coming Soon

Friday October 17, 2025 7:35 am PDT by
Apple's software engineers continue to internally test iOS 26.0.2, according to MacRumors logs, which have been a reliable indicator of upcoming iOS versions. iOS 26.0.2 will be a minor update that addresses bugs and/or security vulnerabilities, but we do not know any specific details yet. The update will likely be released by the end of next week. Last month, Apple released iOS 26.0.1,...
HomePod mini and Apple TV

Apple's Next Rumored Products: New HomePod Mini, Apple TV, and More

Thursday October 16, 2025 9:13 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro, iPad Pro, and Vision Pro with its next-generation M5 chip, but previous rumors have indicated that the company still plans to announce at least a few additional products before the end of the year. The following Apple products have at one point been rumored to be updated in 2025, although it is unclear if the timeframe for any of them has...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Has Two Key Upgrades Beyond the M5 Chip

Thursday October 16, 2025 8:31 am PDT by
Apple on Wednesday updated the 14-inch MacBook Pro base model with an M5 chip, and there are two key storage-related upgrades beyond that chip bump. First, Apple says the new 14-inch MacBook Pro offers up to 2× faster SSD performance than the equivalent previous-generation model, so read and write speeds should get a significant boost. Apple says it is using "the latest storage technology," ...
m4 macbook air blue

M5 MacBook Air Coming Spring 2026 With M5 Mac Studio and Mac Mini in Development

Thursday October 16, 2025 3:57 pm PDT by
Apple plans to launch MacBook Air models equipped with the new M5 chip in spring 2026, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple is also working on M5 Pro and M5 Max MacBook Pro models that will come early in the year. Neither the MacBook Pro models nor the MacBook Air models are expected to get design changes, with Apple focusing on simple chip upgrades. In the case of the MacBook Pro, a m...
Apple iPad Pro hero M5

New iPad Pro Has Six Key Upgrades Beyond M5 Chip

Saturday October 18, 2025 10:57 am PDT by
While the new iPad Pro's headline feature is the M5 chip, the device has some other changes, including N1 and C1X chips, faster storage speeds, and more. With the M5 chip, the new iPad Pro has up to a 20% faster CPU and up to a 40% faster GPU compared to the previous model with the M4 chip, according to Geekbench 6 results. Keep in mind that 256GB and 512GB configurations have a 9-core CPU,...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

M5 Chip Achieves Impressive Feat in 14-Inch MacBook Pro Speed Test

Friday October 17, 2025 7:10 am PDT by
The first alleged benchmark result for the M5 chip in the new 14-inch MacBook Pro has surfaced, allowing for some performance comparisons. Based on a single unconfirmed result uploaded to the Geekbench 6 database today, the M5 chip has pulled off an impressive feat. Specifically, the chip achieved a score of 4,263 for single-core CPU performance, which is the highest single-core score that...
iPhone Siri Glow

Some Apple Employees Have 'Concerns' About iOS 26.4's Revamped Siri

Sunday October 19, 2025 7:39 am PDT by
iOS 26.4 is expected to introduce a revamped version of Siri powered by Apple Intelligence, but not everyone is satisfied with how well it works. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said some of Apple's software engineers have "concerns" about the overhauled Siri's performance. However, he did not provide any specific details about the shortcomings. iOS 26.4 will...

Top Rated Comments

Mr. Dee Avatar
27 months ago
My iPhone X is stuck at iOS 16, but if it supported iOS 17, I wouldn't be upgrading until late summer 2024 anyway.
I am realizing, both the hardware and software these days, its best to wait a while before upgrading.
I won't purchase the iPhone 16 Pro Max until iOS 18.3.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tobefirst ⚽️ Avatar
27 months ago
Ooh. Interesting. I think I was one of the ones affected. I just assumed I was losing my mind. I guess that still might be true.
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Joe Rossignol Avatar
27 months ago

Thank goodness. Very frustrating losing all my message photos and links, making search useless.

Can anyone else confirm that this truly fixes the problem?
@Banglazed just commented in another thread that Apple told them via Feedback app that there was a change/fix implemented in iOS 17.1 beta 2.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Risco Avatar
27 months ago

@Banglazed just commented in another thread that Apple told them via Feedback app that there was a change/fix implemented in iOS 17.1 beta 2.
Brilliant, I will wait until final release. At least there is now a fix.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Risco Avatar
27 months ago
Thank goodness. Very frustrating losing all my message photos and links, making search useless.

Can anyone else confirm that this truly fixes the problem?
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
villi Avatar
27 months ago
I have messages dating back to 2013. With iOS 17 and my iP15Pro, messages were indexed to Aug 2023, and with iOS 17 beta 2, it indexed to 6/30/2021. I downloaded iOS 17 beta 3 last night, reset Siri and Search settings, restarted, plugged in my phone, and I woke up with messages indexed back to 2013.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)