iMessage thread stuck on satellite

I had same problem… went to software updates , there was one , so I updated .

it fixed the problem for me . Apple support was no help . Nothing they suggested worked

Updating the IOS on both our phones fixed this issue for us. Didn’t do anything else as far as settings.

Log out of your iMessage account. Send a a iMessage to the affected contacts and log back in fixed mine

Try only signing out of iMessage with IDKMan’s instructions. Then send a message to your friend while you are signed out. Then sign back in. I suspect that’s what is actually resetting the thread in the iMessage backend, not the thread deletion.

Had same problem, I looked for an update

updated … and it worked . Coincidence? Not sure !! But it worked !!

Sorry if my fix doesn’t work for you. My gut feeling is that the issue isn’t with iOS but with the iMessage backend. I probably just got lucky in that signing out and back in reset the value on my account on Apple’s servers telling others that I was in satellite mode.

If you haven’t already, use the Support app to get Apple to notice this problem. Odds are you’ll have to escalate to at least tier 2. If enough people contact them about this they’ll be more likely to push a fix.

Apple SOS satellite did this with my husbands contact as well. What we ended up doing was turning the location off for Satellite SOS and it kept the “only on satellite” notification his messages.

Settings > Location Services > System Services > Satellite Connection

It did not work for me. We both signed out. Still shows satellite only for my friend. The strange thing is it goes through iMessage normally if I add him to a group.

I’ll give it a go. We both deleted the message thread, but didn’t think to delete it from recently deleted. Maybe that the trick. We assumed the same thing that the issue is with the messaging thread itself not with either device.

I believe I sent a message while I was signed out too. That’s probably the key to it resetting the message thread. Good catch!

Not deleting a thread that’s been years in the making, fix this Apple. I can send all the photos I want to my wife. But every time my wife goes to text me. It says I’m in satellite mode. I sent my wife a text when that Verizon debacle was happening. I was at Sam’s Club in the parking lot. I guess the beta testers didn’t catch this one.

is this actually working for you after a few texts? i did this (as well as the avoe tips) and at first it looked all good, but after a few texts it went back to saying I’m on satellite (on my end I’m fine but anyone with an iPhone 14 and above can’t send me photos because it says I’m on satellite)

Same thing here. Only one contact is affected, but of course it’s the person I talk to the most.

It claims he’s connected to satellite but he’s not and never has been. I’m unable to call/Facetime/send media and messages have a character limit but things are normal on his end. Also, he uses a 16 Pro and everything was fine until I updated to iOS 18. (iPhone 15 Pro Max).

I spent hours with Apple yesterday with no help. We have both reset phones, reset network/location settings, logged out/in as stated in this thread, updated software to 18.0.1. Unwilling to delete the thread.

Apple…help!

I did this too, no dice. It's so weird that it's only on my iPhone. On my Macbook/iPad the thread is completely normal.

Apple wants me to restore to factory settings as a new iPhone, not from a backup, but I'm unwilling to do that.

This helped me! I went mtb riding out of signal and decided to try turning on satellite mode, while already having no signal. iPhone 15pro. Once back with signal all my iMessages were stuck in satellite mode. Followed the steps of BenH30, problem solved! 🤙🤙