[9 Ways] Fix iPhone Group Messaging not Working

Group messaging on iPhone is a feature that allows you to send text messages to multiple recipients at once. It's a convenient way to have a group conversation with friends, family, or colleagues without having to send individual messages to each person.

However, some users have reported issues with this feature not working correctly.  When this error occurs, you may encounter issues such as being unable to send or receive group messages, iPhone not receiving group texts, and conversations becoming out of sync. 

In some cases, messages intended for a group chat might be sent as individual texts to each recipient, leading to a cluttered messaging app and potential confusion.

Why is iPhone group messaging not working?

There can be various reasons behind this problem.

⛔ The group texting feature is disabled on your iPhone.

⛔ There isn’t enough memory space on your iPhone.

⛔ An older version of iOS is running on your device.

Fix group messages not working on iPhone

Now that you know the reasons, you can continue reading to find the most suitable one among the following 9 methods. If none of these methods work, you can also use the professional tool mentioned in method 9 to reset your phone without losing data.

Method 1. Exit and reopen the Message app

Refreshing the Messages app by force closing it can indeed solve glitches that might be causing group messaging issues on your iPhone.

For iPhone 8 and earlier models: You can double-press the Home button and swipe away the Messages app from the top screen. Afterward, go back to the main screen and tap on the app to reopen it.

For iPhone X and more recent models: Swipe upwards from the bottom of your iPhone's screen to access the multitasking view. Locate the Messages app among the running apps, swipe it away to close it, and then reopen Messages to restart it.

Method 2. Force restart your iPhone

Performing a force restarting can be an effective solution to address the issue.

For iPhone 8 Plus/8/X or later: Press and release the Volume Up button > Press and release the Volume Down button > Press and hold the side button until the Apple logo appears.

For iPhone 7 Plus or 7: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Volume Down buttons simultaneously until the Apple logo appears.

For iPhone 6 or earlier: Press and hold the Home button and Sleep/Wake button at the same time until the Apple logo is displayed on your screen.

Method 3. Check your iPhone storage

Insufficient storage space on your iPhone could potentially lead to the issue of iPhone group messaging not working. So it’s better to check your iPhone storage: Launch Settings app > Click General > Storage. If the iPhone storage is not enough, try to delete some data such as similar photos from your device.

Method 4. Enable the Group Messaging and MMS Messaging feature

If group messaging is not working on iPhone, it's possible that the group messaging feature has been turned off. Follow these steps to enable it: Open the Settings app > Tap on Messages > Enable the Group Messaging option.

Additionally, if you are sending MMS in a group message, you also need to enable the MMS Messaging feature under the Messages page.

Once both group messaging and MMS messaging are enabled, you should be able to send group messages and multimedia messages successfully.

Method 5. Delete the conversation and start a new one

Another troubleshooting step you can try is deleting the old group conversation and starting a new one.

Delete Conversation: Open the Messages app on your iPhone > Find and select the group conversation you want to delete > Swipe left over the conversation in the chat list > Tap the Delete option.

Start a New Group Message: In the Messages app > Tap the New Message icon to start a new message > Enter the phone numbers or email addresses of the contacts > Tap the Up arrow icon to send the new group message.

Method 6. Enable Airplane Mode

When your iPhone 16/15 group message not working or the error occurrson other iPhone models, you can go to the Control Center or the Settings app to turn on the Airplane Mode and turn off it to fix the issue.

Method 7. Update Carrier Settings

If you're experiencing persistent issues with a bad phone signal or weak cellular data connection resulting in group messages not working on iPhone 16/15, you may need to update your carrier settings.

Here's how you can do that: Launch Settings > Choose General > Tap on About option > If you receive a pop-up window indicating that a carrier settings update is available on your iPhone, you should proceed by clicking the Update button.

Method 8. Reset Network Settings

To ensure that your group messaging works smoothly on your iPhone, it's important to have the correct network settings in place. If you suspect that there might be an issue with your network settings, you can reset them to their default configurations.

Open the lock screen and go to the Settings app > Scroll down and select General > Reset > Reset Network Settings.

Method 9. Factory reset iPhone without data loss

If you've tried all the previous troubleshooting steps and are still facing issues with iPhone group messaging, a factory reset might be the last approach. However, it's crucial to back up your data before proceeding with a factory reset, as it will erase all data on your device.

Using professional software like FoneTool can simplify the data backup and restore process, making it more efficient and secure.

Preview and selective backup: In addition to a full backup, which is consistent with an iTunes backup, you can also use FoneTool to preview your files on a Windows PC and choose which ones need to be backed up.

Universal restore: FoneTool supports restoring the iPhone/iPad selective/full backup to another iOS device without the Apple ID restrictions.

Deep erase technology: With this feature, your deleted data cannot be recovered.

Wide compatibility: With FoneTool, you can manage all models of iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch data on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP efficiently, as well as iPhone 16 and iOS 18.

Just download it and make sure to follow the backup and restore instructions carefully to avoid data loss.

Selectively backup iPhone to PC

Step 1. Turn on FoneTool > Connect your iPhone to the PC > If asks, you need to tap Trust on your device.

Step 2. Choose Phone Backup on the main interface > Go to Selective Backup and click Get Started. (If necessary, you can also choose Full Backup.)

Step 3. Hit each icon to choose the data you need to back up, then click OK to continue.

Step 4. Select a storage path to save the backup. Click Start Backup to begin the task.

Now you can factory reset your iPhone to fix the issue.

Reset iPhone to factory settings

Step 1. Select Toolbox, then click Data Eraser.   

Step 2. Tap on Erase all data and choose Get Started.

Step 3. View and check the guidance on the screen > Tap the Erase Data button to confirm the choice.

After the data erasing, you can choose My Backups to restore your iPhone backup.

Conclusion

From this passage, hope you can know how to fix iPhone group messaging not working issue efficiently. If all ways have no effect, you can try to factory reset your iPhone to solve the problem. Except for backup and resetting iPhone, FoneTool can also help you delete multiple iPhone contacts without iCloud.