Forum Discussion

colin.hughes.132778's avatar
colin.hughes.132778
Explorer
1 month ago
Solved

WhatsApp message readout broken on Ray-Ban Meta Gen 2 after v20.0 / iOS 26.2

Device / software
 
• Meta smart glasses: Firmware 20.0
• iPhone: iOS 26.2
• App: WhatsApp (latest version)
• Meta View app: Latest version
• Region: UK
• Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer GEN two
 
Summary
 
Since updating to Meta glasses firmware 20.0 (and around the same time iOS 26.2), WhatsApp message readout on the glasses is no longer working correctly.
 
This is a major regression for accessibility. WhatsApp message readout is one of the most useful features of the glasses, and it is now doesn't work for incoming messages.
 
Issue description
 
For most incoming individual WhatsApp messages, the glasses:
• Play the notification sound
• Say only: “Message on WhatsApp”
• Do not read the message content
• Do not announce the sender’s name
 
This happens even for very short messages (e.g. “Hello, how are you”).
 
If I then say “Read it”, the glasses will read the message content, but still do not say which contact it is from.
 
By contrast:
• Group WhatsApp messages behave correctly
• The glasses announce the sender’s name
• The message is read out automatically without prompting
 
This suggests the issue may be related to contact handling for individual chats rather than WhatsApp notifications in general.
 
Steps to reproduce
1. Ensure Meta glasses are connected to iPhone
2. Ensure WhatsApp message readout is enabled in Meta View
3. Receive a direct (1-to-1) WhatsApp message from a saved contact
4. Listen to the glasses’ response
 
Expected behaviour
• Glasses say something like:
“You have a message from [contact name] on WhatsApp”
• Message content is read out automatically
 
Actual behaviour
• Glasses say only:
“Message on WhatsApp”
• Message content is not read out
• Sender’s name is never announced
• Manual prompt (“Read it”) is required, and even then the sender is not identified
 
Troubleshooting already attempted
• Disconnected and reconnected WhatsApp from the glasses three times
• Verified WhatsApp message readout is enabled
• Confirmed Meta AI has full access to Contacts
• Confirmed Bluetooth permissions include Contacts and Favourites
• Restarted phone and glasses
• Submitted an in-app bug report via Meta View
 
None of the above resolved the issue.
 
Accessibility impact
 
This is a significant accessibility regression.
 
I rely heavily on WhatsApp readout for hands-free communication. Having to manually ask the glasses to read messages — without even knowing who the message is from — makes the feature far less usable and compromises independence.
 
Because group messages still work correctly, this appears to be a specific bug rather than a general limitation.
 
Request
 
Please investigate WhatsApp message readout for individual chats on Meta glasses firmware 20.0, particularly:
• Contact name resolution
• Automatic message readout behaviour
• Differences between individual and group message handling
 
Happy to provide logs or test a fix if needed.

 

  • colin.hughes.132778's avatar
    colin.hughes.132778
    4 days ago

    Confirming this bug has been now fixed for me.   

    Last night I updated to the latest version of the iOS Meta AI app v 255.0.0 

    I also updated WhatsApp to the latest version v 26.1.74

    Following these updates, today WhatsApp messages came through normally on the glasses with the contact names included so I knew who was messaging me.  

    It was a long month with the bug but grateful for the fix. 

    Thanks. 

10 Replies

  • MetaStoreHelp's avatar
    MetaStoreHelp
    Community Manager
    1 month ago

    Hey Colin.hughes.132778,

     

    We came across your post and wanted to thank you for bringing this issue to our attention.

     

    Thank you so much for providing the troubleshooting steps you've attempted. The only other troubleshooting we would advise at this moment would be to ensure that you don't have Disappearing Messages enabled on WhatsApp, as the Meta AI glasses will not read out these messages.

     

    We then kindly ask that you submit a bug report on the Meta AI app so that our software engineers can get on the case.

     

    To report that something isn't working on the Meta AI app:

     

    1. Open the Meta AI app.
    2. Tap your profile picture in the top right.
    3. Tap Help & support.
    4. Tap Submit a report.
    5. Describe your issue.
    6. Select the category that best matches your issue and add any screen shots by tapping Add images.
    7. Tap Next.
    8. From here, you can choose to share your diagnostics.
    9. Tap Share and send report to share your diagnostics and send your report or, tap Don't share and send report to send your report without sharing your diagnostics.

     

    We hope your issue gets resolved soon!

     

    • colin.hughes.132778's avatar
      colin.hughes.132778
      Explorer
      1 month ago

      Thank you for your reply. 

      Disappearing messages is OFF. 

      As per original post I have submitted a bug report in the Meta view app 

      • MetaStoreHelp's avatar
        MetaStoreHelp
        Community Manager
        1 month ago

        Hey again,

         

        Great, thanks for clarifying this!

         

        It may take a few days for our engineers to get to work on your bug report, and so we would advise you just to keep an eye out for any available updates for the Meta AI app and for your glasses!

         

        We know how important this feature is for accessibility, and so we hope to get it back up-and-running for you ASAP!

  • m0nkrh's avatar
    m0nkrh
    Honored Guest
    29 days ago

    My Ray-Ban Meta Gen 1  glasses are experiencing the same problem

  • BZ0's avatar
    BZ0
    Honored Guest
    22 days ago

    Have just purchased a pair of Rayban Gen 2 and experiencing the same problem. One of the reasons why I bought them 😡. Normal text messages come through ok but WhatsApp is very hit and miss being more miss then hit. Do you think this will  get resolved ?

    • Safely25's avatar
      Safely25
      Honored Guest
      19 days ago

      Yes, of course it will be repaired, but I find it a bit sad that the error has been there for two weeks now and still hasn't been fixed. I find that absolutely unacceptable!

  • colin.hughes.132778's avatar
    colin.hughes.132778
    Explorer
    4 days ago

    Confirming this bug has been now fixed for me.   

    Last night I updated to the latest version of the iOS Meta AI app v 255.0.0 

    I also updated WhatsApp to the latest version v 26.1.74

    Following these updates, today WhatsApp messages came through normally on the glasses with the contact names included so I knew who was messaging me.  

    It was a long month with the bug but grateful for the fix. 

    Thanks.