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Force SMS for a recipient in iMessage

On macOS 10.13, I have a recipient who is not receiving iMessages from Message.app, but he does receive my SMS texts from my phone. When I view the Messages window on macOS, he never gets the responses that are in blue, but he does get the ones that are in green. Unfortunately, I cannot send a green message (i.e. via SMS) using Messages. I have to use my iPhone for him to get any responses.


How can I force Messages to send SMS's to this recipient instead of iMessages?

MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, 4 TBT3), macOS Sierra (10.12.5)

Posted on Feb 28, 2018 4:31 PM

Reply
29 replies

Mar 1, 2018 1:30 AM in response to pumpichank

Text forwarding should help:


Send text messages to anyone from your Mac

If you have an iPhone with an active cellular plan, you can set up Messages to send and receive SMS and MMS messages from your Mac. Such messages don't require the recipient to be using iMessage or an Apple device.

  1. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive. Add a check to your phone number and email address.
  2. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding, then choose to allow your Mac to send and receive text messages from this iPhone.
  3. Check your Mac for a verification code, then enter that code on your iPhone.

To get all of your iMessage and SMS/MMS messages on all of your Apple devices, you can set up the SMS and MMS feature of Continuity.

User uploaded file

Learn more

  • To learn more about Messages, choose Messages Help from the Help menu in Messages.
  • If you get an error when trying to sign in to iMessage, learn what to do.

User uploaded file

Mar 1, 2018 2:02 PM in response to pumpichank

Umm,


I think you have all the info in the previous Posts but may be a run though might help.


I have not spotted if you have said the other person is using an iPhone.


Lets start with your iPhone.

You can turn the app On and it will, after verifying the iPhone Number (Register) be able to send iMessages to iPhone Numbers (that are also registered) or to Apple IDs that are registered.

Apple IDs can be used on Macs, iPads and some iPod Touch devices.


Then you can elect to turn On SMS when the iPhone will send SMS to non iPhones or to iPhone that are not registered with iMessages (as a service) when the app thinks it cannot send an iMessage.


So already you have lost some control as the app decides if the iPhone at the other end can receive iMessages.

Whilst the other end might be registered it might not be able to Login due to the wrong type of Carrier Service, lack of WiFi service or simply being without power.

All of these may generate an Error messages that reads "Not Registered with iMessages".


The Mac.

Next you can add/register an Apple ID on your Mac.

This allows that device to send iMessages to any ID that is registered be it Apple ID or iPhone Number.

The Mac version cannot be set to send SMS from the Mac version - it requires the steps that follow.


Linking Apple ID and iPhone Number for iMessages

Next in Send and Receive on the iPhone > Settings > Messages > Send and Receive you can add the Apple ID.

This causes a Pop up on the Mac version that you should accept.

This Links the Apple ID on the Mac and the iPhone Number on the iPhone.

On the iPhone both are seen in Send and Receive.

On the Mac version they both Appear in the Receive At list and make the "Start Conversations from..." drop down to appear.


On both devices you can then set the ID for Start Conversations From.

It can be the same on both of they can remain the lead ID fro each device (iPhone Number on iPhone and Apple ID on Mac).


There can be issues though if you deselect either ID from the Receive At or Send and Receive options.

his can break the link between iPhone Number and Apple ID.


Linking the two devices for SMS.

This requires that you have done all of the above steps.

You also need to have the iPhone join you Network, normally by WiFi.

Then you go to Text Forwarding on the iPhone and turn it On.

This should generate a 6 digit code that appear on the Mac.

Entering that code back on the iPhone will link the two for SMS.

You can add other devices by going back to Text Forwarding and picking the other devices and entering the code that they produce.


This makes the iPhone "Share" it's connection to the Carrier over your LAN/WiFi network.

The Mac should see SMS messages arriving on the iPhone and be able to Send replies from the Mac.

You may find that the first reply may need to be Sent for the iPhone.


Here again the iPhone decides if it can send the SMS even if it is passing on what came from the Mac.



I do realise that this might come across as trying to teach a grandmother to suck eggs but sometimes laying it out as simply as possible seems to be the way to go.






User uploaded file

10:02 pm Thursday; March 1, 2018


​  iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

Mar 3, 2018 12:27 PM in response to pumpichank

Humm,



As far as I am aware no telephone carrier service, in any country, has ever used a form of Notification that a Text Message (SMS) has even been delivered.


