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).
This and other bad things will happen until you stop sharing an Apple ID.
Stop sharing an Apple id. That is the cause.
I have this issue also and it started after the iOS 12 update. I'm using an iPhone 6+.
I have one message thread where I receive messages from both my daughter and my husband.
When I reply it goes to the last person that sent me a message in that thread and not the other person (so not to be confused for a 'group message').
To get a message to the intended recipient, I create a new message with the correct contact. Once the message is sent, it joins up with the combined message thread.
I've tried a full shut down and restart, but it didn't fix it. We are all on the same Apple account (if that means anything), but there are additional devices and people on the account that don't seem affected, yet.
In case Apple is reading this, since the iOS12 update:
“You can select which phone numbers or email addresses you’d like to start new conversations from, and which phone numbers or email addresses you can receive messages and reply from, in iMessage and FaceTime settings.”
This is from Apple’s iMessage policy - copied and pasted, today (you can check in settings, the same place it lets you set separate send and receive numbers for EACH device) if Apple intended to lump them all together, why is there a specific setting to choose?
I can’t speak for any others, but I never used any workarounds... I simply used the setting options, as apple supplied, for each device and it worked smoothly for the past 9+ years, through new phones and iPads and numerous iOS updates.
The only people "restating the same incorrect point" are those of you who insist that you should be able to use the same ID on multiple devices used by multiple people and have it work correctly.
So long as you persist in this madness, you're going to have problems. You're shooting yourself in the foot.
This only effects the contacts of my wife and daughter. We all share one NON family apple ID. (I don't want to pay an extra $15 per month) Apple has finally gotten wise to people like myself sharing a single apple ID. I have turned off iMessage and that has stopped the sending of texts to the wrong person, however I really enjoy using iMessages so this "solution" is not ideal. All 3 of our phone numbers now appear on the apple website and can not be removed, annoying to say the least.
How is this turning into an idiotic flame war?!! The bottom line is that Apple made an assumption that grouping conversation threads by Apple ID would better organize things. I suppose they didn't realize how often people/ families share these ID's, so they didn't see this mess coming. It is not a bug. It is intended as a feature. If you do not like the change, you need to post info to that effect on Apple's feedback page, not here. There are only users here.
bjhayes wrote:
Having this EXACT same issue since updating to iOS 12.
Each time Apple puts out a new iOS update I cringe. What happened to their quality control?
You've been ignoring Apple's design for years and you finally got bit. Apple has ALWAYS stated that an Apple ID identifies ONE person and to do otherwise is to invite problems. Kinda like multiple persons sharing the same Social Security number. They might not see problems for years but sooner or later they'll all get bit.
Jbhite wrote:
I’ve got this problem too 😐
Obviously there is Apple ID sharing going on. It's kinda like multiple persons sharing a Social Security number. They can go for years without a problem but, sooner or later, they'll get bit. That's why Apple has ALWAYS indicated that Apple IDs should NOT be shared.
I’ve been dealing with this issue as well. I will add a very detailed characterization of the issues below as to provide data to help the folks addressing the issue. However, first:
Right or wrong, 4 of us have shared the same Apple ID for many years without an issue. If, as part of the upgrade to iOS 12, there’s now a known and acceptable change of behavior where a documented set of functionality is lost, it’s incumbent on Apple to enforce the policy on their end to disallow sharing of Apple IDs or to have their users accept the consequences (which would make unwanted newspaper headlines). Part of a successful software upgrade is to support all previously working functionality, as impractical as the implementation may be. So as long as people will use lighter fluid to clean sticky substances, a fan as a sleep aid for the ambient sound or a hairbrush as a back scratcher, a shared Apple ID (never enforced in the past) is a reality.
My latest incarnation of my issue:
Phones A, B, C and D all on iOS 12, all signed out of their Apple IDs for messaging, FaceTime and messaging in iCloud. Nobody uses iCloud, other than ‘Find my iPhone’. Phones A and B have deleted any message history where any of A, B, C and D are individually or in combination with anyone “... in the world...” are involved. B has now created their own Apple ID. A, C and D all still share an Apple ID.
