11 Tips to Fix Messages App Keeps Crashing on iPhone in iOS 17

User Concern

“My Messages app keeps crashing every time I click on it I've reset my iPhone and restarted it and it just isn't working”.

If your iPhone Messages app keeps crashing suddenly and constantly, you might be one of the victims of iOS 17 bugs, or the app is attacked because someone has sent malicious messages attached to large files.

It is really inconvenient when the Messages app keeps crashing on iPhone. But don't worry; it is not a big deal, and there are a few tips to fix this issue with ease. Try these solutions one by one and see which one works for you.

Why Is My iPhone Messages App Crashing?

Usually, there are two circumstances for the Messages app crashing issue. One case is when you open the app; it will crash immediately. Another case is that the app continues closing on your iPhone.

Many factors make the Messages app crash on your iPhone, such as iOS system errors, buggy software updates, iOS exploits, malicious text messages, incorrect settings, corrupted data and caches, etc.

How to Fix Messages App Keeps Crashing on iPhone?

Tip 1. Force Quit and Restart Messages App

If the Messages app keeps crashing on your iPhone, try force quitting it and restarting it. To do this,

• Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the app switcher (For iPhone with home button, just double-press the home button).
• Find the Messages app and drag it to dismiss it.
• Wait for a few seconds, then restart the Messages app.

Tip 2. Restart Your iPhone

You can also fix the Messages app crashing error by restarting your iPhone.

• For iPhone X and newer models: Press the side button and either volume+/volume- button. Drag the slider from left to right to turn it off. After that, keep holding the side button to turn on the device.
• For iPhone 6, 7, 8 series, and second-gen SE: Keep holding the side button and pull the slider to turn off the device. Then hold the side button when the Apple logo appears.
• For iPhone 6 and older versions: Keep holding the top button until you see the slider button. Then drag the slider until the device goes off. When it does, keep holding the top button again to turn it on.

Tip 3. Delete Old Messages on iPhone

The Messages app may keep closing if there are many conversions on your iPhone. In this case, you can delete old messages to fix the problem.

Also, you can enable auto-deleting of messages after 30 days or 1 year. To do this,

• Go to Settings, scroll down to tap on Messages > Keep Messages.
• You can choose to save the message history for 30 days, 1 Year or forever as you want.

Tip 4. Clear Messages App Documents & Data

Sometimes, the Messages app crashes due to inadequate storage space on the iPhone. In this case, you need to organize and clear some of your Messages app's documents & data.

• Go to Settings > General > iPhone Storage (for older iOS: Storage & iCloud Usage) to check the amount of storage that Messages consumes.
• Click on Messages and you will see a list of all your Messages' media files by category like photos, videos, GIFs, etc.
• Tap on the data you want to manage and click on "Edit", then check the files you want to delete and tap on "Delete".

Clearing the Messages app documents and data will help a lot in improving the performance. Before freeing up the space, it's preferable to make a backup of your iPhone in case of data loss.

Tip 5. Disable and Re-enable iMessage

Another attempt you can try is to disable and re-enable iMessage on your iPhone.

• Open the Settings app and tap "Messages". 
• Then tap the switch for iMessage to turn it off.
• Wait for a few seconds, tap the switch again to turn it on.

Tip 6. Access Messages Through 3D Touch

Each time you try to access and view a particular message from the same contact, it crashes without warning. The specific method in this case is using 3D Touch.

Find the Message App on the screen, press and hold it until the function options appear, from which you can send messages to anyone you want or delete the complete messages from the specific contact. However, this method is only for the issues of a specific contact.

Note

If the 3D Touch doesn't appear, go to Settings > General > Accessibility and scroll down to verify that 3D Touch is enabled.

Tip 7. Send Messages via Siri

If your Message App crashes after receiving malicious messages, it's wise to reply to this person who sent the strange messages via Siri.

• Hold the Home button on iPhone to open Siri. 
• Ask Siri to read unread text messages or read messages and respond YES to reply to the malicious text.
• After that, the Message app will be normal.

Tip 8. Update iOS on iPhone

As we know, Apple always releases new iOS versions to fix old bugs existing on iPhones. You can try to update your iPhone to the latest iOS version to fix the Messages app crashing issue.

• Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
• If an update is available, click "Download and Install".

Tip 9. Reset All Settings

It is reported that the iPhone Messages app crashing issue can be fixed by resetting all settings. If all the above methods fail to work, you can: 

• Go to Settings > Genenral > Reset and tap "Reset All Settings".
• Then enter your iPhone's passcode and confirm the reset.

Tip 10. Fix Messages App Crashing with iOS Repair Tool

In case iOS system bugs and errors often cause the problem, you'd better try a third-party iOS repair tool. FoneGeek iOS System Recovery is highly recommended. It can always come in handy when your iPhone runs into various issues that are hard to settle, such as restart loop, apps crashing or not opening, black screen, fingerprint problems, etc.

FoneGeek iOS System Recovery is powerful because you will not suffer from any data loss during or after the repair process. And your device will be normal in a few clicks.

Step 1. Firstly, install the right version of this program on your Mac or Windows computer. Open it up and select "Standard Mode" option.

Step 2. Use an USB cable to connect your abnormal iPhone to the computer and wait for the program to detect it. If not, you can follow the instructions to put the device in Recovery/DFU mode.

Step 3. Check the information for your iPhone and select the matching firmware version, then tap on "Download" to download the firmware package.

Step 4. After downloading, click on "Fix Now" and the program will start to fix your iPhone. Your iPhone will restart and the Messages app crashing issue should disappear.

Tip 11. Contact Apple Support

If none of the solutions above works, follow the steps below to request assistance from Apple support team. Genius Bar will help you as soon as possible.

• Click App Store on iPhone to open it up.
• Then, install the Apple Support app.

• In the 'Support' section, click on your device name.
• Scroll down and tap 'More'.
• Scroll down again and select 'Messages' to find the best options.
• Finally, click on 'Chat' or make a call.

Bottom Line

That's all. After following the above methods, I hope you've fixed the Messages app crashing issue on your iPhone. Let us know which trick has offered help below. If nothing helps, you can contact Apple Support for further assistance.

Meanwhile, suppose you accidentally deleted some important text messages on your iPhone, and there is no backup. In that case, you can also rely on third-party tool like FoneGeek iPhone Data Recovery to retrieve deleted text messages from iPhone without backup.