Codex Desktop omits user messages sent from iOS Remote Control even though Codex executes them

No source files, tests, or deterministic reproduction are named. Start by reproducing a normal iPhone Send through Remote Control, then trace Desktop thread hydration and the app-server reconciliation boundary. Done means the accepted mobile-originated user turn appears consistently after opening or refreshing the same Desktop thread.

What version of the Codex App are you using?

• Codex/ChatGPT Desktop: 26.715.21425 (build 5488)
• Bundled CLI: codex-cli 0.145.0-alpha.18
• ChatGPT iOS app: current installed version as of July 17, 2026; exact build not recorded

What subscription do you have?

Codex Pro

What platform is your computer?

Host:

• macOS 27.0 developer beta
• Build 26A5368g
• Apple Silicon / arm64

Remote client:

• ChatGPT app on iPhone
• Codex Remote Control connected to the Mac host

What issue are you seeing?

A regular user message sent from the iPhone appeared normally in the mobile thread and was successfully received by Codex. Codex acted on the instruction.

When the same thread was viewed in Codex Desktop, that mobile-originated user message was absent from the visible Desktop conversation history.

This was a normal Send action:

• It was not Queue.
• It was not Steer.
• The message was visible on iPhone.
• Codex received and executed it.
• Desktop did not render the submitted user turn.

This creates two different visible histories for the same thread. The backend/host evidently received the turn, but Desktop did not hydrate or reconcile that user-message item.

What steps can reproduce the bug?

The issue has been intermittent, so I do not yet have a deterministic minimal reproduction.

Observed sequence:

1. Connect ChatGPT on iPhone to a macOS Codex Desktop host through Remote Control.
2. Open an existing host thread from the iPhone.
3. Send a normal message using Send.
4. Confirm the submitted user message appears in the iPhone thread.
5. Confirm Codex receives the message and acts on it.
6. Open or refresh the same thread in Codex Desktop.
7. Observe that the mobile-originated user message is absent from the Desktop conversation history.

What is the expected behavior?

The iPhone and Desktop should converge on the same persisted thread history.

If a mobile-originated message is accepted and executed:

• The user turn should appear on Desktop.
• The user should not need to infer the missing instruction from Codex's subsequent actions.
• Reloading or reopening the thread should hydrate the missing turn.
• Desktop and mobile should not display contradictory conversation histories.

Additional information

The exact affected thread and timestamp were not retained during the original occurrence.

The same host also has a separate recurring Desktop thread-list hydration problem where 22 pinned threads exist in durable local state but only 9 appear in the sidebar. That evidence has been added to #33579.

These may share a Desktop/app-server reconciliation boundary, but I am not claiming they have the same root cause.

Possibly related:

• #22773 — iOS/macOS Remote Control hydration and stale-state failures
• #24287 — accepted prompts or turns becoming invisible in Desktop
• #31470 — mobile omits eligible desktop-host threads
• #33579 — Desktop hides existing pinned threads