How to Turn on Group Messaging on Your iPhone

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Easily enable group SMS and send a group text
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The Messages app for iPhone has a ton of great group texting features, including special messaging effects, the ability to reply to individual texts, and more. Group messaging is automatically enabled in Apple’s iMessage service. However, you may need to enable MMS or RCS texting on your phone if you want to group chat with people who aren’t on iMessage. Read on to learn more, plus the basics of creating and managing a group conversation.

Enabling Group Chats on iPhone: The Basics

Group messaging in iMessage is enabled by default. However, if you want to chat with groups that include non-iPhone users, you can do so by enabling MMS or RCS messaging. Toggle on these options in Settings > Apps > Messages .

Section 1 of 3:

Enabling MMS Messaging

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  1. You'll find this on one of your Home screens.
    • Enabling MMS messaging allows you to send and receive group texts with people who aren't using iMessage, including Android users. These messages go through your carrier instead of Apple, so MMS group messaging will only be available if your cellular plan supports it. [1]
    • MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. It’s a common form of messaging that allows you to send images, videos, and files as well as text.
    • If you’re using Apple’s iMessage service to chat with other iMessage users, you shouldn’t have to do anything to enable group texts. However, you may need to double-check that you have iMessage enabled. Go to Settings > Apps > Messages and make sure the toggle switch next to iMessage is on.
  2. 2
    Scroll down and tap Apps . If you’re using iOS 17 or earlier, skip this step.
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  3. 3
    Tap Messages . It’s in the M section of the Apps menu.
  4. 4
    Tap the MMS Messaging slider. It’s under the TEXT MESSAGING header. If you don't see this, your carrier or current plan does not support MMS messages.
    • In iOS 17 and later, there’s no additional step for enabling group messaging. However, if you’re using iOS 16 or earlier, you’ll see a Group Messaging option after you enable MMS Messaging. Tap the toggle switch to enable group messaging.
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Section 2 of 3:

Enabling RCS Messaging

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  1. 1
    Open theSettings app. Like MMS messaging, RCS ( Rich Communication Services ) is a text messaging format that works through your carrier instead of Apple. If your carrier supports RCS, you can use it to create group chats with other people who use RCS messaging–including people who are not iPhone users. To get started, open your iPhone’s Settings app. [2]
    • RCS is a newer text messaging service than MMS. You need to be running iOS 18 or later to use it. Even with iOS 18, you won’t see this option if your carrier doesn’t support RCS.
    • RCS messaging offers more features than MMS group messaging. For example, RCS supports delivery and read receipts and typing indicators, even if the people you’re chatting with aren’t iPhone users.
  2. 2
    Tap Apps . It’s at the very bottom of the Settings menu.
  3. 3
    Open Messages . It’s in the M section of the Apps menu.
  4. 4
    Tap RCS Messaging . You’ll find this under the TEXT MESSAGING header. If you don’t see it, that probably means your carrier doesn’t support RCS messaging.
  5. 5
    Toggle on RCS Messaging. If the toggle switch next to RCS Messaging is grey, tap it to put it in the green On position (). It may take a second for RCS messaging to activate. Now you can send group messages in RCS!
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Section 3 of 3:

Creating a Group Text

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  2. 2
    Tap theNew Message button. It looks like a paper and pencil, and is located in the top right corner of the screen. You'll need to close any open conversations to see it.
  3. 3
    Tap the "+" to add people from your contacts. You can also type in a contact’s name, phone number, or Apple Account ID. [3]
    • If you have MMS and/or RCS messages enabled, you can add people who aren’t iPhone users to your group chat.
  4. 4
    Type your message. Tap the text field at the bottom of the screen to enter text, or tap the + to the left of it to attach images, stickers, audio, and more.
  5. If everyone in the group message is using iMessage, the text bubbles will be blue. If you are using MMS, the messages will be green.
  6. 6
    Edit the group. There are a few ways you can edit your group conversation: [4]
    • To add new people to the group:
      • Open the conversation and tap the group name or icon at the top of the page.
      • Tap the button near the top of the page that shows the number of people in the group.
      • Tap + Add Contact . Type in the name or number of the contact you want to add, or tap + to browse your contacts.
      • You can also remove contacts from the group in this same menu. Swipe left on the name of the person you want to remove, then tap Remove .
    • To name your group chat:
      • Tap the group icon at the top of the conversation, then tap Change Name and Photo . Enter a name for the group and select one of the options for adding an icon to represent the group.
        • For example, you can snap a new picture with your camera, use a photo from your library, use an emoji, or give your group an initial (like “FG” for “Family Group”).
      • When you’re finished, tap Done .
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Community Q&A

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  • Question
    How do I take myself out of a group message?
    Community Answer
    Click the group photo and you should see "leave group" as an option that you can click on.
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  • Question
    What if the group message option is not showing up in iOS 12?
    Community Answer
    This option was removed, it's no longer required to enable group messaging as of iOS 12.
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  • Question
    Why don't I receive group messages?
    Manerman1124
    Community Answer
    You might not have been invited to a group chat, or your notifications are off. To turn them on, go to settings>notifications>messages>show notifications.
    Thanks! We're glad this was helpful.
    Thank you for your feedback.
    If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. We’re committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. Support wikiHow
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      • Want to turn off group messaging on your iPhone? Check out our guide to learn about your options.
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      • If you want to leave a group chat, tap the name of the chat at the top of the screen and tap Leave this Conversation or Delete and Block this Conversation . You can also toggle on Hide Alerts if you just want to mute notifications for the chat.
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      • Group messaging between iMessage users is automatically enabled. Group messages sent through iMessage will have a blue bubble, while group conversations that include MMS or RCS users will have green bubbles.
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      References

      1. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118236
      2. ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/118236
      3. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/group-conversations-iphb10c80fc5/ios
      4. ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/group-conversations-iphb10c80fc5/ios

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