Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Phones
  3. Apple
  4. Mobile
  5. News

An iCloud bug causes iPhone 6S replacement units to lose call and message data

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

If you owned a defective iPhone 6S and are about to set up a replacement unit with an iCloud backup from your first 6S, you may want to hold off.

iPhone 6S owners voiced their frustrations on Apple’s support forums recently, saying their data from Messages and Recent Calls is missing after restoring their phones from an earlier iCloud backup made with the first iPhone 6S they purchased.

Recommended Videos

The bug, which was filed on the Apple Bug Reporter on October 3, seems to affect iPhone 6S handsets that updated to iOS 9.0.1 and replacement units running iOS 9.0. Multiple threads in the forum show that the issue is caused when restoring backups from one iPhone 6S to another 6S, but the backup works just fine when restoring from an older device such as the iPhone 6, 5S, 5, or 5C.

While restoring an iPhone 6S backup to a new unit, a brief flash causes the progress bar to disappear and requires the user to do a hard reset. While the dominant problem seems to be the loss of old messages and Recent Calls data, users are also saying the failed backup is causing apps to crash, disrupting Bluetooth connections, missing photos, and losing data from the Health app. Incoming messages are also displaying out of order, and the new iPhone 6S replacements aren’t notifying users when the messages arrive.

A user going by the name of pardthemonster, who first posted about the glitch on the thread, said he does not recommend anyone risk their current phone’s data by performing a backup.

“Thus best candidates would likely be those with a test device, replacement device waiting for the iOS bug fix,” he posted in the thread.

Users in contact with Apple support representatives say the company is aware of the issue and is working on a fix.

iPhone 6S owners left without their original device after getting the replacement are relying on daily local iTunes backups, but one user posted a solution that seems to work if you have access to both phones: Make sure both the new and original iPhone 6S handsets are updated to iOS 9.1, and then run a fresh backup of the original device. Reset the second phone to its factory settings, and then you should be able to restore from the backup on the new device.

Julian Chokkattu
Julian Chokkattu
Former Mobile and Wearables Editor
Julian is the mobile and wearables editor at Digital Trends, covering smartphones, fitness trackers, smartwatches, and more…
Topics
The RAM shortage could last for years, and smaller tech brands are feeling it first
From flexible motherboards to advance orders, device makers are getting creative to keep products alive.
Installing RAM Memory on a framework laptop

The memory shortage is no longer just a problem for PC builders hunting for affordable RAM. Smaller phone and laptop makers are now changing how they design, manufacture, and price their products as the supply crunch threatens to stretch through 2027 and potentially beyond. And according to a report by Reuters, the bigger problem isn't even the price anymore. It's getting enough memory in the first place.

Smaller brands are getting creative because RAM isn't playing nice

Read more
Your 15-minute reading habit could now earn you money in Singapore
Your endless scrolling habit finally has some financial competition.
Tap the top of the screen of your Kindle to bring up the menu interface.

I have plenty of apps on my phone reminding me to drink water, stand up, exercise, and stop staring at the screen. Singapore is taking a slightly different approach: instead of another reminder telling people what to do, it's adding a reward. The country has launched a new initiative designed to turn reading into a daily habit. Spend at least 15 minutes reading, record the session through the government's platform, and you'll receive 20 virtual coins.

Collect 1,000 of them, and you can exchange them for S$ 1, or roughly 80 cents in the US. Since only one reading session counts each day, reaching that first dollar takes 50 days. Nobody is getting rich here, obviously. But that's what makes the idea interesting. The cash functions more like the achievement badge or daily streak you'd find in an app, except this one tries to pull your attention away from the screen.

Read more
Galaxy S26 owners, the long One UI 9 wait is over
After eight betas, Galaxy S26 is getting the Android 17 update
Samsung Galaxy S26

Galaxy S26 owners have watched Samsung release beta after beta, launch newer phones with finished software, and even start testing that same update on last year's flagships. Thankfully, their turn has finally arrived. Samsung has begun rolling out the stable Android 17-based One UI 9 update to the Galaxy S26, Galaxy S26 Plus, and Galaxy S26 Ultra, with the rollout starting in South Korea.

Reports from users indicate that beta participants are among the first to receive the finished build, identified by firmware ending in BZI6. Wider availability should follow in phases, as Samsung typically varies rollout timing by region and carrier.

Read more