Imessage On Imac

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To turn off iMessages on your Mac, you'll first need to open the Messages app on your computer. Look for the App Folder on your Dock and click it. You'll see all the apps on your Mac, open Messages. Click Messages in the top bar and select Preferences. Select iMessage from the menu bar, then choose Settings. Below that, you'll see your Apple ID.

  1. Macbook Imessage
  2. Connect Messages To Mac
  3. Imessage On Imac Not Working

Sending and receiving messages through iPhone is, obviously, extremely convenient. In the palm of your hand you have the power to send text and media to contacts all over the world.

This convenience comes at a price - many of us have thousands of messages on our phones, taking up storage space and becoming increasingly hard to manage.

If you have a lot of messages on your device, searching through your messages, finding the conversation you're looking for and viewing it can be tricky. This guide will take you through the top three ways to view your iPhone messages directly on the big screen of your PC or Mac computer.

Quick Jump to...

1. View iPhone messages directly on your computer (PC/Mac)

  1. 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. If you have an ‌iPhone‌, you can also send.
  2. Check iMessage Settings. If you’re facing the iMessage not syncing problem, the first thing you.

Our first method explores how you can view your iPhone messages in a clear format on your PC or Mac using TouchCopy.

TouchCopy is a popular app which allows you to view and export media from iPhone to computer.

We can use this tool to easily view and search iPhone messages, export them to computer, and even print them out!

What you'll need:

  • You can use TouchCopy on a PC running Windows 10, 8 and 7, or Mac using Mac OSX 10.9 (OS X Mavericks) or higher.
  • Your iPhone.
  • Your USB cable to connect your iPhone to your computer.

Viewing iPhone messages in TouchCopy:

To view SMS, MMS, iMessage or WhatsApp conversations in TouchCopy, simply connect your iPhone and click the Messages section.

View the messages in a conversation by clicking it in the list.

You'll see all your messages, emojis, times/dates, attached media like photos, and contacts details.

Try TouchCopy free ▼

Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:

Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.

Searching iPhone messages in TouchCopy:

Searching messages on iPhone can be fiddly. TouchCopy makes it easy to search through your messages on a big screen.

To do this, enter a contact's name or a key word / phrase that you are looking for into the search box and hit Enter (Return) on your keyboard.

TouchCopy will return a list of only conversations in which your keyword was mentioned. You can click a conversation to see exactly which messages contain your keyword!

Find more information about viewing and searching iPhone messages in TouchCopy >

What Next?

Using TouchCopy just to view your messages is like using an iPhone only to make calls. There's so much more you can do.

Now that you can access your messages on your computer, why not export them for safekeeping, or print them off?

2. View iPhone messages from an iTunes backup (PC/Mac)

If you don't have access to your iPhone anymore, or the texts you are trying to view have been lost or deleted, you'll need to use a backup of your iPhone.

If you backup your iPhone to your computer, your messages will be saved to the backup. The problem is, you can't actually access your messages in the backup without a tool like iBackup Extractor.

iBackup Extractor is a trusted tool which allows you to access the information stored in an iTunes backup, and even extract it to your computer!

What you'll need:

  • You can use iBackup Extractor on a PC running Windows 10, 8 and 7, or Mac using Mac OSX 10.9 (OS X Mavericks) or higher.
  • A backup of your iPhone stored on your PC or Mac.

How to View iPhone Text Messages on Computer Without Phone:

Syncing

As mentioned, you don't actually need your iPhone to be able to use iBackup Extractor. This tool accesses a backup of your iPhone stored on your computer to enable you to view your backed up messages.

What's that, you need to view old iPhone messages, or ones which have been deleted from your phone? No problem, if the messages are stored in a backup, you can get to them with iBackup Extractor.

To view your messages, launch iBackup Extractor, select the backup containing your desired messages, and select the conversation you need to view its messages!

You can also search your messages for a particular contact or key phrase by entering your query in the search bar in iBackup Extractor!

Try iBackup Extractor free ▼

Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:

Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.

What Next?

Making new backups of your iPhone on your computer usually means overwriting the old one. This could mean that you lose the data you need.

To avoid this, you can extract the important bits you need from your backup using iBackup Extractor: Save your SMS, MMS, iMessage and WhatsApp conversations to your computer. You can export as HTML, PDF or Plain text, or print out your messages so that you have a hard copy.

Imac

3. View messages, and text from your computer
(Mac only)

Imac

Our final method is provided free by Apple and uses the Messages app on Mac computers.

'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.' - Apple

That's right- not only can you view your iPhone messages through your Mac, you can even use it to send messages!

The only problem here is that if this is the first time you are setting up your Mac to receive your iPhone messages, you'll only be able to view new messages sent after this point. To view older iPhone messages as well, you'll need to use Method 1 or Method 2.

What you'll need:

  • A Mac or MacBook with the Messages app installed.
  • The Apple ID details used on your iPhone.

