IOS 12 combining text messages

Apple can not fix user problems. Once a user ignores Apple's instructions and shares an Apple ID, all sorts of things happen. The procedure for fixing the problem is not pretty. A long-term high-ranking forum member posted the procedure in a different thread. You'd be well advised to search for it.

Philly_Phan wrote:

Those of us that followed Apple's instructions not to share Apple IDs are having zero, nada, zip, diddly-squat, nothing, zilch, bupkus problems. There is absolutely no benefit to a shared ID and it does cause problems. Unfortunately, Apple is unable to prevent users from ignoring instructions.

Configure your devices correctly and your problem will go bye-bye.

Philly_Phan, I'm sorry but that is simply not true. You also could be affected if you communicate with others who are sharing an Apple ID. You may not understand that just because YOU don't share your ID doesn't mean that others don't and if YOU try to message them YOUR messages may go to the wrong recipient.

I know the point you are trying to make, but please understand that sharing an Apple ID has worked for people for many years and they are frustrated because the issue feels like it's from the update and not from something they were doing wrong.

If you are going to be helpful to people, please try to enlighten them as to why they are having issue and not belittle them for what you perceive as their wrongdoing.

My family of 4 had the same problem. At this point, deleting any and all of our text threads between each other & starting over is what worked for us. We all shared the same Apple ID, and when the problem started, I created new apple IDs for everyone, but that did not fix the problem.

For the folks that said Apple wouldn’t fix this....it is included on the new software update....the info says:

Resolves an issue that caused messages to be merged into one thread when two users were signed in with the same Apple ID on multiple iPhones

I found a work around thanks to a lot of people in this thread but I’m glad to see that’s Apple thought it was a big enough issue to fix it. 😊

Family Sharing.

And this isn't "all of a sudden". Apple has NEVER supported sharing IDs.

Before that Apple allowed/permitted/suggested shared Apple ID's to share apps, music, etc.

For iTunes purposes. Not for iCloud or messaging/Facetime purposes.

Because just starting to use separate IDs Does Not Fix It. You also have to delete previous conversations on all devices (i.e., loss of data).

Yeah, but you can’t control what other people do with their phones. So if 2 of your friends share an Apple ID, their messages are combining on your phone. Kind of out of your control and not a great move on Apple since they know lots of people share Apple IDs, wether they support it or not.

I also read that several people got their own Apple ID and it did not correct the problem.

Just updated and encountered this problem. Yeah, don't care to set up 6 new IDs, especially if people are reporting that may not fix it. We're going to try turning off and deregistering from iMessage in the meantime.

I've tried about everything.

Previously me, my wife, both her parents, and my mom shared an Apple ID. Since updating to iOS 12, only my wife has had a problem with the texts from me and her mom being merged, and her only being able to text one of us (depending on which of us had texted her last I think). None of the rest of us have had a problem before or after despite being on the same Apple ID.

Turning off and deregistering iMessage didn't help. So I wasted an hour or so setting up new Apple IDs. Made sure my mother-in-law was on a separate ID for everything. Set up family sharing. Didn't help. If I get it working for a bit and my wife has 2 separate text conversations for me and her mom, as soon as I restart her phone, they merge and one of the conversations disappears.

The fact that this problem still persists after setting up new IDs and it only happens in one case on my wife's phone (an iPhone 6 64GB AT&T) makes me think this is an iOS bug and not the intent of the new "streamlined messages."

Next I'm going to try a full erase and restore on her phone. We'll wait a little while for a bug-fixing update. Then our next fix will be to buy an Android.

The issue is that once an extant conversation notes the connection between the AppleIDs, the Messaging servers on the back end seem to cache the result.

It seems that you need to delete the conversation from all devices and then things seem to work properly.

Those of us that followed Apple's instructions not to share Apple IDs are having zero, nada, zip, diddly-squat, nothing, zilch, bupkus problems. There is absolutely no benefit to a shared ID and it does cause problems. Unfortunately, Apple is unable to prevent users from ignoring instructions.

Configure your devices correctly and your problem will go bye-bye.

I am happy to report that my merging issue has corrrected itself! It’s been 48 hours and it has not reverted back. Grant it I am shutting my phone down at night because it would seem to revert back over night. We shall see what happenes going forward. Please not I did everything suggested in this thread but what I did again was log out and back into my phone which was having the issue. Family members have not upgraded to iOS 12 yet. Time will tell

DDChipman wrote:

I have had an iPhone since the original iPhone went on sale. Back then, there was no way to have separate Apple ID’s for each family member

That statement is simply ridiculous. Each person creates and uses their own ID. Why is that such a difficult concept? Sharing an ID has NEVER been supported. As stated above, doing so in an effort to bypass Apple's terms of service, and COPYRIGHT LAW, is not an excuse.

That being said, we got our teen aged daughter her own Apple ID a year or so ago, and my messages to her are being combined with my messages to my husband.

That's because there is still account sharing going on.

Stop trying to pass the blame off to Apple. Your problems are your own fault. Take some responsibility and do what you have to to fix it. This thread has already defined what has to be done. Continuing to argue about it is not going to alter reality.

Your messages will likely re-merge at some point if you insist on sharing AppleIDs.

It's not "pedantic" to point out how Apple designed their software to work.