IOS 18 Update Makes it Difficult to Text

I updated my iPhone 14 to 18.1 and now I can not text my husband,who has an android. We are elderly and I NEED to be able to text him!!

Nevermind my solution isn't stable. The next morning, I sent texts to him and thought he got them bc it showed that it sent, but my boyfriend never get them. I had to create a new contact with his same number and then it worked again.

But by the next morning, the new contact wasn't sending my texts! I didn't know bc it looks like they sent until he texted saying he didn't get texts from me all day. This went on for a few days until we gave up and we're using LINE now to communicate.

I did ask a software engineer friend who works at Apple and he's very sure the issue is with the new RCS that was launched. This was probably a specific situation that they didn't test or write tests for and it got released to the public. Since Apple teams monitor Community posts and it's a critical issue, he says it will very likely be fixed by 18.1

I have tried every single suggested fix. Turning off RCS just prevents me from getting messages at all. Tried turning it off and back on in various combinations as suggested. Tried a reset for carrier settings. Literally tried all of them but messages to android phones keeps failing and I have to

click to resend. Every. Single. Time.

They need to stop claiming it’s a carrier issue - everyone on her has stated a variety of carriers. It is not SIM. I had the issue on my old phone and now the brand new 16. It is a bug and they need to fix it and stop dilly dallying. Otherwise I’ll be returning this phone and finally making the switch to android I should have made years ago.

I FOUND A FIX! I was having the same exact issue as OP - My boyfriend has a iPhone work phone and Android personal phone. Since both were under the same contact, whenever I'd text either phone, his responses would show up in the same thread. Then, after I updated to iOS 18, he couldn't receive texts I sent to his Android and was seeing them on his iPhone instead.

What I did to fix was creating a new contact for BOTH iPhone and Android numbers. When I texted to the new Android contact, he was able to receive it! I didn't need to delete the original contact or thread. Sadly his company cut off service to his iPhone today so I wasn't able to test this with his iPhone number. But I suggest trying to create new contacts and text them separately

So i have the 15 plus & before i did the IOS18 my phone was working perfectly fine , my messages were sending my apps wasn’t freezing . Ever since i did the update. I haven’t able to open my iMessage app . I can’t receive messages nor text anyone. & it’s frustrating because i can’t literally text or receive no messages & my apps keeps freezing. Update just ruined my phone 😒.!!! How can i fix it please helppp!!!🫠

Hello I was having the same issues. I couldn’t text any android users or receive sms text messages. The only thing that worked for me was the phone company had to change my eSIM card in my phone and now I can text android users and all of these old sms messages and text messages from android users came in on my phone after the eSIM was changed. Nothing else worked. Hope this helps someone and I have the I phone 15 pro max and had updated to apples new update.

NONE of the recommendations have helped!! My husband and I have to text via WhatsApp. This is so frustrating!! With all the money we spend on Apple products, you would think they could fix this issue!!! Texting an android device worked perfectly fine before this awful 18.1 update!!

Agreed, this is super annoying. When I disable RCS messaging, it works one on one, but in group texts with Android users, I completely cannot even see those users’ messages AT ALL. Once you turn RCS back on, suddenly they allllll populate. But then the one-on-one messages to android users don’t work, and you have to manually “send as text message” for every single text.

I updated. Did not help. Now RCS is “waiting for activation”. ATT, my carrier, can’t do anything on their end to activate it due to security reasons. This is the same company who remote viewed my phone this past weekend.

Saturday and Sunday, all I did was talk to Apple and ATT. FOR HOURS.

ATT has an escalation ticket for me. Yeah. Hmmm.

I’ve done everything. Toggle this, restart this, new eSIM. It’s 2024. Seriously, this matter can’t be resolved???

It sounds like a frustrating issue! It seems that your phone may be defaulting to her work number due to a contact or messaging glitch. Here are a few steps you can try to resolve it:

1. Check Contacts: Make sure your mom's cell phone number is saved correctly in your contacts. Delete any duplicate entries and ensure the work number is not linked to her cell number.
2. Reset Messaging Settings: Go to Settings > Messages and toggle iMessage off and on again. This can sometimes help clear up any glitches.
3. Delete Old Conversations: If there are old message threads with her work number, delete them to prevent any confusion in the future.
4. Clear Cache: If you use a third-party messaging app, clear the cache or reinstall it to reset any erroneous settings.
5. Restart Your Phone: A simple restart can fix many temporary issues after an update.
6. Update iOS: Check if there are any new updates for iOS 18. Sometimes, updates are released to fix bugs.

If these steps don’t work, you might consider reaching out to Apple Support for further assistance. Hopefully, you’ll be able to text your mom’s cell number without any issues soon!

I am having the same issue sand have tried EVERYTHING. What did you do to fix it??

It helps for one on one messages, but if you turn this off and you have group texts with android users, it prevents you from being able to see ANY of their messages at all.

Updated to 18.1 and it didn't change anything! Im on the fence: return my iPhone, (go Android) or switch carrier...

Try going into the persons contact info from inside the message… that’s how mine worked.

You don’t need to do this. Just go into the message, click on their profile info at the top of the message and it refreshes.