Depending on your point of view, the new effects features in the Messages app is either lots of fun or totally ridiculous. But you never know when you’ll need to send your friend fireworks and confetti, so you might as well be prepared. Reduce Motion on iPhone is a setting we’ve recommended turning on in the past to save battery life. Keeping it on will still help battery life, but if you want to enjoy Message effects, you’ll have to turn it off. This is due to the function of Reduce Motion, which cuts out all the extra transitions and animations on iPhone. If you’ve been wondering why the new, fancy effects in Messages hasn’t been working for you—here’s how to fix it.
Related: How to Use Effects in Messages
If you’re not familiar with effects in Messages yet, here’s a couple examples. Below is the confetti and fireworks effects options. There are also floating balloons, laser show, and a shooting star animation effect. I’m sure Apple will continue to add more in the future as well.
When you type your message, tap and hold the Send arrow or 3D Touch the Send arrow to bring up your effects options. If you have Reduce Motion turned on, however, your Message will just send when you tap the Send arrow. To get those Message effect working, you’ll need to turn Reduce Motion off. To do this:
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Open Settings.
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Tap General.
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Select Accessibility.
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Toggle Off Reduce Motion.
Now open Messages. Type your message and either tap and hold or 3D Touch the Send arrow to access, view, and send effects via Messages.
Top Image Credit: Anna Hoychuk / Shutterstock.com
