Updated to iOS 26 now the Messages app won't open or come through on iPhone

My final fixing is going to Genius Bar at my local Apple Store. Ends up they have encountered multiple incidents of contact related apps malfunctioning. After they delete all my third party contact blocker app data by their background analysis. My phone is alive again.

Same. Messages, phone, email, and calendar apps are black. Then at times they work but freeze and go black again. I’ve taken it to Apple x2. I’ve called Apple x 4 or 5. Zero help. They say it is from the update but no idea when a fix is coming. If I didn’t have cellular on my watch I would be SOL completely. This is absolutely ridiculous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Updated my iPhone 13 Pro Max to iOS 26 and at first all my text messages were visible. I shut it down and restarted and now the text message app goes black when I open it. No messages just a black screen. I close it and go to settings and it allows me to scroll to messages then freezes settings app as well. I have a lot of important information I need from my messages. How do I fix the screw up from this update? I can’t text or see any messsges. Just a black screen. Just checked and apparently it’s doing the same thing with my emails app as well. HELP!

Same phone as you. After update no phone no messages no calendar and cannot connect my Apple Watch 9 too. This is my first time encounter such an unhappy experience of updating iOS. It makes my phone completely useless.

So I ended up backing up everything on my phone then I erased it without deleting the sim carrier. I started it again and I downloaded my data from the cloud again and it was the same thing. It worked for a little bit then back to black screens. So in order to use my phone I erased it again except the sim and this time I only signed in to my Apple ID and I did not download anything from the cloud. I can make calls and text and I have text messages and voicemails only from March of 2025. I called my phone carrier to help me and they can’t. They are telling me I have to upgrade my phone which was working just fine before the update. I have a 13 Pro Max. My phone is in perfect condition before iOS 26 corrupted the apps for phone, messages, mail and started to freeze the phone as well. Total disappointment.

Same here, message app doesn’t work anymore. Apple, please fix this ASAP

thanks

Same for me. This is beyond frustrating!!!

This just happened to me when I updated today. Did anyone figure out a fix?