Abstract The electromagnetic transition probabilities of the yrast $$2^+$$ 2 + states in the midshell Te isotopes, two protons above the closed shell at Sn, are of great importance for the understanding of nuclear collectivity in these isotopes and the role played by the neutron-proton interactions and cross-shell excitations. However, the large uncertainty of the experimental data for the midshell nucleus 118 Te and the missing data for 116 Te make it difficult to pin down the general trend of the evolution of transition probabilities as a function of the neutron number. In this work, the lifetime of the yrast $$2^+$$ 2 + state in 118 Te was measured, with the aim of reducing the uncertainty of the previous measurement. The result is $$\tau _{2+}=7.46(19)$$ τ 2 + = 7.46 ( 19 )  ps. In addition, the lifetime of the $$4^+$$ 4 + state was measured to be $$\tau _{4+} = 4.25(23)$$ τ 4 + = 4.25 ( 23 )  ps. The experimental transition rates are extracted from the measured lifetimes and compared with systematic large-scale shell-model calculations. The trend of the $$B(\textrm{E2};0^+\rightarrow 2^+)$$ B ( E2 ; 0 + → 2 + ) values in the midshell area is in good agreement with the calculations and the calculated $$B_{4/2}$$ B 4 / 2 ratio provide evidence for 118 Te as a near perfect harmonic vibrator.