diff --git a/ios/Wrappers/DecodedMessageWrapper.swift b/ios/Wrappers/DecodedMessageWrapper.swift
index 4310711a2..23817259b 100644
--- a/ios/Wrappers/DecodedMessageWrapper.swift
+++ b/ios/Wrappers/DecodedMessageWrapper.swift
@@ -60,9 +60,9 @@ struct ContentJson {
         } else if let reaction = obj["reaction"] as? [String: Any] {
             return ContentJson(type: ContentTypeReaction, content: Reaction(
                     reference: reaction["reference"] as? String ?? "",
-                    action: ReactionAction(rawValue: reaction["action"] as? String ?? "") ?? .added,
+                    action: ReactionAction(rawValue: reaction["action"] as? String ?? "") ,
                     content: reaction["content"] as? String ?? "",
-                    schema: ReactionSchema(rawValue: reaction["schema"] as? String ?? "") ?? .unicode
+                    schema: ReactionSchema(rawValue: reaction["schema"] as? String ?? "") 
             ))
         } else if let reply = obj["reply"] as? [String: Any] {
             guard let nestedContent = reply["content"] as? [String: Any] else {
diff --git a/ios/XMTPModule.swift b/ios/XMTPModule.swift
index 4355a9157..430d8bb75 100644
--- a/ios/XMTPModule.swift
+++ b/ios/XMTPModule.swift
@@ -250,11 +250,13 @@ public class XMTPModule: Module {
                 throw Error.conversationNotFound("no conversation found for \(topic)")
             }
 
+            let sortDirection: Int = (direction != nil && direction == "SORT_DIRECTION_ASCENDING") ? 1 : 2
+
             let decodedMessages = try await conversation.messages(
                 limit: limit,
                 before: beforeDate,
                 after: afterDate,
-                direction: PagingInfoSortDirection(rawValue: direction ?? "SORT_DIRECTION_DESCENDING")
+                direction: PagingInfoSortDirection(rawValue: sortDirection)
             )
 
             return decodedMessages.compactMap { (msg) in
@@ -298,7 +300,8 @@ public class XMTPModule: Module {
                 }
                 
                 if let directionStr = jsonObj["direction"] as? String {
-                    direction = PagingInfoSortDirection(rawValue: direction ?? "SORT_DIRECTION_DESCENDING")
+                    let sortDirection: Int = (directionStr == "SORT_DIRECTION_ASCENDING") ? 1 : 2
+                    direction = PagingInfoSortDirection(rawValue: sortDirection) ?? .descending
                 }
 
                 let page = Pagination(