I am unable to use special effects in Messages on my iPhone 7. Anybody else have this problem?

I have a 7 too. Tried it but nothing happened. The use instructions are crap. I refuse to restore my new 7 because I just got it all set up. I did untick imessage and rebooted but nada. I got it to come on exactly one time but after that no mas. Must be an iOS update issue. My daughter has a 6 and it's working fine on hers. Not sure of her iOS.

I finally just googled the problem and found this solution at another site. Don't know why it didn't work the first time. I had the reduce motion off then turned it on then off again. It still wasn't working. I guess somewhere along the line in trying to figure it out I turned it on again. So, I turned it off and voila.

It is of my opinion that apple doesn't always explain things clearly. They sometimes leave out steps. In the case of the reduce motion they don't actually say to turn off Reduce Motion they simply tell the reader it may not have all the functionality. Tehy also state that you hold down the message send button and at the same time tap the screen. This is incorrect information. Anyone who has research background knows you have to completely give the reader all information assuming they know absolutely nothing about the subject. I find Apple explains everything with the assumption that we all know everything about the functionality of our Apple devices. So, try this.

http://osxdaily.com/2016/09/15/messages-effects-not-working-fix-ios-10/

Well that worked exactly one time. So, I googled my question again and found this. So far it has worked repeatedly. I do have an iPod Touch that is operating with 9.3.5 which is the latest for that device. But my iPhone 7's latest is10.3.3 so that may have had something to do with it. Also my iTouch had reduce motion enabled so I turned it off. Basically following step 3 in the following site's directions. Anything beats a restore.

https://ios.gadgethacks.com/how-to/message-effects-not-working-ios-10-heres-enab le-them-0173872/

1. Restart your iPhone, following the instructions here: Restart your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch
   
2. Reset your iPhone settings under Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. None of your personal data (contacts, pictures, Calendar events, Reminders, etc) will be removed, however customizable settings (wallpaper and screen brightness, alert sounds, Date & Time settings, etc) will be reverted back to their factory defaults. Also, saved Wi-Fi networks and passwords will be removed, as well as previously used APN or VPN settings.
   
3. Restore your iPhone to factory settings, using the steps in this article: Use iTunes on your Mac or PC to restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to factory settings
   
   Once the restore is completed, set your iPhone up as a new device (meaning without your backup, at least temporarily). You can sign into iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud, and the iTunes and App Store with your Apple ID. Then, test your ability to send effects.
   
   If you can send those full screen effects after the restore, go ahead and put your backup onto the iPhone using this article: Restore your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch from a backup

I also have this problem - I've tried everything above to no avail. I got my iPhone 7 this morning and I'm already mad at it.

Me too! I've tried everything mentioned in this article. It works for one or two messages after I did the factory reset and then it stops bringing up the screen to select the effects. I hold down the button and nothing happens.

Try Turning off iMessage from Settings-Messages, wait 30 seconds then turn it back on. You will see a message that says something like "Waiting for Activation". After your iMessage account activates try sending a text with special effects. May need to restart the phone after iMessage activates.