Tahoe 26.5.1
Cannot send text (iMessage) to non-Apple devices using either my MacBook nor my MacMini. Sending & re-sending fails. Works fine in my iPhone, but, I never had a problem sending from Mac until recently. Works great when sending to iPhones. Is this a Tahoe problem? What's the fix?
MacBook Air (M3, 2024)
Start by ensuring the settings on the iPhone and the other devices is setup for this. SMS and other non iMessage texts on the Mac and iPads is a function of forwarding from the phone. Natively they do not handle it.
Set up Messages on iPhone - Apple Support
Start by ensuring the settings on the iPhone and the other devices is setup for this. SMS and other non iMessage texts on the Mac and iPads is a function of forwarding from the phone. Natively they do not handle it.
Set up Messages on iPhone - Apple Support
Also:
Changing the Default Messaging App back to Messages was a logical thing to try, but I think there may be a separate toggle debacle going on here.
On your iPhone, try going to Settings > Apps > Messages > Text Message Forwarding and make sure both Macs are enabled there.
And since both Macs stopped working while the iPhone can still send to non Apple phones, I would check that the same Apple Account is being used in Messages on all three devices. On each Mac, that is under Messages > Settings > iMessage; on the iPhone, check Settings > Apps > Messages > Send & Receive.
If you use Messages in iCloud on all of the devices, Apple says forwarding is built in automatically. If you don’t see the Text Message Forwarding option at all, Apple recommends turning iMessage off and back on, then signing in again under Send & Receive.
Since the same failure is happening on both Macs, I’d be inclined to check the shared iPhone/account setup before assuming that both Macs independently developed the same problem.
That description is really helpful! Let’s see… The long delay is interesting—especially that the attempted message eventually appears on the other Mac, but never appears on the iPhone before ultimately failing.
That makes me wonder whether the two Macs are syncing the message between themselves through Messages in iCloud, while the actual outgoing relay through the iPhone is timing out.
Is Messages in iCloud enabled on all three devices?
On the iPhone, check Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Messages.
On each Mac, check Messages > Settings > iMessage > Enable Messages in iCloud. If it is already enabled, there should also be a Sync Now option—try that on both Macs and see whether anything changes.
Then I’d try one fresh test message from only one Mac, with the iPhone turned on, online, and nearby. I’m curious whether that message ever appears on the iPhone at all while the Mac is still showing the slow progress line.
Since both Macs are affected but the iPhone can still send to non-Apple phones, I wonder—maybe the problem is somewhere in the shared Messages/forwarding setup? Rather than with either Mac individually.
I’d first update both Macs from 26.5.1 to 26.5.2, since that is the current Tahoe release, although Apple only describes it as a security-fix update rather than a Messages-specific fix.
I would also double-check that the same Apple Account is shown in Messages settings on both Macs and under Settings > Apps > Messages > Send & Receive on the iPhone. Apple’s current documentation says SMS/MMS/RCS relay to a Mac depends on that account match and either Messages in iCloud or Text Message Forwarding.
Since both Macs stopped working around the same time, I’d be especially curious whether they are still shown and enabled under Text Message Forwarding, or whether Messages in iCloud is enabled on all three devices.
Thanks, that helps narrow it down. Hmm. Since both Macs can receive messages from non-Apple phones, but neither can send to them, the forwarding connection is at least partially working.
One other thing I would check is the sending identity. On each Mac, under Messages > Settings > iMessage, is your iPhone number selected under “You can be reached for messages at”—and what is selected under “Start new conversations from”?
Also! Go check Settings > Apps > Messages > Send & Receive on the iPhone, and make sure the phone number is selected there too.
And when you send something from the Mac and it fails, what exactly happens?Like, do you get a red “Not Delivered” alert? a message saying the recipient isn’t registered with iMessage? or something else entirely? And lastly, does it fail both in existing green-bubble conversations, and when starting a completely new message?
Check the iMessage apps setting on the Macs and see what the Start New Conversations from is set to. I am not 100% certain, but I think it should be the phone number, not one of the email addresses, associated with the iMessage set up.
Beyond that, not sure what to recommend. I use iMessage between a MacBook Air (and previously a Pro) and iPad and an iPhone and have for quite some time with no issue except for when I migrate to a new iPad, and that was quickly resolve with setting it up on the phone.
Read the ENTIRE article I posted. If tour iPhone is not set tp forward non-iMessage post to the other devices, they will nor receive them, nor can you reply or send to those addresses. Period. iPads and Macs do NOT do standard SMS with assistance from an iPhone.
The instructions for setting all of that up are intne user guide I linked to.
PS - the designation of a default messaging app had no impact on this.
You also might consider updating to 26.5.2 on the Macs. Probably won’t make a difference, but it is a quick update, and you never know.
I went into Messages settings on my iPhone, and found that the "Default Messaging App" was set to "WhatsApp", from a time when I was traveling. I switched it back to Messages. That changed nothing, I still can't send text messages to non-Apple recipients from my Mac.
Both Macs can only receive texts from non-Apple devices, but send & receive to & from any iPhones. I have a single Apple account that is shown for all 3 devices. "Text Message Forwarding" in my iPhone shows the mini as "On", and it lists my MacBook Air as (my previous) MacBook Pro, and that switch is on (I've toggled it on & off & on again). As these devices text fine with iPhones, and both RECEIVE all texts, regardless of the sender being a non-Apple device, there's no reason to surmise that the problem originates with a lack of a shared Apple account, or a lack of connection between the Macs and the iPhone. I have updated to Tahoe 26.5.2 on both Macs, and the problem persists.
Thanks for your advice. I have checked each of the settings you listed, before and again after reading this, and they're all correct. I would think that not having all of these settings right would affect sending to iPhones as well as non-Apple devices. All of my previous messages to & from non-Apple devices remain on the screen, both on the macs and my iPhone. When the message from a Mac fails, red text reads: "Not Delivered" beneath, and the circled "!" appears next to the bubble. When I attempt to send, I can watch a very slow green progress line move below the name of the recipient (who's in my Contacts) at the top of the screen, and, after quite a while, the failure appears next to the message, and a banner appears in a corner of the screen proclaiming my failure. Clicking on the ! allows me to "try again", but that never works. As I recall, this was an occasional problem before Tahoe, but trying again always worked.
One weird thing - earlier today, I moved from the MacBook Air to my Mini to work on this problem. I opened "Message" and clicked on the friend whom I had tried to text on the MacBook. That message did not appear at the end of the string of previous messages. Then, after 5 minutes or more, it suddenly popped up. I checked my phone, but, it still was not visible there. After checking the phone, the failure message appeared on the Mini's screen.
Sending texts from Mac to non-Apple phones FAIL
