How to send and receive text messages on your Mac

How to send and receive text messages on your Mac

Over the years lots of iPhone and iPad apps have made it over to the Mac, including , , , iBooks and Messages. Using the Messages app on the Mac it is possible to send and receive SMS text messages and iMessages without even getting your iPhone out of your bag. There are actually two different types of messages you can send and receive on your Mac. iMessages are sent via Apple's servers, and normal text messages are routed via your iPhone. In this article we show how to send and receive both. Once you've logged into your Apple ID in Messages on your Mac you will be able to receive iMessages sent by your iPhone-using friends. The messages will also appear on your iPhone so there will be continuity. If your friend has another type of phone their number may gain a red box when you add it to the To: field. This indicates that their phone is not registered with iMessage. If you try tosend a text message you will see an alert saying 'Your message could not be sent'. However, that doesn't mean you can't text them. You just need to set up your Mac so it can send messages via your iPhone. Now when you add your friend's non-iPhone mobile number it will gain a green box to indicate that you are sending a text message. Your friend will receive a standard text message, which will have been routed via your iPhone, so it will be allocated towards your text message allowance according to your mobile phone contract. The best thing is that the text message conversation won't be restricted to your Mac: you will also see it on your iPhone. In order to receive text messages (sent from a non-iPhone) on a Mac you need to set up your Mac and iPhone following the steps described above. This involves logging into your Mac with your Apple ID in System Preferences, and setting up text message forwarding on your iPhone in Settings > Messages. For more information about how to use the Messaging app on the iPhone read .This includes details about using various Messaging features such as adding emoji, many of whichalso apply to the Mac version of Messages.