The best thing about Apple's Messages is the fact that all of your messages are unified across your iPhones, iPads, and Macs, as long as you're logged in to the same Apple ID on all devices. However, as much as we wish everyone was using iMessage and a blue-bubble user, SMS text messages are still popular because not everyone uses an iPhone. Did you know that you can still get text messages on your Mac? It's super easy, and we're going to show you how to get that up and running.
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But before you get started with anything, you'll want to check to make sure that Messages on your Mac is set up properly.
Oct 18, 2019 Use it to send messages with iMessage, or send SMS and MMS messages through your iPhone. With Messages for Mac, you can send unlimited messages to any Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that uses iMessage, Apple's secure-messaging service. IPhone owners can use it for SMS and MMS messages, too. In case you have an iPhone with an active Cellular plan, you can Setup the Messages App on your Mac to Send and Receive carrier supported SMS and MMS Messages from your Mac. Open the Messages App by clicking on the Messages icon in the Dock of your Mac. Leave the Messages App open on your Mac, so that it can receive a security code generated.
How to turn on Text Message Forwarding
- Ensure that you're logged in to the same Apple ID on both your iPhone and Mac.
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
Tap Messages.
- Tap on Text Message Forwarding.
Toggle the ON/OFF switch on the Mac(s) you want to get text messages on, as well as any other devices like an iPad or iPod touch.
Now, as long as your iPhone is turned on and connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network, any new SMS or MMS text messages you receive on your iPhone (green text bubbles) are forwarded to your selected devices. You can also reply to these text and multimedia messages using your Mac too.
Apple now keeps all of your messages history in iCloud, so it's always updated and available on all of your Apple devices, even brand new ones.
How to Enable Messages in iCloud
- Make sure you're logged in to the correct Apple ID on your iPhone, iPad, and Macs that you want to be synced up.
- On your iPhone, go to Settings.
Tap on your Apple ID account, which is shown at the top.
- Tap iCloud.
Toggle the ON/OFF switch for Messages.
- Open Messages on your Mac.
Click Messages in the menu bar.
- Click Preferences.
Click the iMessage tab.
Click the checkbox next to Enable Messages in iCloud so all of your messages, SMS and iCloud, will sync to and from your Mac.
If message syncing or text forwarding is not working
If you're having some issues with getting your messages synced in iCloud or even getting your text, then you should try the following:
- If you've accumulated a lot of messages, then Messages in iCloud may just require some extra time to get everything uploaded and synced. You could cut down on file size to help the process go by faster. Go to iPhone Settings, then General, tap on iPhone Storage, and then find Messages. Select the type of media you want to get rid of, then tap on Edit to choose files and then delete them with the Delete button.
- Make sure that you're using the same Apple ID on your Mac as well as your iPhone. This is one of the most important steps, and if you're using two different accounts, your messages won't be synced and text message forwarding won't work.
- Try turning off text message forwarding on your iPhone and then toggle it again, making sure it's with the same Apple ID.
- Make sure that your iPhone is connected to a working Wi-Fi or cellular connection. If you have no signal, then you won't be able to get messages and they won't be forwarded to your Mac either. Try toggling the Wi-Fi off and back on first, as this may fix any connectivity issues.
- If toggling the Wi-Fi off and back on did not work, try reconnecting to the network. To do this, first forget the Wi-Fi network you're on. Then reconnect to it as you normally would.
- If none of the above worked, you may need to Reset your network settings. Your data and apps will remain as they are, but you'll need to input those Wi-Fi passwords again.
Any questions?
That's it! As you can see, setting up text message forwarding is super easy, and it's pretty great to be able to send texts directly from your Mac. If it's not working for you, the solutions we provided should fix most issues. If you have any questions, let us know in the comments.
Updated July 2019: Updated through macOS Catalina.
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With Messages for Mac, you can send unlimited messages to any Mac, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch that uses iMessage, Apple's secure-messaging service. iPhone owners can use it for SMS and MMS messages, too.
Set up iMessage
iMessage is the Apple messaging service you get automatically with your Apple ID.If it's not already set up, you're asked to sign in when you first open the Messages app. Sign in with same Apple ID that you use with Messages on your iPhone and other devices. It's usually the same Apple ID that you use for iCloud, the iTunes Store, the App Store, and the account you created when you first set up your Mac.
Can You Get Standard Texts Through Messages App On Mac Iphone
Have a conversation
- Click at the top of the Messages window.
- Address your message by typing the recipient's name, email address, or phone number. Or click and choose a recipient. If they're in your Contacts app, Messages finds them as you type. To start a group conversation, just add more recipients.
- Type your message in the field at the bottom of the window, then press Return to send it.
- To include emoji, click.
- To include an image or other file, just drag or paste it into the message field. Or use Continuity Camera to capture a photo or scan directly from your iPhone or iPad camera.
- To include an audio recording, clickand record your message.
- After starting a conversation, click Details in the corner of the window to take other actions, including:
- Choose not to be disturbed by notifications about this conversation.
- Use FaceTime to start an audio call or video call .
- Share a screen .
- See the recipient's location—if they're sharing their location with you.
- Review all of the photos and files that were exchanged in the conversation.
- Add a group name, add members to a group, or leave a group. If the group has four or more members, you can remove members: Control-click the member's name, then choose Remove from Conversation.
With macOS Sierra or later, you can also use Siri to send, read, and reply to Messages:
- ”Send a message to Susan and Johnny saying I'll be late' or ”Tell Johnny Appleseed the show is about to start” or ”Text a message to 408 555 1212.”
- ”Read the last message from Brian Park” or ”Read my new messages.”
- ”Reply that's great news” or ”Tell him I'll be there in 10 minutes.”
Add a Tapback to a message
macOS Sierra introduces Tapback to the Mac. A Tapback is a quick response that expresses what you think about a message, such as that you like it or think it's funny. In the image above, the heart next to ”See you then!' is a Tapback. Here's how to do it:
- Control-click a message bubble to open a shortcut menu.
- Choose Tapback from the menu.
- Click a Tapback to add it to the message bubble.
Your Tapback is visible to everyone in the conversation who is using iMessage with macOS Sierra or later or iOS 10 or later. Other iMessage users see 'Liked' or 'Laughed at' or 'Emphasized,' for example, followed by the text of that message.
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch also have Tapback, as well as other message effects available only on those devices. Most such affects look the same on your Mac when you receive them. Others appear as a description of the effect, such as ”(sent with Loud Effect).”
Send text messages to anyone from your Mac
If you have an iPhone with a text messaging plan, learn how to set up text message forwarding so you can send and receive SMS and MMS messages from your Mac.
Delete a message or conversation
When you permanently delete a message or conversation, you can't get it back. So make sure that you save important information from your messages.
To delete a message:
- Open a message conversation.
- Control-click the blank area of a message bubble that you want to delete.
- Choose Delete.
- Click Delete.
To delete a conversation:
Can You Get Standard Texts Through Messages App On Mac Free
- Control-click a conversation.
- Choose Delete Conversation.
- Click Delete.
Learn more
Can You Get Standard Texts Through Messages App On Mac Computer
- To learn more about Messages, choose Messages Help from the Help menu in Messages.
- If you get an error when trying to sign in to iMessage, learn what to do.
Can You Get Standard Texts Through Messages App On Mac Download
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