My wife and I both have new issues texting whenever it involves Android users. We aren’t seeing group texts, and we can’t send photos.
This was not an issue until a couple weeks ago. She has an XR, and I have a 12 Pro Max - both with iOS 16. We are on Verizon.
My message settings have SMS turned on. I’m not sure what to do, nor do I know why this suddenly started happening.
iPhone 12 Pro Max
There is no setting to turn SMS messaging on or off on an iPhone. There's a setting that allows you to tell the iPhone that, if an iMessage fails, to automatically resend the message as an SMS. However, it has no effect on messages that are originally sent as SMS messages.
Make sure that you have Settings>Messages>MMS Messaging and Settings>Messages>Group Messaging enabled.
If that doesn't help, contact Verizon.
There is no setting to turn SMS messaging on or off on an iPhone. There's a setting that allows you to tell the iPhone that, if an iMessage fails, to automatically resend the message as an SMS. However, it has no effect on messages that are originally sent as SMS messages.
Make sure that you have Settings>Messages>MMS Messaging and Settings>Messages>Group Messaging enabled.
If that doesn't help, contact Verizon.
Sometimes, things go wrong for no reason that's obvious to mere mortals.
Glad you got it sorted!
Thanks. My settings match what you’re saying.
What can I expect Verizon to be able to do about this? I spent many painful hours on the phone with them a few weeks ago with an unrelated issue setting up an Apple Watch for a family member. I’m not looking forward to calling them again and would like to know what I should expect.
SMS is a carrier feature so only Verizon can fix it. If I were still working for Verizon, my first thought would be to remove SMS messaging from our account, refresh the account and turn it back on again.
Something to keep in mind. When you call Verizon, even if you select the option for "Technical Support", the first person you get is a customer service rep with a little extra training and a set of scripts for how to deal with common problems. Some of them might be quite talented, some may not be. If they can't help you, politely but persistently request that your call be escalated.
One other thing you might do before braving another call to Verizon is to reset your network settings. Settings>General>Transfer or Reset iPhone>Reset>Reset Network Settings. You will lose saved WiFi passwords but that should be the extent of it.
This turned out to be as simple as unchecking a Verizon device setting called “Block Picture & Video Messaging”.
Unreal. No idea why that setting was suddenly checked for two of our devices, but anyway.
Verizon sure is enjoying wasting my time lately.
Thanks for the guidance here.
iPhones recently having trouble texting with Android users.