How to View iPhone messages using Mac Messages app:

All you need to do to get your iPhone messages on your Mac is to open the Messages app on your Mac.

If your Mac uses the same Apple ID as your iPhone, you'll see your messages. If your Mac is not set up in this way, you can sign in using your Apple ID the first time that you open the Messages app on Mac.

This initial setup will only allow you to view and send iMessages. If you'd like to view and send SMS and MMS, as well as iMessages, you'll need to set up text message forwarding.

Setting up Text Message Forwarding

  1. Ensure that your iPhone and Mac are using the same Apple ID...
    • On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive.
    • On your Mac, open the Messages app, click Messages in the toolbar > Preferences, then click iMessage.
  2. On your iPhone, open Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding.
  3. Tap the switch next to your Mac's name to allow it to send and receive SMS and MMS from your iPhone.
  4. You may receive a verification code on your Mac. If so, enter the code on your iPhone to allow this change.

The SMS and MMS you receive on your iPhone will now also forward to your Mac, if both devices are connected to the internet.

Takeaways

So, now you know the best 3 ways to view your iPhone messages on your computer.

As you can see, each method has its own unique benefits. You should now have all the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about which method is best for you.

If you are still unsure, here's what we recommend:

  • Use TouchCopy to view SMS, MMS, iMessage and WhatsApp messages. You can also save and print your messages.
  • Use iBackup Extractor to view your iPhone messages from an iPhone backup. This method is perfect if you don't have your iPhone, or if you are looking for messages which were deleted from your iPhone.
  • Use Mac Messages app if you want to send and receive text messages on your Mac. Not suitable for viewing older messages, or for viewing WhatsApp conversations.

Thanks for reading!

Publisher: Wide Angle Software

Try these steps first

  1. Restart your device:
  2. Check your network connection. To send a message as iMessage or MMS, you need a cellular data or Wi-Fi connection. To send an SMS message, you need cellular network connection. If you turn on Wi-Fi Calling, you can send SMS messages over Wi-Fi.
  3. Check with your carrier to see if the type of message you’re trying to send, like MMS or SMS, is supported.
  4. If you’re trying to send group MMS messages on an iPhone, go to Settings > Messages and turn on MMS Messaging. If you don't see an option to turn on MMS Messaging or Group Messaging on your iPhone, then your carrier might not support this feature.
  5. Make sure that your device has enough space to receive images and videos.
  6. Make sure that you entered the correct phone number or email address for the contact.

If you see a Waiting for Activation alert, learn what to do.

If you still need help, find your issue below to learn what to do next.

If you see a red exclamation point

If you try to send a message and you see with an alert that says Not Delivered, follow these steps:

  1. Check your network connection.
  2. Tap , then tap Try Again.
  3. If you still can’t send the message, tap , then tap Send as Text Message. Messaging rates may apply. Contact your carrier for more information.

If you see a green message bubble

If you see a green message bubble instead of a blue one, then that message was sent using MMS/SMS instead of iMessage. There are several reasons for this:

  • The person that you sent the message to doesn't have an Apple device.
  • iMessage is turned off on your device or on your recipient’s device. To check if iMessage is turned on for your device, go to Settings > Messages > iMessage.
  • iMessage is temporarily unavailable on your device or on your recipient’s device.

Learn the difference between iMessage and MMS/SMS messages.

If you receive messages on one device but not the other

If you have an iPhone and another iOS device, like an iPad, your iMessage settings might be set to receive and start messages from your Apple ID instead of your phone number. To check if your phone number is set to send and receive messages, go to Settings > Messages, and tap Send & Receive.

If you don't see your phone number, you can link your iPhone number to your Apple ID so you can send and receive iMessages from your phone number. You can also set up Text Message Forwarding so you can send and receive MMS and SMS messages on all of your Apple devices.

If you have issues with a group message

If you’re in a group message and stop receiving messages, check if you left the conversation. Open Messages and tap the group message. If you see a message that says you left the conversation, then either you left the conversation or you were removed from the group message. You can rejoin a group message only if someone in the group adds you.

To start a new group message:

  1. Open Messages and tap the Compose button to start a new message.
  2. Enter the phone numbers or email addresses of your contacts.
  3. Type your message, then tap the Send button .

If you have other issues with a group message, you might need to delete the conversation and start a new one. To delete a group message:

Macbook Imessage

  1. Open Messages and find the conversation that you want to delete.
  2. Swipe left over the conversation.
  3. Tap Delete.

When you delete a message, you can't recover it. If you want to save parts of a message, take a screenshot. To save an attachment in a message, touch and hold the attachment, tap More, then tap Save.

Connect Messages To Mac

Learn more

Imessage On Imac Not Working

  • If you still can't send or receive messages, contact Apple Support.
  • If you don't receive SMS messages, contact your carrier.
  • If you switched to a non-Apple phone, learn how to deactivate iMessage.
  • Learn how to report unwanted iMessages.