IOS 12 combining text messages

And now all seems to be okay again. My sister (who’s phone was one that was merging) said she got a notification saying “Use Apple ID” and she hit “don’t allow” and all of a sudden the two merged messages were separate again.. super frustrating!!!

This *****!! I hope they resolve it. It is very frustrating and agree creating separate IDs will cause a huge loss of dara for those that will need to create ones in our family. Apple need to come with a fix to sort this out!! Everything is a mess.

So I thought I found a fix to this problem. When I logged into our original Apple account via a computer browser I noticed that even though I separated our Apple accounts all our devices were still attached to this original Apple account that my daughter is still using. So, I did a test and removed my phone from this original account. I then deleted my texting history and rebooted my phone. It appeared to work.....for a day. I was able to txt my son, daughter and wife with no issues. However, this morning I looked at my txt history and my son and daughter are combined again. And here's the best part. My iPhone has reappeared on the original Apple account! GREMLINS!

ifusayso wrote:

This *****!! I hope they resolve it. It is very frustrating and agree creating separate IDs will cause a huge loss of dara for those that will need to create ones in our family.

How will creating separate AppleIDs cause "a huge loss of data?"

There's nothing for Apple to resolve. It's not a problem with their system its a problem with how people use Apple IDs.

Apple never intended for anyone to share Apple IDs. Why would they fix something so it works in a particular way when used in a fashion that they do not intend for it be used in, do not recommend it be used in that fashion, do not in any way support, and actively discourage and recommend against doing?

What you are saying is Apple should make their system work they way you want it to work. Not they way it was intended by them to work.

Apple is not about to change how their system works just because people did not understand from the beginning that Apple IDs should not, must not, and cannot be shared, regardless of what benefit sharing them may bring.

And no, if done correctly, there should be little or no loss of data when giving everyone their own Apple ID, for all Apple services. iCloud, Messages, Facetime and iTunes & App Stores.

I respectfully disagree. It was working before and should work now regardless of the update on IOS. We all as a family use the same ID - and I know we are not the only one. The loss of data will be horrible. I am sure Apple is aware of how many of us (clients) are on the same ordeal and hopefully will resolve. There is more people (families) sharing one ID that you might know. If it was not an issue before should not be an issue now.

Accidentally selected helpful but if there was a way to give an unhelpful I would. I am leaving this thread. People are stating that that have separated their apple IDs and it didn't work. It just feels like you enjoy telling us all how we are doing it wrong. At this point, I would be willing to separate my devices into Apple IDs if I thought it would work. For the high level you have here - It would be nice if you would show some compassion and try to help. Feels like trolling. Goodbye!

I also have to disagree. While I did create separate Apple IDs for my whole family and it did correct the issue with my family, there are others outside of my family who share apple IDs. I have no control over what they do and thus the problem still persists. Those people would have no reason to change as the issue may not effect them unless there are more than 2 users sharing an account, but it would effect me and combine their messages. This is a widespread issue that I do not think apple would knowingly create just to prove a point that people should not share Apple IDs.

I’m not sure how many times we can state the fact in this thread that even after you separate Apple Ids, clear texting history, deleted contacts and turn off iMessage texts from DIFFERENT phone numbers are still combining. If you have nothing new to add please stop telling repeating that we should not be sharing accounts. It’s a bug in a new feature that has to corrrcted.

Xenos8 wrote:

KiltedTim thanks for the input. I get the fact that Apple never supported sharing ids. The all of a sudden is with iOS 12. Everything was fine until I updated. Also, my family has not updated and their phones are fine. Our Apple accounts are now separate but the issue persists on my phone where txts are combined between my daughter and son.

Things change in this world. Get used to it.

Once you make the mistake of sharing an Apple ID, it usually takes more effort than simply creating separate ones. The correct procedure has been documented many times so I won't repeat it here.

I'm not sure how many times we need to say this. Apple is not likely to fix this, because to them it is not an issue.

If you have done the separation correctly and Messages, Facetime and iCloud are now logged in with each person's Apple ID on each of their devices there should be no more issues.

Of course if you have contacts that are still sharing Apple IDs this will continue to happen with them.

If for some reason, messages are still being sent to multiple contacts when Separate Apple IDs have been created and logged in to the relevant devices then you must have done something wrong. Something must still be connecting them. Likely iCloud.

I have in fact fixed this issue for some friends if mine which were sharing an Apple ID, and after all has been separated it works now as intended.

This is a terrible problem. I have 4 family members (myself and three kids) on a single icloud account. My wife has a separate icloud account. After upgrading their phones to iOS12, my wife started reporting that the wrong messages were going to the wrong kids. I had not updated my phone yet (work phone) so I seemed unaffected. Did the usual; make sure only configured to send/receive from their respective phone numbers, signed out of icloud. I even created separate icloud accounts for all the kids but it still threads messages or sends them to the wrong phone. All phones do use the same account for iTunes purchases, perhaps this is an issue. After creating new icloud accounts for everyone I deleted all messages from all family members to each other - individual and group - from everyone's phone. Issue persists. I have even seen the header of a text message switch names from "Kid A" to "Kid B" as I watched. Apple needs to fix this problem. There is no justifiable explanation for it to work this way intentionally.

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.

Oh Great Defender of the Empire (Philly_Fan). I’ve been using shared IDs for the last 5 years and it’s never been a problem. Until iOS12. In fact, so much so, that I’ve never had to come to the forums before to figure out how to use my phone. Up until this point it’s been pretty reliable. When i text Joe, Joe received the message. Not Sally. Seems like an easy enough design requirement. So, omnipotent one, please share the link to the “senior member” thread so I can try to fix what Apple broke. Sorry, it’s called customer satisfaction.

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.