As a family with multiple iPhones under the same wireless account and Apple ID, we had to do some testing and troubleshooting while setting up text messages for our latest service. Although each iPhone has its own unique number, we found that the same text messages were showing up on multiple devices. For example, a single text I sent to one daughter transmitted to both of their phones. A quick Google search explained that the redundancy is caused by iMessage.
iMessage is Apple’s form of instant message communication which enables data to be transmitted between Apple devices using Apple’s servers. iMessages can be sent between iPhones, iPods, iPads and Macs. iMessage is associated with an Apple ID, so if there are multiple iPhones sharing an Apple ID, there may be messages to multiple devices transmitted from a single text.
To keep texts associated with a unique phone number, we adjusted our iMessage preferences in the Apple Settings App. By going to Home > Settings > Messages > and then Send and Receive, we selected the unique phone number to receive iMessages for each phone. See screenshots:
iMessage Settings
Select phone number to be associated with iMessage
This arrangement kept the messages channeled to their appropriate recipients, and then all daughters (and moms) were happy!
Lorraine Akemann | Cofounder and Editor | Moms With Apps
Photo Credit Flickr [Brian DePalo]
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