How do I change the name of a group text / discussion in Messages?

How do I change the name of a group text / discussion in iOS 8 or later Messages?

One of the new features in the iOS 8 Messages app is the ability to change the name of a group text. This can come in handy when you have many group message threads that share a lot of the same people but have different subjects. E.g. you are talking to Tom, Dick and Harry about fishing and Tom, Dick and Larry about skiing; now you can name the conversations "Skiing" and "Fishing."

How to name a group message in iOS 8

To do this, go into the message thread and simply tap on the "Details" button in the top right of the screen. It's not immediately obvious on the details page because the first thing you see is a list of people in the thread, and you don't see it when you scroll down. You have to scroll up to get to the "Group Name:" form. Tap on the box, enter your name, tap "Done" and that's it. Go through the same process again if you want to rename it.

tags: 

Comments

I have tried this and several other ways to rename the group messages. I don't get any sort of option to rename them. I have an iPhone 6, running iOS 8.0.2 (latest update).

The group title obly works if all of the people in the chat are iPhones. It does not work if there is at least one non iPhone.

You have to be the one to start the group.

I'm running version 8.0.2 as well
And I got the same exact problem...

same for me...I am running IOS 8 on my 4S... I really need a way to do this as I am required by my office to send text updates to several different groups...any other suggestions?

I've installed iOS 8.0.2 on an iPhone 4s and the Group Name feature works. You have to pull down down on the your display in the "Details" panel to reveal the Group Name.

I can create a message name with a group of all iPhones, but not in my group text with some non-iPhones. Can I still name it?

There seems to be some issues with IOS 8 group features and people not using iMessage. Here's more on the subject https://www.iphonefaq.org/archives/973897#comment-84706

It doesn't work on IOS 8.0.2 can you make an updated tutorial for the newest version please. thank you :)

Apple you are idiots - the obvious eludes Apple all the time.

Yes; it is pretty stupid that I cannot name a group on my phone because someone else does not have an iphone. I dont use apple products other than an iphone because iphone annoys me enough.

Doesn't work for me. I have iOS 8.0.2 on 5S. any other suggestions?

I named my group message, but the other members of the group renamed it. Now, whenever a person sends a message, the group is automatically renamed to what ever that person wanted the group name to be. This is particularly annoying because the group name is constantly changing and notifying us every message that we send. We have tried deleting the name, changing the name to the same on all of our phones... We've tried everything. Any ideas on how to keep the group name permanent?

I would like to know how to delete as well.

The Group Chat Names feature in iMessage is one of the worst designed features that Apple has ever released. The fact that anyone in the group can rename it and that it renames on the phones of all users or members of the group is ridiculous.

This should be a per-user feature that changes the group name on only the phone of the user entering the name without making any changes to the phones of the other users. In large groups, several users may have different ways of classifying groups and what makes sense to one user may not make sense to others, or different groups may be given the same or similar names by different members making a user that is in both groups unable to tell which is which without going into each one. Group messaging has become frustrating and nearly impossible to use.

Using group chats has become a quick way to communicate with coworkers or groups of customers, and as a small business owner I do this constantly. However, group names have made it nearly impossible to locate groups, and the ability of others in the group to effectively change a setting on my phone has the potential to create some very embarrassing or financially devastating issues. Imagine having someone in the group naming it something vulgar and then having that pop up on my phone lock screen while showing something to another customer (like project photos or pricing information). Also, if several users start trying to be cute and start changing the group name back and forth, it becomes increasingly difficult to FIND the group when I have an important message to send.

After a lengthy chat with tech support at Apple last night, the only options given were to “tell people in the group not to add a name” or to turn off iMessage and create an MMS chat. In business use, it is highly inappropriate for me to “tell” a group of customers what they can and can’t do, and I will not go down that road. Turning off iMessage is effectively losing many of the features that make group chatting an effective business tool for exchanging ideas in real time.

The naming of groups is not a bad idea, in that it would allow users to sort groups by topic or family, work, etc. But it is badly implemented in that it is a “universal” setting across all members of the group. One user may have prefer to sort groups by topic, while another may prefer to go by names. It also seems to be a potential security hole that could be exploited by a disgruntled member of the group to cause annoyance or frustration to the other members. It also seems to be the only setting on the iPhone that is open to anyone else to change without my explicit permission. This feature is not well designed, and needs to at minimum come with the ability to turn it off. The best case scenario would be to close the universality of it and allow Private naming of groups that only affect the phone of the user entering the name, while changing nothing on the phones of the other users.

To me, this has become an annoying and urgent issue, which deserves immediate attention and resolution. I have been using iPhones for years, and this is the first “feature” that has become so frustrating as to make me seriously consider switching to Android, and a quick search of forums on the web shows that I am not alone in this sentiment.

iPhone 6 Plus 128GB user

You said: In business use, it is highly inappropriate for me to “tell” a group of customers what they can and can’t do,

But seriously, isn't it "highly inappropriate" to send illicit messages in business as well? Or to have friends send you messages that would embarrass you at work? Your rationale really doesn't make sense.

I do agree this needs some work, but it's a start. I think it's a fun way to name groups.

Maybe you need to turnoff notifications in case your friends change the name of a group to something that would embarrass you at work!

Actually this is not a "fun way" to name groups. In fact it totally sucks since you can't name a group of 10 people if a single one of them has an android! What kind of bs is that?! It is effectively a "non-way" of naming groups since there will almost always be someone who doesn't have an iphone. Especially when you are a coach trying to organize softball and soccer practices! Apple has really slipped the last few years, this isn't the only bad software they have released. For instance the new itunes won't let you exclude songs from playlists.

We found that our only way around the GROUP message/rename/ iPhone/android issue was to use another Group messaging app. We use GROUP ME and it works WELL. The organizer controls who is IN the group, and the name/content. Others can mute a convo, and add input/photos, but NOT change the group name or invite others.

Can you change the group chat name on the iphone 5c?

How do you do this with the new iOS9?

I have iOS 10 with the iPhone 6s and it won't let me change the name. Also I was the one that created the group text.

I found out by trial and error... I have a group of 8 members, one wanted to change his phone number. I rebuilt the group again, because there was not a way to just change his number, and when it built, the entire thread populated the new group. I have to assume the message system identified all the members, not by their numbers, but by their names and assumes what I wanted to do was intentional. That would be a useful tidbit for those who give advice on these sorts of things...