Son is not getting SMS texts on his iPhone - only iMessage to iPad

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Level 1

2 points

Son is not getting SMS texts on his iPhone - only iMessage to iPad

We recently got my son a iPhone so we can stay connected via family sharing, find my, etc. We got him a talk and text plan - no data. The problem is that I cannot text him on his phone if he is not connected to wifi. I have my settings enabled to send as SMS, but if he is not connected to wifi, the messages do not go to his phone, rather they go to his iPad, which is kept at home. He can text me, but my replies got to the iPad, which is connected to iMessage. I need to be able to send him SMS texts when he is not connected to wifi.

We don't want to disconnect the iPad from iMessage because he does use that when he is home to message friends and family. He prefers messaging with the iPad.

Remembering to turn off iMessage on the iPad every day is not a realistic solution.

And changing the iMessage settings on the iPad to only send and receive messages sent to the email address only works until he sends a message to me, then all of my replies go to the iPad.

The only solution I have found that could work in that situation would be to add his phone number and email address as separate contacts. But that seems cumbersome and relies on ALL of his contacts to do that - including elderly grandparents, friends, and emergency contacts. We need to know that he is ALWAYS getting his messages, even when he is not connected to data or wifi. This is the main reason we got him a phone.

How can we set his preferences so that ALL messages go to his phone - either as SMS or as iMessage (depending on whether he is connected to wifi) and not to go to other devices instead of the phone?

Posted on Mar 2, 2024 12:53 PM

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Answer 1

steve626

Level 6

14,829 points

Mar 2, 2024 3:00 PM in response to rachelrev

This Apple support article might help:

If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone or iPad - Apple Support

Specifically, the section "If you receive messages on one device but not the other:"

On your son's iPhone --

In the Settings app, tap Messages.
Tap Send & Receive.
Choose the phone number or email address that you want to use with messages.

There needs to be a check mark by the phone number for both menus shown below

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.

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Answer 2

rachelrev Author

Level 1

2 points

Mar 2, 2024 4:04 PM in response to steve626

Thanks Steve626.

We have tried everything in this article. The problem is that my son does not have data on his, and when he is not connected to wifi, any messages sent from an iphone go to his iMessages on his iPad, which is at home and connected to wifi, instead of being converted to SMS messages and being delivered to his phone. How can we preference sending SMS to the phone and not iMessage to the iPad without (a) turning off iMessage from the iPad or (b) having every single one of his contacts with an iPhone have to put two separate contacts for him - one with his Apple ID and one with his cell number, because if they have them combined, it automatically preferences iMessage, regardless of the device.

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Son is not getting SMS texts on his iPhone - only iMessage to iPad

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