Can the iPhone 7 send normal text messages?

Hi,

I'm a new owner of an iPhone 7 Plus. I have a quick question. I've just sent a text message to someone, but lost confidence in knowing if that message got sent or not.

Question 1:

Can iPhones send text messages to any phone - such as android phones?

Question 2:

Is the default configuration of the iPhone 7 Plus such that sending text messages to any phone is possible? Or, would one need to adjust something in the settings of the iPhone in order to send a text message to non-iPhone compatible devices?

Question 3:

I've just sent something from the iPhone 7 Plus using "Messages" to an Android phone (default configuration). Will this message get delivered or would the recipient need an iPhone?

Thanks for reading!

David

MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Mar 17, 2017 9:58 AM

18 replies

Phil0124

Level 10

216,944 points

Mar 17, 2017 11:02 AM in response to silver_mica

If the messages are green, then they were sent as SMS from the iPhone. At that point the iPhone is done, as its handed the messages to your carrier to deliver. How they are received is a different matter altogether, and has nothing to do with the iPhone.

You still haven't explained what exactly you mean by "received as an email". What exactly happens with those?

Its entirely possible the recipient's carrier has a service that will email undeliverable SMS messages. But again this would be the recipient's carrier doing it, not your iPhone.

As long as the messages show a green background in your iPhone, then they were sent as SMS. You cannot control the delivery method beyond that.

Phil0124

Level 10

216,944 points

Mar 17, 2017 11:30 AM in response to silver_mica

Just to close it out, as far as your iPhone is concerned all those messages were sent as SMS. There's nothing more you can do from your side.

Once sent, again, your iPhone has nothing to do with how they are delivered. It would appear Verizon is delivering them as an email for whichever reason.

Again this has nothing to do with your iPhone, and would likely be happening with any other phone you would be using just the same.

Your recipient would need to contact Verizon and ask why they are being delivered as emails rather than SMS.

Mar 17, 2017 11:36 AM in response to silver_mica

This person you're sending to is on Sprint aren't they?

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Can the iPhone 7 send normal text messages?