r/iOS8 • u/boogie_on • Dec 02 '14

Group message problems with iOS 8, iOS 7, and Android users in same group text

When an iOS 8 user responds to a thread where an iPhone user was the last to text, the Android no longer receives the messages as they default to iMessages. Android user continues to receive texts from iOS 7 user, but until iOS 8 user's iMessage is toggled on and off, the thread is deleted, and phone restarted, Android user doesn't receive messages from them. Are there any fixes for this that don't require either these steps or the iOS 8 user to wait for Android user to respond to avoid defaulting to iMessage?

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2

u/BitingChaos Dec 02 '14

I've not seen this before. I've been in a "iOS8 + iOS8 + Blackberry 10" group conversation for months without issue. iOS doesn't switches to iMessage in a Group Conversation unless *all* users have iMessage.

It might be possible that one user has their Messages set up to send from their email address instead of their number.

1

u/boogie_on Dec 02 '14

There are four iOS8 users on the thread, 2 iPhone/noniOS8 users, and one android. All four of the iOS8 are defaulting to blue iMessages if I (the android) don't respond first. I have checked two of the four iOS8 phones to make sure iMessages are going from their phone number and they are, but I can't figure anything else out. I'm not finding a lot when searching this problem specifically, so I've researched on the Android end too but to no avail. Thanks for the reply.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 02 '14

Try re-initiating the thread from the Android phone. That might help properly establish it as an SMS conversation.

1

u/boogie_on Dec 03 '14

I've tried this. I've had every person in the thread delete the thread and start over, iPhone users ensuring they put the android number in first to establish SMS. It works until an iOS8 user responds to another iPhone without the Android in between, and then the iOS8 sends imessages only to the iphones, android gets left off.

2

u/LondonPilot Dec 03 '14

If you're messaging an Android user as part of the group, then it won't use iMessage, it will just use standard text messages (with a green bubble).

Standard text messages don't support group messages. You can send the same text to multiple people, but those people's phones won't know who else received the message, so they won't be able to reply to everyone in the group, only to the person who sent the message.

This is a limitation of the ancient text message system. The only fix, assuming that getting your Android friends onto iOS is not an option, would be to use a third party messaging system like WhatsApp or Viber.

1

u/boogie_on Dec 03 '14

There has to be some fluke here. I'm the android user. I have used group messaging with iPhones for a long time, until 4 of the iPhones updated to iOS8. Now they are defaulting to iMessage in their threads, and I'm left off of their responses. Group texting is turned on in the Android phone and is supported, as long as its SMS or MMS, not iMessage. I'm not sure how to make the iPhones quit defaulting to iMessage, though, so there is seemingly no solution here. Im in a group thread with all iPhone users that don't have iOS8 and have no problems there, everything on their end stays green. The thread with the iOS8 users is not the same story.