Messages on Mac and iPad fail to send to Android users

Thanks — that narrows it down to the relay between each iPhone and its Mac/iPad. Since the iPhones themselves can send to Android users, the carrier side is working.

I’d try refreshing Text Message Forwarding on one setup first. On the iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Text Message Forwarding, turn the affected Mac or iPad off, restart both devices, then turn it back on. Apple specifically uses that setting to authorize a Mac or iPad to send SMS, MMS, and RCS through the iPhone. Forward text messages from your iPhone to other devices - Apple Support

Then send a new message to an Android number from the Mac/iPad.

If that fixes one pair, I’d do the same on the other. If both still show Not Delivered, especially after working for years, I’d avoid signing out of Messages for now and look next at whether Messages in iCloud is enabled consistently on the paired devices.

Since Text Message Forwarding is already enabled on both iPhones, I’d check one other setting before changing anything.

On each iPhone, go to Settings > Apps > Messages > Send & Receive and make sure the Apple Account there is the same one being used for Messages on that person’s Mac or iPad. Apple uses the iPhone to relay SMS, MMS, and RCS messages to the other devices.

Also, can each iPhone itself still send a green-bubble message to an Android phone? If the iPhone can’t send one either, that points more toward the carrier/RCS/SMS side than the Mac or iPad.

If the iPhone sends successfully but the Mac/iPad doesn’t, that would narrow this down quite a bit.

I wouldn’t read this as Apple pushing you away from the iPhone 12. The iPhone 12 is still officially supported by iOS 26.

Since both setups failed around the same time and the iPhones themselves can still message Android users, a software-related relay issue is certainly possible. Apple still documents Text Message Forwarding as the supported way for a Mac or iPad to send SMS, MMS, and RCS through the iPhone.

At this point, with the settings confirmed and the forwarding toggle already refreshed, I think you’ve done the useful user-side checks. I’d report the behavior to Apple and mention that it affects two separate iPhone-to-device pairs that stopped working at roughly the same time.

If you notice whether the failed Android messages are trying to go as RCS or plain SMS, that would also be worth including.

That’s useful to know. If SMS, MMS, and RCS all fail from both the Mac and iPad, while both iPhones can send them normally, I don’t think there’s much more worth changing on your end.

Apple still supports all three through Text Message Forwarding, and the iPhone 12 is supported by iOS 26.

Given that two separate setups started doing the same thing around the same time, I’d report it to Apple as a possible software issue rather than start signing out of accounts or resetting devices.

Thanks for testing all three — that helps narrow it down quite a bit.