B sends a text iMessage to each of A, C and D. D is “last”. Tapping the Messages icon for B shows these three individual message histories on B’s phone. Given that prior history was deleted, these three most individual histories show only one message per person.
B powers down their phone. B powers up their phone. Briefly, a white exclamation point in a red circle appears next to the green Messages icon on B’s phone, then disappears. The Messages app is opened for B. All 3 messages sent by B show up as if all sent to “D”. “A” and “C” do not show in the Messages history. B looks to compose a message to “C” by searching C’s name in Messages. A compose screen is displayed, C’s name is shown, but the now-collapsed history under D’s name is part of the set of old messages. The newly composed message from B to C actually goes from B to D.
Next...
“A” sends a text iMessage to each of B, C and D. D is “last”. Tapping the Messages icon for A shows these three individual message histories on A’s phone. Given that prior history was deleted, these three most individual histories show only one message per person.
“A” powers down their phone. “A” powers up their phone. Briefly, a white exclamation point in a red circle appears next to the green Messages icon on A’s phone, then disappears. The Messages app is opened for A. All 3 messages sent by “A” show up as if all sent to “D”. “B” and “C” do not show in the Messages history. “A” looks to compose a message to “C” by searching C’s name in Messages. A compose screen is displayed, C’s name is shown, but the now-collapsed history under D’s name is part of the set of old messages. The newly composed message from A to C actually goes from A to D.
So - we still have a problem. C and D are considering getting their own Apple IDs as we all await a fix.
It is IOS 12. This is my concern as well. You can't trust iMessage anymore. IOS 11 and previous IOS let people get by with sharing an Apple ID, but IOS 12 does not. It IS Apple's way of nudging users to use individual Apple ID's.
My concern is that I can't control how people use their Apple ID's so I can't ever truly know that my message is going to the intended recipient. Time to utilize other messaging Apps.
kari146 wrote:
When you say it has resolved, did you delete contacts and restart new threads, and the new threads stopped "re-merging" like they had been doing, or did the threads just "unmerge"? I will do some experimenting later myself when I can devote some attention to it, but I am just curious what your experience was before I start messing around with it too much. Thanks!
I deleted the messages a few times. They would always merge back together after 5 - 6 messages. Today I started two new messages like I have each day since this issue arose. So far, they have not merged together again.
One thing of note that I did yesterday was to turn off imessage, restart my phone, and then restart imessage. I have know idea if this had any effect, but it is something that I did.
Best of Luck to you!
Actually, if they had warned people, we may not have a forum full of people complaining about the same thing. My point is they have supported it by allowing us to dictate through settings how we "send and receive" our iMessages.
I understand that shared Apple ID's are not a good thing, but Apple should have put this on the official feature list and warned people who share Apple ID's that this practice should stop before updating to IOS 12.
i have gone thru and deleted any/all messages with the 2 contacts that i have sent in the past which i had the above issue . To do that you go into messages and search under messages, the messages you had an issue with and must make sure you delete all messages. once i have this done it seems to be working. i also had previously created the Apple ID for each user that evidently did nothing.
its working so far!
Wesley Walls wrote:
For everyone who keeps claiming this isn’t a bug, here’s a Forbes article listing this iOS 12 iMessage “break” among several faults that Apple JS failed to acknowledge:
I look at this as a feature, with undesirable effects on some users who were sharing IDs. I know "it's not a bug, it's a feature" LOL, but I do believe that's the case here.
What is the feature? The intent of the change appears to be to unite split threads into one, where the Apple ID is squarely put as the unifying element, not phone numbers.
Split threads occur for various reasons, primarily because sometimes someone initiates an iMessage to someone's email, other times their phone number. As a result, the recipient will likely have two separate iMessage threads that involve the same people. By designating the Apple ID as the unifying element, phone numbers and non-ID emails are taken out of the equation.
This new behavior may also have something to do with the upcoming dual SIM functionality, i.e. to unite a user's iMessages regardless of which phone number (i.e. SIM) the iMessage was received as the point of contact.
You may not like the effect, but I suspect that it is intentional and here to stay.
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
