CANNOT send SMS or MMS in Messages

Hello Vicky Q,

The troubleshooting steps detailed below can help with getting SMS and MMS working on your Mac.

SMS requires an iPhone with iOS 8.1 and an activated carrier plan.
SMS works with any iOS device with iOS 8.1 and any Mac that supports Yosemite.

Check your settings

Check the following settings on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch:

• Go to Settings > Wi-Fi and turn on Wi-Fi if necessary.
• Make sure your iOS devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network by going to Settings > Wi-Fi and comparing the name of the network each is on.
• Go to Settings > Bluetooth and turn on Bluetooth if necessary.
• Go to Settings > General > Handoff & Suggested Apps and make sure Handoff is on.
• Go to Settings > Phone. If you see Wi-Fi Calling, turn it off.

Check the following settings on your Mac:

• Go to the Wi-Fi icon at the top of your screen and turn on Wi-Fi if necessary.
• Make sure your Mac and iOS devices are connected to the same Wi-Fi network. Go to Settings > Wi-Fi on your iOS device and compare the name of the network with the Wi-Fi network on your Mac.
• Go to the Bluetooth icon at the top of your screen and turn on Bluetooth if necessary.
• In System Preferences > General, select “Allow Handoff between this Mac and your iCloud devices.” If you don't see this setting, your Mac may not support Handoff.
• Open the FaceTime app, go to FaceTime > Preferences and turn on “iPhone Cellular Calls.”
• Go to System Preferences, and sign out and then sign in again to your iCloud account.

Get help using Continuity with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite
http://support.apple.com/en-us/TS5458

Cheers,

Allen

vpqmom,

Thank you for using the Apple Support Community. Due to the nature of your issue or question you may find more information by using another one of Apple's support resources - https://getsupport.apple.com/GetproductgroupList.action.

All my best,

Allen

Hi,

Check the iPhone Settings

In Messages > Send and receive is the iPhone number still ticked ?

(It can lose this tick even though it is not editable by the user and will leave you just using the Apple ID)

If that is OK is it still doing Text Forwarding ?

If this looks OK but is not working then I would turn it Off.

I would then place the iPhone in Airplane Mode for a few mins.

Then turn the Text Forwarding back on and enter the new code the Mac generates in Messages on the Mac.

(Basically reset the Text Forwarding option)

8:45 pm Friday; November 14, 2014

Hi,

Can I just check ?

You do mean the two forms of text Messages that an iPhone can still do if you turn Off iMessages in the App's settings on the iPhone ?

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multimedia_Messaging_Service

To Quote the first paragraph

Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content to and from mobile phones. It extends the core SMS (Short Message Service) capability that allowed exchange of text messages only up to 160 characters in length.

Or do you meant that it is also not doing iMessages as well and not doing SMS ones ?
The Messages app has had the iMessages account that send iMessages since Mountain Lion was released.

iMessages can be sent to any Apple Device that is set up for iMessages.

Up until Yosemite and iOS 8 this meant only the iPhone could send SMS/MMS messages as an alternative to non Apple phones (or to other iPhones not using or out of range of being able to use iMessages).

9:20 pm Saturday; November 15, 2014

Hi,

Up to Lion which had iChat 6 what you say about which app did what is true.

At Mountain Lion the App on the Mac became Messages.

This added the iMessages account. (You used your Apple ID for this).

This could then iMessage to Macs with an iMessages account or an iOS device such as an iPhone.

Basically a piece of iOS software was added to the iChat App and the name was changed.

iMessages gets talked about in terms of a type of Message, the account type and the Service run by Apple for iPhone, iPads and Macs and some iPod touch devices.

So... Macs and iOS devices can iMessage

The iOS version on the iPhone could send iMessages to Apple devices (with iMessages accounts) or if the device was either not in range to do iMessages or was an non Apple phone it could send SMS/MMS messages.

By the time we get to Yosemite (OS X 10.10) and iOS 8.0 on the iPhone then the ability to link to SMS/MMS messages from the Mac is added as an ability of the iMessages login.

The devices are paired by enabling "Text Forwarding" on the setting on the iPhone > Setting > Messages which in turn triggers a slide out on the Mac which shows you a code number to enter back on the iPhone.

The Messages app can still do all the things that iChat could do as far as connections an Chats are concerned (iChat Theatre has gone from Video chats and the interfaces have been changed somewhat and Text Formatting has gone).

If you mean since the 7th November the app has sent no messages of any sort I still need to be certain of which type of Account it is.

If it is an AIM chat it will say in the text field of the chat

Or iMessage

However the AIM service also allows SMS forwarding to specific carriers in the United States as iChat could always also do.

I have a spoof "Buddy" in my AIM Buddy List that is a phone number

You have to add the +1 to the number (the app will format them for you)

So in certain circumstances the Messages app can now send SMS/MMS messages two different ways - via iMessages with a paired iPhone or the previous "iChat Way" using an AIM Buddy list.

However this is recent (since the iOS 8 release once you have Yosemite) and if you have been doing it "for years" you have been using the AIM method.

I would try dis-Enabling any AIM account you have in the Messages menu > Preferences > Accounts and then Quit the app.

On Restarting the app re-enable the account.

If you want to change use of a Contacts or Buddy's phone Number to iMessages rather than AIM then you need to change the set up in their Address Card in the Contacts app as the phone number may be listed a Buddy and not a Contact (iMessages) option.

10:02 pm Sunday; November 16, 2014

Users first navigate to Settings > Messages on an iPhone running iOS 8.1, which was released earlier on Monday as a free over-the-air update. A new option called "Text Message Forwarding" appears just below iMessage toggle switch, with the text, "Allow your iPhone text messages to also be sent and received on other devices signed in to your iMessage account."

Hi,

Your post is dated the 24th July 2015.

It is nearly 8 months after this thread was started.

Also iOS 8.4 has been released for some time now (end of June/1st July depending on your relative position to the international date line).

7:44 p.m. Friday; July 24, 2015

ugh first version I tried to type disappeared when I was interrupted. Anyway here's round two:

Messages on the Mac will appear as though it's attempting to send an SMS and then fail, with the exclamation point and not delivered written below. Maybe Apple can change the way this looks so it doesn't appear as though there is an issue with the software since it's behaving as expected.

Go on your iPhone, hit Settings then Messages. Make sure Text Message Forwarding is turned on like Jeferz said.

Problem solved!

P.S. Thanks Jeferz, that was driving me nuts for a while!