At what point do messages in the cloud actually back up

[samduffy]

Hi does messages in the cloud work the same was as iCloud backup where they will upload to the cloud when iPhone is connected to a charger and connected to wifi. Or do they do it in their own time etc

 

[mattguy10]

Hi does messages in the cloud work the same was as iCloud backup where they will upload to the cloud when iPhone is connected to a charger and connected to wifi. Or do they do it in their own time etc

I would assume the former, but not 100% sure.

 

[samduffy]

Thanks so u think it uploads when the phone is connected to a charger and backed up is that correct ? Sorry

 

[Quis89]

It's not a continuous sync? That's kind of how I understood it. Our messages are stored in the cloud and as soon as a message is received it's immediately in the cloud thus available on all our devices.

 

[samduffy]

Ah right cool. Is it also stored when the messages are sent or just recieved I wish they brought back the manual option to force it to sync

 

[Lee_Bo]

I just opened iMessages on my iPhone and iPad and send a friend an iMessage from my iPhone. Almost immediately as soon as I sent the message, it appeared in iMessages on my iPad. So I say it's a continuous sync.

 

[samduffy]

That always was was the way before messages in the cloud now if you delete it deleted across all devices that’s the only new fuctionality of it and that it stored messages in the cloud too

 

[gnirkatto]

My understanding, after lots of discussions and trial & error:

the upload of historic messages only happens once, after turning on iCloud for iMessage in settings. In order to make the upload happen, the iPhone has to be on a charger, and on Wifi (of course).
These uploaded messages will show on other iOS devices with iCloud enabled for iMessage, but ONLY IF this other device was purchased and activated newly, OR after a factory reset of an older, existing device.
From this moment on, all subsequent new iMessages will sync to iCloud and to all other online & iOS/iCloud enabled devices instantly, without the need for the device to be on a charger.
Deleted iMessages will disappear from other iOS devices instantly.

Why do only new messages sync, and why do old messages only appear on new/resetted devices? I THINK (but might be wrong) that transferring old messages to a new, clean device is comparably easy, whereas MERGING 2 or more iMessage instances on different devices with a vast amount of old messages involved might add loads of complexity.

 

[MrMars]

Am I missing something? I’ve noticed that whenever I delete a message it says “ The message will be deleted from all of your devices” but that’s not the case. Between my phone, Mac and Apple Watch my messages are never in sync. I can delete from one device and they still appear on other devices. Latest iOS versions on all devices and messages in iCloud is enabled.

 

[gnirkatto]

Am I missing something? I’ve noticed that whenever I delete a message it says “ The message will be deleted from all of your devices” but that’s not the case. Between my phone, Mac and Apple Watch my messages are never in sync. I can delete from one device and they still appear on other devices. Latest iOS versions on all devices and messages in iCloud is enabled.

Mac and AW not yet supported, afaik. Currently iOS only.

 

[MrMars]

Mac and AW not yet supported, afaik. Currently iOS only.

Ah... so it only works if you have multiple iOS devices..?

 

[gnirkatto]

Ah... so it only works if you have multiple iOS devices..?

Yes.
Sync with Mac already works to a degree - new messages being synced between iOS and Mac, but no deletion.
At least this is what I found on my devices. Others may have deeper insight though...
Don't know about AW, as I don't have one. But I cannot think of anything but this to become available on AW too one day. A cloud service is the basis for syncs between different platforms that can connect to it.

 

[samduffy]

That’s really explains a lot gnirkatto yes I’ve tested this on my old iPhone 6 I set it up as new and all messages and threads appeared mirroring my iPhone X your also correct to say older messages won’t show on current devices etc I’ve noticed this too. In regards to Mac when I delete a message on Mac iPhone or iPad it deletes across all even Mac they pushed out the Mac update yesterday it works very well messages in iCloud

 

[samduffy]

Apple Watch doesn’t delete at least not for me they may push out an update soon

 

[Just_Me_D]

... In regards to Mac when I delete a message on Mac iPhone or iPad it deletes across all even Mac they pushed out the Mac update yesterday it works very well messages in iCloud

Yep, the new macOS update allows for this and it works well thus far.

 

[MrMars]

Yep, the new macOS update allows for this and it works well thus far.

So you’re saying if I delete a message from my phone it should also delete from my Mac and vice versa?

 

[mattguy10]

So you’re saying if I delete a message from my phone it should also delete from my Mac and vice versa?

Yes as long as:

The iPhone is running 11.4 with Messages in iCloud enabled.

The Mac is running 10.13.5 with Messages in iCloud enabled.

 

[Sherry_B]

iCloud syncing works as soon as it is connected to a strong wifi/cellular signal. If you find it's not syncing, sign out and back in to iCloud or ensure that you have a strong signal. It will not sync if the signal is weak.

 

[gnirkatto]

I just received the Mac-update. The new features are here. I turned iCloud on, it started to sync. Then I deleted an old message on the Mac that I still had on both the Mac and the iPhone. The message did not get deleted on the iPhone. Initiated another manual sync on the Mac, message still there on the iPhone.
Maybe because it's an old one? Maybe it will take a while? Don't know.Will wait, and try again, once an entirely new message arrives that I want to delete.

 

[gnirkatto]

Received a new iMessage. It appeared on Mac and iOS. Responded to it on iOS. Response synced to the Mac. Deleted the message on the Mac. Didn't delete on IoS. Waited 5 mins, nothing. Started another sync manually on the Mac, again nothing. Message still on iOS. All devices on very strong Wifi.
Will check back tomorrow, maybe to takes time. What's strange is that deleting a message on iOS A instantly deletes the message on iOS B.