SMS relay works without wifi and bluetooth

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SMS relay works without wifi and bluetooth

I have an MBA and an iPhone 5s. usually i connect to the same wifi network at home and at work, which helps me to use the continuity feature of call and sms relay. however i was out for a mtng, n didn't have a wifi to which i cud connect. as a result i cudnt make calls from my MBA. However the sms relay was working just fine with both bluetooth and wifi off and just a dial up internet connectivity on. FYI i checked if only iMessages were being delivered, but even sms' were getting sent and delivered

How is this possible? Does this mean my sms' are travelling to apple's servers and then being relayed to my phone over its data network and then to the recipient over the telephone network? and vice-versa?

iPhone 5s, iOS 8.1

Posted on Nov 3, 2014 10:26 PM

Reply

Answer 1

AppleJoe

Community Manager

Nov 6, 2014 6:59 AM in response to rohanpokhare

Hi rohanpokhare,

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!

SMS with Continuity works with a Text Message Forwarding feature from your iPhone. If you would like the devices not to communicate using the SMS with Continuity feature you can turn off Text Message Forwarding. Please refer the the SMS section in the attached article for further information.

Connect your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Mac using Continuity - Apple Support

To use Continuity for SMS and MMS on your iPad, iPod touch, and Mac:

Update your iPhone to iOS 8.1 (when available).

Enable iMessage on your Mac and iOS devices.

On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages and turn on Text Message Forwarding.

Your iPad, iPod touch, or Mac will display a code you can enter on your iPhone to verify the SMS and MMS feature.

Best regards,

Joe

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Answer 2

crdub09

Level 1

0 points

Feb 23, 2015 11:52 AM in response to AppleJoe

I too am interested in how this works as sometimes the forwarding feature works and sometimes it doesn't when I have wifi and Bluetooth turned off. Joe_7399 didn't even read your question, so I'm assuming it was a bot response. Would be great if someone could explain which protocol these features use! Thanks.

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Answer 3

Mar 28, 2015 11:02 AM in response to AppleJoe

This is all correct, but didn't answer the question. The question is, how the iPhone can send a SMS without being in the same network or a connection with bluetooth.

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Answer 4

Apr 14, 2015 5:45 AM in response to rohanpokhare

My understanding is that the 6-digit code you enter is a (very simple) symmetric key to encrypt the messages, but they do definitely pass through Apple's servers, as they are relayed by iMessage. A 6-digit numeric symmetric key is also too simple to be remotely secure.

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