Possible fix?
Apologies if someone's already pointed this out, but I wanted to pop back into the thread to update on a fix that, for now, seems to be working.
Recap:
1. I have six family phones on my account, each logged in under its own unique Apple ID for quite some time before IOS 12 and the cross-texting issue. The "get your own Apple ID" suggestion was not a solution for me.
2. Only three of the six lines in the family were having an issue.
3. We discovered that, despite the affected three phones displaying a unique Apple ID (Settings>>select Apple ID under the picture on the first screen), when looking at the "Send & Receive" screen in the iMessages app (the screen that allows you to select the phone numbers used by the phone), the three impacted phones were all still displaying the same primary Apple ID (the one on my phone from back in the pre-Family Sharing days when we all shared one Apple ID).
4. The other three non-affected family phones correctly displayed the user's unique Apple ID inside the iMessage app.
5. From the iMessages setting, we logged out the two affected phone and re-logged them in under their correct Apple ID.
6. The problem seems to have resolved itself for now.
So, even if you switch your phones to unique Apple IDs (or already had them set that way before IOS 12), try double-checking:
Settings>>iMessage>>Send & Receive. Make each phone is in fact on its individual Apple ID inside the Messaging app.
Hope this helps.
p.s. When we switched to unique Apple IDs some time ago, none of us individually set the iMessage "Send & Receive" screen. For some reason, two of the six phones didn't switch over (mine never changed as it was the original primary/shared Apple ID).
Ok, riddle me this Batman.... if IOS12 is working how it’s supposed to and not a bug, what about those of us who have 5 iPhones, all 5 on separate Apple ID’s, yet it’s happening to us too? I’ve talked with Apple too and wiping phones did NOT help the issue.
I have had my family setup on the same Apple ID for 6 or 7 years and iMessage worked fine. Now after iOS 12 it combined my son's and wife's messages into one thread. Can't even text my son now. This is an Apple issue that they should fix.
I have another observation!
I've noticed that when I receive certain text messages (e.g. an Amazon shipment update), I hear multiple notification alert tones but there is only one text message received and only one iPhone notification.
Anyone experiencing this same symptom?
I have a question for the people that suggest everyone has their own apple id. I am fine with this if it works but then as a family we can't use Find My iPhone. For Find My iPhone to work everyone needs to be on the same account. As a parent I like being able to see where my family is. If Apple says that each person should have a separate apple account why do require all users to be on same apple account to use Find My iPhone?
GoDawgs1994: I initially had the same conclusion. However, I did not fully understand how FindMyPhone works under the new IOS12. Read about it. While I think you will be pleased with some aspects, others you will not. For example, and I think it’s ludacrous, is that you will need your family members ‘permission’ to track their location. That’s nuts. I’m a dad and I certainly don’t need my 15 year old son making the call on whether or not I know where he is. Also, if you have an older unsupported device (eg iPhone 5 or iipad2) there is no way to provide authorization to share location as those devices are unable to run IOS12. Without authorization, the new findmyphone will not be able to show location.
I have this issue too. We recently added two iPhone Xs’s, and it is only happening with one of them. Addditionally, my wife’s iPad Pro which is NOT updated yet to iOs 12 uses the “messed” up phone to text is NOT combining the people. It’s only happening with texts from me, my son and my daughter to one of the iPhone Xs’s which is my wife’s phone.
And GoDawgs, we just added TWO new iPhone Xss to our account and it is only happening with ONE of them so there is something weird going on. We have had one iPhone i’d since the first iPhone and currently have about 20 devices on it (half of which are shoved in a cabinet and not used anymore). Yes it’s a nightmare but it is for Find My iPhone and sharing.
This is a nightmare. iMessages is combining my kids texts so it’s hard to reach them. I delete the string and text each one separately but in a few minutes they are combined in one text. We are all on same ID. Better get this fixed Apple. Pitiful
Backdoc01: I too have turned off iMessage for all members of my family who share one appleID. However, ios12 is still combining messages. For example, I can no longer locate two separate message conversations/threads on my phone where I once communicated individually with my mom and my wife. There is kw only one combined “frankenthread”. It’s a mess.
I am having the same problem - text messages from my husband and son are combining into one thread and I can only text back the last person who texted me. Oddly enough, on my iPad they are still separate threads. Now I have discovered a new issue. I turned off iMessage on my phone in a (wholly futile) attempt to fix this and apparently created a new problem - I am no longer receiving texts from anyone who sends them to me via iMessage. I discovered this when I checked my iPad tonight and saw they had been coming to my iPad only. I really wish Apple had left well enough alone. This iOS is an absolute nightmare. I have had iPhones since 2008 and have never encountered so many problems. Also, when I contacted Apple Support via chat for assistance with my problems, I was sent a super helpful article on how to save my messages to the Cloud. Um, ok.
GoDawgs1994 wrote:
I have a question for the people that suggest everyone has their own apple id. I am fine with this if it works but then as a family we can't use Find My iPhone. For Find My iPhone to work everyone needs to be on the same account. As a parent I like being able to see where my family is. If Apple says that each person should have a separate apple account why do require all users to be on same apple account to use Find My iPhone?
Not true.
It's actually not. If it was behaving "correctly" then all people with the same Apple ID would get the same messages, the same way that my husband gets messages on both his iPhone and his iPad, like one big group chat. That might not be so bad. The PROBLEM is that only one of the 3 people will get the message and it's a total crap shoot on which one gets it. It happens to be the last person to message me. And since all the messages are merged into one I can't tell who said what. It's nuts.
backdoc01: It is my understanding that we can no longer "roll back" to a previous version of IOS. If you have a proven way of doing so, could you please advise on the steps? I tried restoring from a previous backup but the phone automatically pulled down the latest ios (12)...which totally defeated the purpose. Thanks in advance!
Yep, mine is doing the exact same thing. Here is my family's phones:
Phone 1 = iPhone 6s, ios 12.0
Phone 2 = iPhone 7, ios 11.2.6
Phone 3 = iPhone 7, ios 11.2.6
Phone 4 = iPhone 7, ios 11.2.6
All are on same Apple ID account.
Messages from phone 1 are combined in one thread with Phones 2, 3, and 4. Phone 1 can only message the last person from Phones 2, 3, or 4. Phones 2, 3, and 4 do not have any combined threads and can message all phones separately. So frustrated!!
It's unfortunate that people don't understand that smart phones, tablets, and computers are machines. They do what they are told to do. When you ignore the instructions for operating them, you open up a Pandora's box filled with chaos.
Perhaps you've heard the term "garbage in, garbage out"...? It may very well pre-date you, but you would be wise to look it up and at least try to understand what it means.
What we have here is a clear case of "garbage in".
Why is iMessage combining two contacts into one thread. I can only text back the last one that messaged me. This started with iOS 12
