Apple Releases iOS 14.2.1 With Fix for Text Message Bug and iPhone 12 Mini Lock Screen Issues

Apple today released iOS 14.2.1, a bug fix update that comes two weeks after the launch of iOS 14.2 and is available for Apple's new iPhone 12 models.

14
The iOS 14.2.1 update can be downloaded for free and it is available on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the new software, go to Settings > General > Software Update.

According to Apple's release notes, iOS 14.2.1 addresses several serious bugs that were found in the new ‌iPhone‌ 12 devices. It fixes a bug that caused some MMS text messages not to be received in both single person and group chats, and it fixes a bug that caused the Lock Screen of the iPhone 12 mini to become unresponsive.

It also includes a fix for Made for ‌iPhone‌ hearing devices that were experiencing sound quality issues. Apple's release notes are below.

iOS 14.2.1 addresses the following issues for your iPhone:
- Some MMS messages may not be received
- Made for iPhone hearing devices could have sound quality issues when listening to audio from iPhone
- Lock Screen could become unresponsive on iPhone 12 mini

There have been multiple complaints about all of these issues. For the ‌iPhone 12 mini‌, users were seeing problems when swiping up from the bottom of the Lock Screen or when pressing the flashlight or camera buttons.

The missing text messages primarily affected ‌iPhone‌ users who were in group chats with Android users, with the bug causing some Android text messages to fail to show up in the chat.

Apple did not acknowledge these problems, but there was a support document on the third issue, which was causing some people with Made for ‌iPhone‌ hearing aids and devices to experience unexpected noises like loud static or intermittent audio.

Apple is also testing iOS 14.3, and has seeded two betas of that update to developers so far. iOS 14.3 brings ProRAW functionality to the new iPhones and it also will introduce the Fitness+ service.

Related Forum: iOS 14

Popular Stories

Apple Logo Black

Apple Just Made Its Second-Biggest Acquisition Ever After Beats

Thursday January 29, 2026 10:07 am PST by
Apple today confirmed to Reuters that it has acquired Q.ai, an Israeli startup that is working on artificial intelligence technology for audio. Apple paid close to $2 billion for Q.ai, according to sources cited by the Financial Times. That would make this Apple's second-biggest acquisition ever, after it paid $3 billion for the popular headphone and audio brand Beats in 2014. Q.ai has...
Aston Martin CarPlay Ultra Screen

Apple's CarPlay Ultra to Expand to These Vehicle Brands Later This Year

Sunday February 1, 2026 10:08 am PST by
Last year, Apple launched CarPlay Ultra, the long-awaited next-generation version of its CarPlay software system for vehicles. Nearly nine months later, CarPlay Ultra is still limited to Aston Martin's latest luxury vehicles, but that should change fairly soon. In May 2025, Apple said many other vehicle brands planned to offer CarPlay Ultra, including Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis. At the time,...
14 inch MacBook Pro Keyboard

Apple Changes How You Order a Mac

Saturday January 31, 2026 10:51 am PST by
Apple recently updated its online store with a new ordering process for Macs, including the MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, Mac mini, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro. There used to be a handful of standard configurations available for each Mac, but now you must configure a Mac entirely from scratch on a feature-by-feature basis. In other words, ordering a new Mac now works much like ordering an...
imac video apple feature

Apple Unveils First New Products of 2026

Monday January 26, 2026 1:55 pm PST by
Apple today introduced its first two physical products of 2026: a second-generation AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided Solo Loop for the Apple Watch. Read our coverage of each announcement to learn more:Apple Unveils New AirTag With Longer Range, Louder Speaker, and More Apple Introduces New Black Unity Apple Watch BandBoth the new AirTag and the Black Unity Connection Braided...
apple unsold web store

Retail Accessories Apple Won't Sell You Now Available via New Site

Friday January 30, 2026 8:46 am PST by
A newly surfaced resale operation is seemingly offering Apple Store–exclusive display accessories to the public for the first time, potentially giving consumers access to Apple-designed hardware that the company has historically kept confined to its retail environments. Apple designs a range of premium MagSafe charging stands, display trays, and hardware systems exclusively for displays in ...

Top Rated Comments

Pirate! Avatar
68 months ago
Does this fix the delay in text showing up when typing texts as well?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Serban55 Avatar
68 months ago
That was fast, Thank you Apple
At least you fix your own mistakes quickly
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Macropanda Avatar
68 months ago

So I updated to the new 14.2 for no reason? Why release that then this 18 hours later??
14.2 came out 2 weeks ago. Apple aren’t going to keep this update held back because you updated 18 hours ago.
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
VespiYT Avatar
68 months ago

Pretty sure it's available for all supported devices.
”Apple today released iOS 14.2.1, a bug fix update that comes two weeks after the launch of iOS 14.2 ('https://www.macrumors.com/2020/11/05/apple-releases-ios-14-2/') and is available for Apple's new iPhone 12 models.”

I actually think its iphone 12s only
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hamsterhjulet Avatar
68 months ago
Does this fix the missing notification on texts? It’s so annoying that I need to check messages once in a while to see if I’ve got new messages.
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
aesc80 Avatar
68 months ago

People still send MMS? I haven’t used that since Nokia was a thing and even then only sent them by mistake, costing you 49 cent a piece from your 5 euro prepaid card lol. Not sure if those are even still working here.
Cause some of us have friends that have Android devices and seriously want to send an image attached.

Then again, if I sever all my Android friends, I won't need this update! I'm friending wrong!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)