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If one of your group chats in Messages has become a permanent staple, it’s probably time to give it its own identity. Here’s how you can assign not just a name but a custom image to group texts on an iPhone.
QUICK ANSWER
To change the name and image for a Messages group, open a conversation with three or more people. Tap on the group icons at the top, then Change Name and Photo.
JUMP TO KEY SECTIONS
There’s not much to it, but there is a big catch: everyone in the group has to be using an Apple device, whether it’s an iPhone, iPad, Mac, or even an iPod touch. Even a single person using SMS/MMS messaging (presumably, on an Android phone) is going to prevent the following steps from working, because renaming is tied to Apple’s iMessage framework.
Here’s what to do:
When using the Change Name and Photo menu above, there are several image options. The Camera button takes a new photo, while the Photos icon lets you use an existing image on your device. Alternately you can select text, an emoji, or a Memoji. We’d recommend an emoji over a Memoji, since a cartoon of yourself probably won’t identify a conversation at first glance.
Almost certainly the issue is that someone in the group is using an Android device. When Messages detects that the people in a conversation are signed into Apple accounts, it routs their texts through iMessage, which is akin to a service like WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger, enabling expanded functionality. Without iMessage, group chats have to default to SMS/MMS framework all cellular carriers offer.
For that reason, if you’re organizing a group of people on multiple platforms, it’s probably best to stick to a service like WhatsApp or Messenger. That’s especially true if you want people to be able to reply from Windows PCs.
Read more: iMessage’s blue bubble vs. green bubble controversy