Group Messaging in iOS 8

[hlfway2anywhere]

I don't know how many times I should repeat this to get the point across, but I am not describing a scenario where everyone in the thread receives a standalone reply from the android user.

A new group thread, with the same exact list of recipients, NOT a standalone message, shows up.

You are being abundantly clear. I don't think people are reading your posts or they are just really badly misinformed about how messaging works.

I've experienced this too with MMS group messages. I think whatever identifier or meta data it sends to indicate that it's a group thread must change or something. Something in the background on the other end that we don't see. But I do wish it was as simple as grouping it by recipients so that this wouldn't happen.

 

[joejoejoe]

You are being abundantly clear. I don't think people are reading your posts or they are just really badly misinformed about how messaging works.

I've experienced this too with MMS group messages. I think whatever identifier or meta data it sends to indicate that it's a group thread must change or something. Something in the background on the other end that we don't see. But I do wish it was as simple as grouping it by recipients so that this wouldn't happen.

thank you

 

[dncrditzx22]

Well I don't have a solution but I recently started having the same problem ever since I updated to iOS8. I also will get group threads which list only 2 participants, yet a third member is also receiving those messages. However, sometimes when I respond in those threads nobody gets my responses but I can see everyone else's message.

 

[CEmajr]

It's probably the other phones. I know that in Android specifically their devices are not natively capable of group messaging. When I had one I downloaded a third party app in order to do it and sometimes the messages would still occasionally send as a separate message outside the original group thread. iOS, Blackberry and Windows handle group messaging fine. You need to talk to your Android using friends.

EDIT nevermind just read that this is NOT what you're talking about. What you're describing I did have happen one day last year on my 5S running iOS 7. Some of the messages from a group thread were coming in a separate group thread to me and like 2 other people outside the main group thread. It went back to normal the next day so I didn't bother looking into it any further.

 

[adn rcd dly]

I have this issue with a group chat I am a part of. The issue is I will send a message to our group of four. 1 will respond from their Mac, 1 from an iPad, and the other from an iPhone. Depending on the device you are on it will split it up. Now, we all have multiple iMessage devices so we are basically doing it to ourselves. This is how

The person receives the message on their iPhone and iPad. They decide to respond from the iPad but the iPad iMessage setting has the Apple ID set as the "Start conversations from" (basically a caller ID for iMessage) instead of the phone number it was sent to. So a reply from the iPad is still a reply from that contact but using a different address so it starts a new thread.

I do wish Apple could make it so, if this person is in your contact list and you have an existing iMessage from him, as long as he is sending from an address you have recorded as him it should keep in 1 thread. This may not be possible, I don't know.

I have read that if you all have your Apple ID set as the "Start conversations from" then it will stay in 1 thread.

 

[Lucky Kate]

thank you

Joejoejoe have you found a solution yet? I'm having the same problem - I feel you pain! Lol

 

[br1407]

I'm having this issue too and it's really annoying. I'm in a group message with about 8 other people, and since "upgrading" to iOS8, the same group message with the same 8 people now shows up in 4 separate group message threads. It makes no sense. Like others, my messages app on the Mac doesn't have this issue.

 

[Dizle]

I have the same problem, only with group messages and it is pretty random when it happens.

 

[PsykX]

Same problem.

Messages used to have a strange behavior on OS X, they took this feature and brought it back on iOS.

...seriously, I hope this gets fixed in 8.1

 

[Lucky Kate]

Still searching for a fix... :/

I found this (attached) in another forum... It makes sense. Looks like there may be no quick fix at the moment. We will just have to wait for Apple to do their magic. It would be nice to know if they are aware of the problem; then at least we'd know there is a light at the end of this annoying tunnel.

View attachment Duplicate Threads 2.pdf

*Still an Apple-lover

 

[Mac'nCheese]

Spent a lot of time on the phone with apple trying to fix this. My problem was this:

Had a thread with me, Vero and Maria.
Upgraded to iphone 6.
V and M could still send messages to that thread that I would see.
I couldn't respond to that thread.
A new thread with just Maria's name appeared that if I responded to, V and M would see.

Other group thread had similar problems.

After finally talking to a "senior"or whatever adviser, I just had to delete old group threads and start over.

And my maps application still won't voice directions over the car radio by breaking into whatever station I'm listening to like navigon does. But that's a different thread.

 

[joejoejoe]

Joejoejoe have you found a solution yet? I'm having the same problem - I feel you pain! Lol

Unfortunately, no. It's only gotten worse with iOS 8.

 

[Gr8scott]

My wife and I are newbie Apple iPhone 6 users after switching from Android. I am experiencing the very same issue with responses to a group MMS message that I was included in with ten other people some were contacts of mine and some not. When I responded it was green and in the original thread. However, responses from others came in separate threads but with all the same people listed. To make matters more confusing, a few new responses from others would show up in the additional group MMS threads created instead of the original. And I should add that the new response threads came from iPhone users.

My wife on the other hand, even though her settings are identical to mine, is not experiencing this problem.

Frustrating to say the least. Has anyone here learned more about the cause of this and how to fix it?

 

[joejoejoe]

Sadly this has only gotten worse.

I hoped that iOS8's new group messaging features would help, but they did not.

I named a group thread between me and three friends "turtles" for example.

I now have three conversations in messages named "turtles" that are between the same four people, all with different messages within.

I have no idea how this happened, why this happened, or why Apple hasn't fixed it yet.

#annoyed, to say the least.

 

[sc4m]

Having this frustrating issue happening with multiple group chats.

I originally thought I donked up the first chat because I went overseas and used a local SIM and replied to the group chat on the new number which caused everyone in the chat to get a 2nd instance of it with my int'l number included.

Upon returning to my local SIM back home the chat would randomly splinter off for everyone randomly. Sometimes when someone used an iPad with their Apple ID and not a phone number associated.

Both of those scenarios led me to believe it was if a "new" user replied to an existing group chat it causes it to splinter. That belief didn't last long until it started happening while everyone was using their phone number (all over iMsg not SMS) and it started happening as well.

I've now got 3 instances of one group chat and 4 instances of another chat with different people. The first group got together and deleted all duplicates on our phones one night and 2 days later it splintered again with people online using their phones.

 

[dk001]

Common issue with iOS unless all recipients are using iMessage for send/receipt. If anyone is not using iMessage there is no current iOS8 fix. Have seen this on my 6+ since day one.

Other OS's group these depending on the app used. Personally I have moved most of my messaging to my G3 to "standardize" my SMS/MMS. Would like to see Apple fix this.

 

[maalleh]

This happens to me also. Very annoying. One group message turns into 10 different threads. Hard to follow. Some are iPhone others android. Also a long message may be splint and the parts do not arrive in consecutive order. Apple you can do better than this.

 

[Cruckshank87]

Hello everyone, I see that this thread is over a year old but people are still having the same issue, myself included. The problems began for me when I finally broke down and purchased an iPhone 6, was using a 4 before. I have this exact same issue happening for me, I understand that possibly the messages may be from the same people but maybe be somehow sent from a different ID of some sort? Possibly relating to their Apple ID even though the group message is not an iMessage? I have no understanding why the phone still would not just see that it is from the same contacts and group them together in the same chat instead of splitting. Some of my friends have the same exact issue so this must be a very common and widespread problem, with what would seem to be a very easy solution. I can't fathom that Apple can't get this fixed. Has anyone had any luck finding their own solutions?