Messages app crashing after iOS 26 update

Had the same issue occur today for me after blocking a spam message. Managed to get back to messages after enabling Screen Unknown Senders and Filter Spam under Settings -> Apps -> Messages.

After removing all blocked contacts (not an ideal solution) I was able to get access to the Screen Unknown Senders and Spam folders/filters in the Messages app to delete the offending messages.

The issue appears to stem from blocked contacts and the messaging app which might help Apple in diagnosing and fixing the issue. Hope this helps others that come to this thread but may not work for everyone or be the most ideal solution for some.

This just happened to me today as well. I just finished blocking and deleting messages from two obvious spam numbers. After doing so, anytime I would open the Messages app and try to scroll down through my list of open conversations, the app would crash. I tried doing a soft reboot and a hard reboot of the phone. Made no difference. Then I went into the settings for Messages and into the list of blocked callers, found the number I had blocked last (luckily I remembered the unique area code), and unblocked it. After doing that, the Messages app was working normally again. I can open it and scroll through all my conversations and it no longer crashes.

Was this an issue caused by a specific number being blocked? Or maybe it had something to do with the number of blocked callers in my list?

Same issue , I unblocked phone numbers in blocked contacts and it’s working again

Same thing.

1. Updated to iOS 26, the Messages app started crashing a few days later (main page).
2. I tried restarting a few times, still crashing.
3. I tried updating to iOS 26.0.1, still crashing.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open Messages by tapping the icon, that's it.

Important note:

• Holding the icon and selecting a pinned contact form the quick menu will take me to the conversation without issue.
• Opening a message from a notitficaiton will take me to the conversation without issue.

iPhone 13 mini, iOS 26.0.1

It doesn't seem to be related to any specific contact, but to the actual inbox view. The opening animations will trigger, the UI will slide into place, and as soon as "Messages" slides in from the left, the app crashes.

This makes sending new texts to anyone that is not a pinned contact impossible, a prompt fix would be appreciated.

i also notice if you have a background picture for your imessage chat, it can cause imessage on mac or ipad to crash.

i used my iphone to remove the background photo from certain chats and now it works on mac/ipad etc.

The update to 26.1 fixed the issue for me.

I have hundreds of blocked numbers and would have no idea which one was the last one. I hope they do some kind of update so I dont have to spend hours unblocking numbers (and restarting the influx of campaign texts I get every day). :(

I've been wondering if that's a possible culprit on my end. I'm going to try that now on a group chat that I have on my MacBook Pro, which is also synced with my iPhone to see if the app still crashes when I click on the group chat or not. I'll sign out, restart, and sign back in hoping this will work!

Same problem with the recently deleted. When I try to go in there, it crashes for me on my phone and MacBook

This is exactly what's happening for me. Blocked two spam numbers and now I can't review older messages, it crashes. 2025/11/06 IOS: 26.0.1, 12 pro