While group messaging is available and automatically enabled, there are a couple of things that could block group messaging.
1. Inside your Caregiver Portal, if you see the "Enable group texting" prompt it means your Pinwheel phone number did not automatically sync.
2. Click 'Set up' and input your child's Pinwheel phone number. Be sure to hit Save after!
3. Check to see if all individuals in the group text are approved contacts.
If even a single individual is not an approved contact, then it will not allow your child to draft or send a group text to that group. If it is an incoming group text, if one person is not an approved contact then the message will go into the "needs review" section of your Caregiver Portal.
4. Check mobile data allotment and that mobile data is turned on: group messaging uses mobile data.
Settings --> Connections --> Data Usage
5. Finally, if you have T-Mobile or Mint please check APN settings to ensure your APN settings match below to be compatible with MMS and data messages.
T-Mobile
Name: T-Mobile
APN: fast.t-mobile.com
Proxy: <not set>
Port: <not set>
Username: <not set>
Password: <not set>
Server: <not set>
MMSC: http://mms.msg.eng.t-mobile.com/mms/wapenc
MMS Proxy: <not set>
MMS Port: <not set>
MMS protocol: WAP 2.0 (If this is not available - let it be)
MCC: 310
MNC: (Dependent on state, should be the one showing on the phone)
Authentication type: <not set>
APN Type: default,supl,mms,rcs
APN Protocol: IPv4/IPv6
APN Roaming: IPv4/IPv6
Turn APN on/off: <greyed out>
Bearer: Unspecified
Mint
Name: Mint
APN: Wholesale
Proxy: <not set>
Port: <not set>
Username: <not set>
Password: <not set>
Server: <not set>
MMSC: http://wholesale.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc
MMS Proxy: <not set>
MMS Port: <not set>
MCC: 310
MNC: (Dependent on state, should be the one showing on the phone)
Authentication type: <not set>
APN Type: default,supl,MMS,ia
APN Protocol: IPv4/IPv6
APN Roaming: IPv4/IPv6
Turn APN on/off: <greyed out>
Bearer: Unspecified
If everything matches the above and it is still not working, please follow these steps for Mint mobile:
First: Select "+ or New APN"
Name: enter "MINT"
APN: enter "wholesale"
APN type: enter "default"
Leave all other fields blank (i.e. do not modify/leave as is)
Save APN within the three dots in the upper right
Second: Create another new APN
Name: enter "MINT MMS"
APN: enter "wholesale"
MMSC: enter "http://wholesale.mmsmvno.com/mms/wapenc"
APN Type: enter "mms"
Leave all other fields blank (i.e. do not modify/leave as is)
Save APN
Finally: Make sure your MINT APN is selected and then restart device.
Time to talk to the whole family! However, if you're still encountering issues our team of Pinwheelers are here to help. Please contact us here.