How can you switch between text message and iMessage on a specific contact?

Ok i had to sign in just to reply to this post since i felt bad cuz i spend alot of time looking for the same answer. Anyway this worked for me and i tested it one again before writing.

I had similar situation where i couldnt imessage my girlfriend but that message being important i didnot care just send it as text.

Next thing i know my phone started sending all msgs as text and not imessage.

To cut long story short the way you can go back from text to imessage is go open your conversation with that person, scroll all the way up in the conversatiion, click facetime and hangup (you do not have to facetime with the person its like a sec and hangup before they get an invite) this way your iphone tries to facetime and understands that the other user is an iphone user and changes from text message to imessage. Works for me let me know if it does for you tooo.

HERE IS THE FIX!!!!!

I was sending imessages to my girlfriend last night just fine and all of a sudden my messages to her switched to "Text Messages." I thought it was a network issue so I tried to imessage another iPhone user and still message was being sent as "Text Message."

HERE IS THE FIX!!!:

Open the message thread. Within the message thread, click Edit in the top right corner. Place a dot next to EACH TEXT MESSAGE within the message thread. Click Delete. Do this for any other iphone message threads that have switched from iMessage to Text message. When you've deleted the Text messages from within the iMessage threads, this should automatically switch you back to iMessages...

So I started a message thing, orwhatever you call it, with my dad and we both had an Apple devices, but it was classified as a Text Message, but all my other friends I had messages with was all iMessage. So I was trying to figure out how to change it back to iMessage. And then I figured it out! (This might not be your problem, but it was for me.)

So, basically I went to Settings and scrolled down to Messages and I turned on iMessages. That's all! (I had to do this for my dad's phone, cause for some reason iMessages was turned off.) I hope this helps! 🙂

Hey everyone, it's so simple to disable it on enable it, just go the the Setting, then Messages, after that switch off the iMessage which is the first one.🙂

Hey, to resolve this: just touch the phone icon, touch the contacts tab, select desired contact, go to the bottom of the page and push on send message >> to send as imessage: click on the e-mail address (if there is no email you have to add one) to send as sms click on the number. P.S. : if you click on the number and it takes you to send as an imessage>> send it, then hold the message bubble and then select "send as text message". KEEP IN MIND IMESSAGE SHOULD BE ALWAYS ON !! that's all.🙂

This is what I understand about iMessage...

When you turn iMessage for a particular iDevice on or off, you are registering/unregistering that unique hardware with apple's servers.

As long as there is still at least 1 "registered" iDevice for a given AppleID, the Send button will always be blue on all other iDevices attemping to send a text message to said "registered" AppleID.

The way to prevent issues when discarding an iMessage-enabled iDevice is to turn off iMessage BEFORE turning off or discarding the iDevice.

If you haven't, you'll want to find the old iDevice, sign in as your AppleID and turn iMessage off. If for some reason iMessage is already in the off state, turn it on and then back off.

It appears the process is completely automatic and dependant on whether both sender and receiver have iMessage enabled. I had some trouble last night when my phone would not send an iMessage and asked if I wanted to send a text message instead. I did. About 20 minutes later it automatically switched back to iMessage. I am not sure if it was a server problem or if the person on the other side temporarily disabled the service. Hopefully your problem resolved itself.

This is a bug. Many of my friends upgraded to iOS5 but later left iPhone for Samsung Galaxy 2S, I continue to see them on iMessage and I need to click "Switch for iMessage to text" everytime manually . It doesn't make any sense and I have no choice but now turn off iMessage on my iPhone until Apple can find a workaround.

Wil from HK, your posting makes NO sense. Considering iOS 5 and iMessage were just released last week, if find it highly unusual that your friends have switched in that short a period of time.

If it is in fact true, verify in the contact settings for those friends that their numbers are listed as "mobile" and not "iPhone".

I do not think the designation in contacts has any effect. My daughter has just purchased her first iPhone. Her number is designated mobile in my contact list, but I can reach her by iMessage. I do remember the first time I texted her, my phone had to check the server to she if she was "listed". I suspect that once you are listed as iMessage capable, Apple assumes you always will be.

In Settings - Messages there is a toggle to turn on SMS. iMessage only works between iOS 5 users, essentially only between those with iPhones. It automatically detects whetther the person you're texting has an iPhone on iOS 5, if not then it automatically sends the message through the SMS system of your cell phone carrier.The reason you got that message to "Switch for iMessage to SMS" was probably because you have that SMS toggle switch off in settings. Once you make sure both iMessage and the SMS switch are on it will automatically do this and you should not see that message again.

Diesel vdub, your comment on me was making no sense as well because this communities platform is to exchange user experience but not to make any judgement which turned out without any ground.

I continue to iMessage to Android users who have activated iOS5 before, but the blue balloon will turn into sms in green after 20 seconds automatically. So, Apple is going to penalize every users who switch out of iPhone for 20 seconds delay on text.

Wil from HK - I can confirm the issue you are having and it is with the Galaxy S2.

The person I was texting upgraded to IOS 5 on his 3GS but something went wrong and the phone fried. He was looking for a reason to go back to TMobile and his parents plan anyways.

So two days later he has a Galaxy S2 on TMobile. When he texts me - it receives but with delay and when I send the phone assumes it is still iMessage and attempts to send through that network. After 30 seconds to a minute the message finally goes through with a status message 'Sent as Text Message'.

I can find no option to change the iMessage setting on a per contact basis. From what I can remember - he was not able to send me an iMessage prior to his phone dying so I am assuming that somehow the phone number or contact was pre-tagged as being another iPhone user even before the IOS 5 upgrade.

I haven't found a way to switch on a single contact, but you can switch on a per-conversation basis. Here's how:

1) Send a regular iMessage.

2) After you hit "send", touch and hold on the message balloon for the outgoing message.

3) When the popup menu comes up, select "Send as text message."

Once you've done that, it seems to remember that setting, at least for the next few messages.

Noticed that if you are connected via IP behind a firewall with no connection to internet the imessage does not switch to sms.

Also sender on other side is not offered send via sms in such situation.

Seems like a but to me.