How to Mention Someone in an iMessage Group Chat.how to name an imessage group chat.
how to name an imessage group chat
There are many hidden features of iMessage that few people know about, one of which is the Mentions feature. In a group conversation, you can grab the attention of a specific person by mentioning them in your text.
There are several benefits to mentioning people in an iMessage group chat. First, the recipient is notified of the message even if they have muted the group chat. It also ensures that group members never miss out on individual information in the endless stream of shared messages.
This guide covers everything you need to know about mentioning people in iMessage group chats on iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Mention Someone in an iMessage Chat on iPhone
Open a group conversation in the Messages app and enter the name of the person or contact you want to mention. You can enter your first or last name as they appear in the Contacts app.
Or type at (@) followed by the contact’s name. The name you entered should immediately turn gray if there is a corresponding entry in your contact list.
Tap the gray text or anywhere in the text box to continue and select the contact card that contains the person’s name and profile photo.
– adngin-InContent_1-0
The person’s name should immediately turn blue in the text box. Please note that several people can be mentioned in one post.
The mention function works not only with texts. You can tag or mention people when sending multimedia messages such as pictures, screenshots, videos, etc.
Select a media file on your device, add the person’s name to your signature, select a contact card, and send a message.
When you send text that tagged a group member, that person will receive a notification that they’ve been mentioned in the group message.
If you are mentioned in more than one group conversation text, please note that your name may appear differently. This is because iMessage displays your name as it is stored on the sender’s device.
Mention Someone in iMessage on Mac
Mentioning a contact in iMessage on iOS and macOS devices follows the same logic. All you have to do is add a contact card to your text.
Open a group chat, compose your message and enter the person’s name in the text box. When the text turns gray, tap the name and select the pop-up contact card.
The person’s name will be highlighted in blue, which means that they will be tagged in the message. The member you mentioned will receive a notification when you send a message. When they open the message, their name will be highlighted in blue.
When a group member mentions another member, their name is in black bold.
Muting Alerts and Mentions in iMessage
You can turn off iMessage notifications from one-to-one and group conversations on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. However, for group chats, you will still receive mention notifications when you turn off conversations.
Allow Mention Notifications (iPhone and iPad)
If you don’t want to receive notifications about general messages in a group chat, go to group settings and turn off alerts for all messages except direct mentions.
- Open a conversation in the Messages app and tap the group image (or the right arrow icon).
- Click the information icon.
[12-mute-imessage-group-alerts]
- Turn on Hide Warnings.
If enabled, iMessage will disable all plain text and send notifications for direct mentions only.
Allow Mention Only Notifications (on macOS)
The changes you make to iMessage group chat are device dependent. If you turn off alerts for shared messages on your iPhone, the configuration won’t sync between your iCloud devices. So, if you want to restrict group notifications to mentions only, make changes in the message settings menu.
Open a group conversation, tap the info icon in the upper right corner, and check the Hide alerts box. A crescent-shaped icon appears next to the group image.
Please note that your device’s notification settings take precedence over iMessage sound settings. This means that you will not receive mention notifications if Do Not Disturb or Do Not Disturb While Driving is active on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.
Disable notifications for mentions
If you no longer want to receive alerts when flagged or mentioned in a group or one-to-one chat, turn off iMessages mention alerts in the messaging settings menu.
On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings> Messages, scroll to the Mentions section, and turn Notify Me off.
On your Mac, open the Messages app, choose Messages from the menu bar, choose Preferences, go to the General tab, and uncheck Notify me when my name is mentioned.
iMessage Mentions Not Working? 3 Fixes to Try
If you are unable to mention someone in an iMessage group chat, it could be due to factors such as software bugs, outdated OS, or temporary system glitches. Try the following troubleshooting steps to resolve the issue.
1. Update your device
IMessage Mention functionality works on iPhones and iPads running at least iOS 14 and iPadOS 14, respectively. Mac desktops and laptops are required to have macOS Big Sur. Update your device’s operating system if you can’t mention someone in a group chat. You must also inform the other group members to update their devices to iOS 14. Otherwise, they will not receive mention notifications.
Open the iPhone or iPad settings menu, choose General> Software Update, and make sure you have iOS 14 or iPadOS 14 or later.
To update your Mac or check your OS version, open System Preferences and select Software Update.
Installing a software update can also fix software bugs that cause iMessage to stop working.
2. Enter the correct contact name
iMessage will only display a contact suggestion if you enter all letters of the first or last name. If you are unable to mention someone in a group conversation, enter that person’s full first or last name (no skipping letters). Also, make sure you spell the name correctly — exactly as indicated in the Contacts app.
3. Force close the Messages app
Quitting and restarting the Messages application on your device may restore some of the instant messaging functionality.
Swipe up from the bottom of the iPhone screen and swipe up in the message preview area to close the app. If your iPhone or iPad has a physical Home button, double-click the Home button and swipe up on the Messages card to force close the app. Launch Messages again and check if you can mention someone in the iMessage group chat.
To force quit Messages on macOS, launch the app and press Shift + Command + Option + Escape. Or press Command + Option + Escape, select Messages and select Force Quit.
Open Messages again and check if you can now mention people in your iMessage group chat. If the problem persists, restart your device and try again.
How to Mention Someone in an iMessage Group Chat
how to name an imessage group chat