Lately when someone sends me a picture via iMessage, I see a box that says "Tap to Download" instead of an image. Most of the time when I try tapping the box, it says "Downloading" but it is stuck at 0 bytes out of about 2 MB. Other times it will actually download after I tap it and show me the image.
This seems to be tied to the user sending me the message. E.g. I can view all photos I get from Alice perfectly (no tap to download required), I can view all photos from Bob (after tapping to download), I cannot view any photos from Charlie (I get a tap to download box, but it's stuck at 0 bytes).
If I view the conversation on another device (e.g. a MacBook), I see the image just fine.
Why is this happening, and what can I do to resolve this issue on my iPhone?
I tried restarting my phone, but that doesn't help.
Best Answer
On the device with the issue, go to
Settings -> Messages -> Send & Receiveand then click on your Apple ID to sign out and then sign back in again. This seems to resolve the same issue for other people.I think the reason for the issue you are experiencing is a corrupt file, by signing out and back in your device deletes a handful of files associated with your iMessage chats and regenerate them afresh from Apple's servers.