If you’ve upgraded to the iPhone 18 Pro or iPhone 18 Pro Max and suddenly can’t receive most of your group text messages, you’re not alone. Users across Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are reporting that group messaging—especially in threads with at least one Android user—has become unreliable on these devices.
Some say they get no messages at all from group chats. Others only receive a portion of them, or messages come through hours later in a jumbled order. In rare cases, the problem also affects all-iPhone group chats.
This is more than an occasional hiccup—some users have spent hours on the phone with both Apple and their carrier without a permanent solution.
Common themes:
- Group texts stop working after upgrading to the iPhone 18 Pro series, even if they worked fine before on older models.
- The issue often appears in mixed iPhone/Android chats, but some all-iPhone groups are also affected.
- Messages may still appear on other devices signed into the same Apple Account (like a Mac or iPad) but not on the iPhone itself.
- Delayed message delivery is common—sometimes days late.
- Some people only receive texts from one or two participants in the group.
Fixes:
- First, check whether you left the conversation: tap the group message, and if you see a message that says you left the conversation, you can rejoin only if someone in the group adds you. Otherwise, delete the affected group conversations and start new ones. Simply swipe left the thread and delete. You can recover text messages you deleted on your iPhone for up to 30 days.
- Disable VPN — several users said group messaging began working as soon as they turned VPN off and restarted their iPhone.
- Toggle RCS Messaging off, restart, then turn it back on.
- Reset network settings and have your carrier reset or replace your SIM card. Resetting network settings erases your Wi-Fi passwords etc.
- Go to Settings > Apps > Messages and turn on Send as Text Message.
- Resetting all settings may help resolve the issue. This will erase all of your settings, but your data will remain intact.
- Factory reset your iPhone, and choose to keep your eSIM when asked (reported to work for some Verizon customers). To factory reset your iPhone:
- Go to Settings > General.
- Scroll down and tap Transfer or Reset iPhone.
- Select Erase All Content and Settings.
- Follow the onscreen instructions to confirm.
- This process will erase everything from your iPhone, returning it to its original out-of-the-box state. Once the reset is complete, you can set it up as a new device or restore from a backup. If you have an iCloud or computer backup, you can choose the restore option during setup to bring back your apps, settings, and personal data.
