jphil7747

Q: How do I get imessage to send SMS texts to non iphone users?

I have read that I can use imessage to send and receive regulr SMS text messages to non iphone users; but, I can't seem to make it work.  When I try to enter a mobile number of a non iphone user in the new text address bar and send anSMS text the adressee turns red and I get the following message:

 

Your message could not be sent.

4342496xxx is not registered with iMessage.

 

Does anyone have a suggestion? I've checked my preferences and any articles I could find but so far I can't find anything that helps.  Thanks.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.1)

Posted on Oct 7, 2012 1:08 PM

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Q: How do I get imessage to send SMS texts to non iphone users?

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  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Oct 17, 2014 1:34 PM in response to Marshall Brown
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Oct 17, 2014 1:34 PM in response to Marshall Brown

    Hi Marshall,

     

    Please note whilst your info may be correct now it will not work  for these posters two years ago when they were using Mountain Lion and Messages 7 or 7.0.1

     

    It still does not apply to these versions even if the iPhone is updated to iOS 8

     

    Messages 7.x.x remain with the old iChat method  (the item was in iChat 3 through 6 as shown by my pic above).

    That is you must have an AIM account.

    The phone number MUST be in the United States on specific Carriers and you need to add the phone Number like it was a Buddy to the Buddy list whilst adding a leading +1 to the number.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:34 pm      Friday; October 17, 2014

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad
  • by louspringer,

    louspringer louspringer Oct 24, 2014 10:54 AM in response to Marshall Brown
    Level 1 (0 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 24, 2014 10:54 AM in response to Marshall Brown

    Marshall's response is more relevant to me; I do not use AIM. I have also been unable to get the method he references to work as advertised: properly configured, I read the doc Marshall is talking about to say that SMS through your phone should be supported by iMessage on your Mac. It does not indicate that that the number you are trying to SMS must be registered to iMessage, which is identical to the pre iOS 8 behavior. I wonder if it's a carrier related issue?

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Oct 24, 2014 1:04 PM in response to louspringer
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Oct 24, 2014 1:04 PM in response to louspringer

    Hi,

     

    On the iPhone > Settings > Messages Enable the Text Forwarding option.  (iOS 8.1)

    It will then put up a Dialogue Box waiting for  a number

     

    The App on the Mac will start if closed  but  slide should also appear from the top of the Main Messages window with the Number to "Pair" the apps. (Yosemite)

    Add the number shown to the iPhone.

     

    You should now be good to go.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:04 pm      Friday; October 24, 2014

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad
  • by louspringer,

    louspringer louspringer Oct 24, 2014 3:11 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (0 points)
    iPhone
    Oct 24, 2014 3:11 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    That did it. I needed to update to iOS 8.1

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Oct 25, 2014 11:40 AM in response to louspringer
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Oct 25, 2014 11:40 AM in response to louspringer

    Glad to help.

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    7:40 pm      Saturday; October 25, 2014

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad
  • by Skystutts,

    Skystutts Skystutts Nov 10, 2014 5:45 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 10, 2014 5:45 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    I updated all my devices to iOS 8.1 and my iMac to OS X Yosemite 10.10. After I did this, I started receiving Calls (they came in as Face Time Audio) and text (SMS) messages on my iMac. I was thrilled about the text (not so much the calls).

    However, as of a couple of days ago this all stopped. I followed the above directions but when I get to text message forwarding, turn it on and the window comes up asking for a number, my iMac doesn't generate a number. Can you assist?

  • by Skystutts,

    Skystutts Skystutts Nov 10, 2014 6:06 AM in response to Skystutts
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Nov 10, 2014 6:06 AM in response to Skystutts

    Update:

    This information from PlutoPrime solved my problem.

     

    I "De-selected" iMessage. Selected it again, it asked me if I wanted to use my Cell # with iMessage and Face Time. I then selected text forwarding and my iMac generated a number. Problem solved.

     

    PlutoPrime

    Posted: 3 weeks ago

    I think this article is inaccurate and it simply states a workaround that happens to work...

     

    I had the same problem described in the article, and all I had to do was sign out of iMessages app on my iPhone and sign back in. After signing in, I still had a checkbox next to my phone number and I was able to receive the verification number on my Mac.

    Rating: 2 Votes

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Nov 10, 2014 12:36 PM in response to Skystutts
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Nov 10, 2014 12:36 PM in response to Skystutts

    Thanks for the extra info.

     

     

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:36 pm      Monday; November 10, 2014

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad
  • by CoryMelichar,

    CoryMelichar CoryMelichar Jun 11, 2015 3:06 PM in response to jphil7747
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2015 3:06 PM in response to jphil7747

    The better way to do this is to go into your phone settings on your iPhone, go do messages, then go to Text Message Forwarding, then select your computer and it should work. You also have to make sure that you're logged into the same iCloud account for iMessage on both your iPhone and your Mac.

     

     

    It worked for me!

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Jun 12, 2015 12:11 PM in response to CoryMelichar
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Jun 12, 2015 12:11 PM in response to CoryMelichar

    Hi,

     

    You will have noticed that this Thread started in Oct 2012 long before Yosemite And iOS 8 ever saw the light of day let alone the market place.
    It even pre-dates iCloud as an option.

     

    This means that in relation to the Original Question the answer is useless.

     

    Secondly the Question has also been Marked as Solved/Correct to one of the replies at a point not long after the Original Post.

     

    It does appear that others have spotted the title and added further responses that are much later and also miss the point  (The AIM Account can do SMS to US based Phones on some carriers).

     

    Please take more care when responding.

     

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:10 p.m.      Friday; June 12, 2015

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad
  • by sidielazhari,

    sidielazhari sidielazhari Aug 22, 2015 10:32 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 22, 2015 10:32 AM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    1- Go to your iPhone

     

    2- Go to: Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding

     

    3- Make sure that you are signed into both your iPhone and your Mac using the same apple ID

     

    4- Your Mac should appear under "Text Message Forwarding"

     

    5- Enter the authorization code from your Mac into your iPhone

     

    This should resolve the issue of sending SMS through iMessage on your Mac.

     

    Good luck!

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Aug 22, 2015 1:27 PM in response to sidielazhari
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Aug 22, 2015 1:27 PM in response to sidielazhari

    Hi,

     

    I will point out the things again.

     

    This Thread was started in 2012.

    It is also posted in Mountain Lion which Means iChat 6

     

    At the time only the iPhone could send SMS.

     

    Therefore the question is in the wrong forum/Community (technically) and has been answered anyway.

     

    Info (even incorrect info that misses the linking of the Mac and iPhone for Handoff and  Continuity needed before the other setting and being on the same LAN) is not helpful (to THIS question).

     

    Your info (if correct will only answer a similar Question On a Mac in 4 (THAT'S FOUR) OS versions ahead (or after depending on your viewpoint) of this Community.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    9:27 p.m.      Saturday; August 22, 2015

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad
  • by abbs9908,

    abbs9908 abbs9908 Dec 17, 2015 5:53 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 17, 2015 5:53 PM in response to Ralph Johns (UK)

    This helped! Thanks!

  • by Ralph Johns (UK),

    Ralph Johns (UK) Ralph Johns (UK) Dec 19, 2015 12:47 PM in response to abbs9908
    Level 9 (73,087 points)
    Applications
    Dec 19, 2015 12:47 PM in response to abbs9908

    Good to hear.

     

     

    3Sigcopy2.png

    8:47 pm      Saturday; December 19, 2015

     

      iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Mavericks 10.9)
     G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
     MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
     Mac OS X (10.6.8),
     Couple of iPhones and an iPad
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