Messenger encrypted chat backup only works while the screen stays on
After setting up a PIN for Messenger’s encrypted chat backup, it started backing up around 20,000 items from my old phone.
For two full days, it made zero progress while the screen was off. For about one full day, I even left Messenger on the “Backing up chats” page before turning the screen off, but it still did not move at all.
The backup only started progressing when I kept that exact page visible and prevented the phone screen from turning off. Once I did that, it advanced steadily at around 10 items every two minutes and reached about 10% after six hours.
At the same time, more of my old messages started appearing on my new phone, so this is not just a meaningless counter. The backup is actually uploading restorable chat history.
This seems like a serious Messenger bug. A backup should continue with the screen off and should not require someone to keep a static page open for several days. It is also extremely slow for a chat-history backup. People could easily reset, repair, or replace their old phone while believing their messages are already backed up, and then lose part of their history.
Has anyone else experienced this exact behavior—zero progress with the screen off, but steady progress only when the “Backing up chats” page stays open and the screen remains on?