Switched phone for a month; unsure how to sync Messages to original phone

[bigboy29]

I am a bit unsure how to proceed:

• Daughter's phone (iPhone SE) was migrated to a new iPhone 15 before her trip to Europe to see grandma. This included migrating her US carrier eSIM to the new phone (I also got her a separate data only eSIM for when she is there)
• Her Messages are in iCloud; made sure of this before she left
• Her iPhone SE is still here, we did not reset it or anything

The goal:

Before she leaves Europe, she will reset the iPhone 15 completely and hand it to a family member. When she gets back, we reactivate her iPhone SE. She wants Messages to be up to date once that is done.

The issue:

Both phones are still on her account. But new Messages (over the last month) are not syncing to her old phone (iPhone SE). I am unclear how to re-sync the messages when she gets back?

Ideally we would not need to reset the iPhone SE (her photos etc. it's just easier that way...)

Will messages from iCloud sync once we re-activate eSIM on iPhone SE? Or should I simply "sign out" from iCloud once she is back and eSIM is activated again and then signing into iCLoud will get the messages synced?

 

[Sheepish-Lord]

Should have just cloned the SE to the 15 using the blue circle thing on setup. Creates a 1-1 setup.

 

[bigboy29]

Should have just cloned the SE to the 15 using the blue circle thing on setup. Creates a 1-1 setup.

That is exactly what I did.

The issue is that Messages are not synced on the SE anymore; I am guessing it is because messaging is done to the phone number, and phone number is now assigned to the iPhone 15.

My question is - how do I get latest messages back to SE without the 15 in hand to do another "clone" using the blue circle. It should be possible because Messages are in iCloud? I know I could reset the SE and restore from iCloud but I'd like to avoid that...

 

[Morac]

iMessage syncing gets a little weird when you have 2 iPhones that appear to have the same phone number attached to them which happens if you migrate a SIM or eSIM.

This is because the way iMessage works on iPhones. It uses the phone’s number to send a SMS message behind the scenes to register the number and device with iMessage. When you move the number to a new phone, that registration breaks.

That said you should still be able to get it to sync by making sure to sign into an iCloud account on both iPhones.

The first thing I would do is go to the iCloud for Messages setting on both the 15 and SE and see if it’s enabled and also check to see if they both agree how many messages are in iCloud. If they don’t make sure both devices are logged into the same Apple ID.

Set up iCloud for Messages on all your devices

Learn how to set up iCloud and access your messages on your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch.

support.apple.com

If they agree, but you aren’t seeing the latest messages on the SE, I would make sure that both the 15 and SE are signed into the same Apple ID under Settings -> Messages. Just because the phones are signed into iCloud doesn’t mean they are also signed in to Messages.

If they aren’t sign in and see if they sync. If they are and it’s not syncing, you can trying manually syncing first, but it that doesn’t work turn off Messages on the SE. Wait a few minutes and turn it back on. It will fail to activate since the SE isn’t using the number anymore, but you should be able to sign in with the Apple ID.
work, but you should be able to login with the Apple ID.

If it still doesn’t sink, you might need to reset the phone. As long as the 15 does an iCloud backup, everything will come back.

On a side note, if the 15 is being given away will the SE get its old number back? If not then you definitely want to make sure to link the phone number and Apple ID first, otherwise conversations will likely get messed up on other people’s devices.

 

[bigboy29]

... If they are and it’s not syncing, you can trying manually syncing first, but it that doesn’t work turn off Messages on the SE. Wait a few minutes and turn it back on.

When you say "turn off Messages on the SE" do you mean disable iMessage like so: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/ (without the de-registration part)?

 

[Morac]

When you say "turn off Messages on the SE" do you mean disable iMessage like so: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/ (without the de-registration part)?

No. Just go into settings -> messages and toggle iMessage off.