how do I use iMessage without a sim card

Meg is correct here.

Apple's documentation is using unclear wording for the situation. I'm sure they're trying to simplify things, but that can make everything a little hazy sometimes if the wording is bad.

The Messages app is used for sending iMessages (blue bubble, between iOS devices) as well as SMS texts (green bubble, non-iOS devices/users not using iMessage).

This article shows the difference between the two: Use Messages with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support

Note where it says "To use SMS/MMS, you need a text-messaging plan. Contact your carrier for more information."

Sending messages to Android users, Windows phone users, and iPhone users who are not using iMessage requires a text messaging plan, unless you are using another app to send such messages.

This post from Texas Mac Man over in the iPad forum has some info for sending texts from iPads (scroll to the lower portion of the post). This may be of use to you with your son's phone. My iPad won't send text messages??

~Lyssa

Skype works without a phone number.

Hitthetarget2 wrote:

Not willing to give in yet. I keep looking at the Apple documentation for the iPod touch, which seems to indicate that it can use iMessage for sending texts.

Then I think you're misunderstanding something that you're reading. I'm not trying to be rude or anything but, in order to send a text over SMS, you need to have a cellular voice connection.

Just some points of clarification: There is no app called "iMessage". The app is called "Messages" and, on the iPhone, sends both SMS (standard old text messages) and iMessages (to other Apple devices). An iPhone can send both SMS and iMessages because it has both a cellular data and a cellular voice connection. The iPod cannot be used to send SMS (without some sort of third party app), because it doesn't have a cellular voice connection.

Larry's recommendation of Skype is excellent.

Hitthetarget2 wrote:

we cannot get iMessage to work correctly. It can send text messages to other iPhones, but cannot seem to send them to non-apple iPhones. We thought it might be a proprietary issued that Apple created intentionally, so we have tried to find alternative text apps (Whatsapp, next+), but have had no luck setting these up without a phone number (and we don't have one for him - it "went" to the new iPhone 6 when we upgraded).

It sound as if Messages (the app) is working correctly. iMessages only work between iPhones, iPads, Mac computers and iPods. SMS messages, the ones to non-iPhones, require a cellular voice connections, something the phone you gave your phone no longer has. This would be true of any phone, whether it's an iPhone, Android or basic phone. Without a cellular voice connection, no SMS. So, this has nothing to do with Apple preventing you from using something.

Most of the kinds of apps you're talking about, as you've discovered, require a phone number. You might try Facebook messenger. It doesn't allow SMS messages but, it's quite possible that a lot of your sons friends have access to it. I don't think that it requires a phone number.

I'm all for simplification, but, sometimes, companies take that a little too far, and it gets tough to explain how stuff is supposed to work when the terms I want to use don't match what the company has chosen.

Hopefully this has helped some.

And Merry Christmas 🙂

~Lyssa

Lawrence Finch wrote:

Skype works without a phone number.

I knew I was missing something important! Still waiting for the coffee to brew!

Lyssa phrased it all much more nicely than I did. 🙂