Photos and videos not displaying in Messages app on iPhone

I got a new iPhone 17 earlier this week and updated to the latest iOS (26.1). If I go into the Messages app, choose a conversation, and choose the Photos tab, I can see the pages of small versions of the images in rows of 3. However, if I select one past the first four screens or so, I only get the word "photo" with a harvey ball. Image is attached below. This is also the case for all of my conversations. I also can't see videos - I just get the word "video" with an icon of a video camera and "MOV" with a harvey ball. I turned off and restarted my phone - that got me access to a few photos but mostly did not help. How can I regain access to these photos and videos that were shared with me via Messages? Thank you.

iPhone 17 Pro, iOS 26

Posted on Nov 30, 2025 1:19 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Nov 30, 2025 6:43 PM

Your photos/videos are not gone — your new iPhone hasn’t finished downloading Message attachments, and iOS 26.1 has a known bug where media stops loading after the first few screens. Turn Messages in iCloud off/on, keep the phone plugged in on Wi-Fi, trigger an iCloud backup, and rebuild the Messages attachment index through Storage → Messages → Photos → Review Large Attachments. The full media library will re-download over several hours.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Nov 30, 2025 6:43 PM in response to Need_Assistance_Please

Your photos/videos are not gone — your new iPhone hasn’t finished downloading Message attachments, and iOS 26.1 has a known bug where media stops loading after the first few screens. Turn Messages in iCloud off/on, keep the phone plugged in on Wi-Fi, trigger an iCloud backup, and rebuild the Messages attachment index through Storage → Messages → Photos → Review Large Attachments. The full media library will re-download over several hours.

Photos and videos not displaying in Messages app on iPhone

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