iPhone 15 - Getting group texts as separate messages when someone in the chat has a non iPhone

[LookingNorth]

Hello,

Ever since I moved to using Public Mobile, any group texts that I receive that are not iMessage (so if someone in the chat does not use an iPhone) come in as scattered individual texts. When I look at the messages on my Apple Watch or on my Macbook, I can see that it's a group, but I can't respond via my phone, obviously.

I have checked to see if my MMS is on in my iPhone settings. It is. This has been a problem that has existed for about a year and a half and over two different quite-new iPhones, so I imagine I have reset my iPhone enough times that if that was the solution, it should have happened by now.

Is this just a thing I cannot do with Public Mobile? That's what I've chalked it up to in the past. But I'm needing to be in more of those group texts now so inquiring here. More importantly, I need to be able to respond.

I see online in other threads that there is talk about making sure an APN is right. Mine is isb.mb.com , so I believe this is correct?

Thanks in advance.

[LookingNorth]

Just following up on this to let folks know what worked, if anyone else encounters this. If you go into settings-General-Transfer or Reset Phone, there is an option to hit reset. It doesn't reset immediately so don't worry - click it and it gives you a number of options. We did reset network settings, which unlocked a number of messages and notifications that were "trapped" we'll say. I ended up getting some notifications that were months old. Anyway, that allowed me to properly have group messages using SMS, and to also send texts using SMS as well, which I had also never been able to do with this provider.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@LookingNorth  I'm not sure if you are dealing with MMS or SMS messages since you've mentioned both?  I don't know if this will help:

https://support.apple.com/en-ca/118236 

Your iPhone is fine on isp.mb.com it seems to be what iPhones use, or at least mine does!   Public Mobile does support MMS - have you updated to the latest ios on the phone?

[LookingNorth]

Thanks for your reply. My phone doesn't even allow me to change it away from the ISP option to just SP, as there is no way to enter the change. It just reverts back if I go back, or prompts be to revert to the standard, which is ISP. I see online some folks (Apple included) instruct you to contact your carrier to allow you to change your APN settings. 

When I say individual messages, I mean a group chat that is supposed to be operating entirely in SMS. For example, if there are five people in the group chat, I do not receive them in a group message. I get individual messages directly from the participants, who are obviously talking amongst themselves in a group setting, but they come to me as direct, separate SMS messages to me. They arrive in the same text chain as when I directly texted with individual #3 asking them to grab me a coffee on their lunch break.

Hope that helps.

[Phil_Adelphus]

@LookingNorth   On my iPhone the APN is isp.mb.com.  I have tried changing it to sp.mb.com as @hTideGnow mentioned, but it just changes back.  I don't have any problems, I did that just to troubleshoot someone else's problem.

I'm  not quite clear whether you mean messages from individuals are broken up (which would suggest they are coming by SMS) or that you are expecting messages in the chat to be strung together as conversations.  It's probably a setting in the phone somewhere. 

[hTideGnow]

hi @LookingNorth 

APN should be : SP.MB.COM

make sure the Carrier Profile is updated