The Messages app on the iPhone (and those iPads with SIM Cards) can tell if the item cannot go as an iMessages.

There is a connection to the server, similar to Buddy Lists in other Services like Jabber or AIM or Yahoo, where the app gets feedback about who is on line.

Anyone who is Off Line for whatever reason generates the "Not Registered at iMessages" alert.

However if you have SMS on then the item will be sent to any number, as whether it exists or not is never checked.


The app itself tries it's best to deliver whatever you typed.


If you don't know what your Contact needs in terms of the delivery method it is hardly the App's fault.

I find it difficult to see that as a Bug.


If the Mac version is not connecting to the iPhone for any SMS item then you will need to check and possible reset the Link between the iPhone and the Mac.

This might be different Apple IDs on each device,

The iPhone not being on the same WiFi network as your Mac,

Continuity or Handoff not being set.

Or Text Forwarding not even being set.


If it is only to this one Contact then it can be very difficult to pin down particularly if you don't even know if they have an iPhone or even SMS service.


Keep us up to date on the Bug report if you get any feedback.




User uploaded file

8:27 pm Saturday; March 3, 2018


​  iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

Mar 5, 2018 1:29 PM in response to pumpichank

Hi,


You said you did not know if the Contact had an iPhone or not.

That implies that even if they did have an iPhone it is not registered with iMessages.


SMS cannot be sent to Apple IDs or any other non phone number ID.


If you are relying on the "To" spot on the Mac and it's equivalent on the iPhone rather than th actual Addressed info then you will continue to tie yourself in knots.



User uploaded file

9:29 pm Monday; March 5, 2018


​  iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

Mar 5, 2018 3:53 PM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Ralph Johns (UK) wrote:


Hi,


You said you did not know if the Contact had an iPhone or not.

That implies that even if they did have an iPhone it is not registered with iMessages.


SMS cannot be sent to Apple IDs or any other non phone number ID.


If you are relying on the "To" spot on the Mac and it's equivalent on the iPhone rather than th actual Addressed info then you will continue to tie yourself in knots.



User uploaded file

9:29 pm Monday; March 5, 2018


​  iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

The use case is:


* Recipient had an iPhone registered with their Apple ID

* I send them a message via Messages.app, which gets sent via iMessage

* Some time later, the recipient transfers their phone number to a new, non-Apple phone, but does not deregister the phone number with their Apple ID

* I send them a message via Messages.app, which gets sent via iMessage but never delivered to the phone


The problem is that after the last step, there's currently nothing I can do to force Messages.app on macOS to send them an SMS instead an iMessage. It assumes that the recipient will deregister the transported phone number. That's a bad assumption and very often does not happen, either because the recipient doesn't know how to do that, no longer has access to their Apple ID, or doesn't care.

Mar 6, 2018 1:08 PM in response to pumpichank

Hi,


John Galt has already posted the link on how your Contact can remove their iPhone from the iMessages login.

Deregister and Turn Off iMessage - Apple Support


In my first reply there is this paragraph:-

This makes the iPhone "Share" it's connection to the Carrier over your LAN/WiFi network.

The Mac should see SMS messages arriving on the iPhone and be able to Send replies from the Mac.

You may find that the first reply may need to be Sent for the iPhone.

with the line I have made bold and Italic.


So with this info and the ability to send SMS from your iPhone - which if the Mac and iPhone are linked for SMS/Text Forwarding - will get you to a point where the Mac version will do SMS.


Whilst the ability to start this from the Mac version seems implied when Setting up Text (SMS) Forwarding between the Mac and iPhone, it is the way it is.


Whilst this page is outdated it does give you a free text area where you can put in a request for a function change or enhancement.

Feedback - Messages - Apple


I would put your Mac Version Number and the Messages version number in the free text area as the lower drop downs are still in the iChat format and therefore effectively useless.





User uploaded file

9:08 pm Tuesday; March 6, 2018


​  iMac 2.5Ghz i5 2011 (Sierra)
 G4/1GhzDual MDD (Leopard 10.5.8)
 MacBookPro 2Gb (Snow Leopard 10.6.8)
 Mac OS X (10.6.8),
 iPhone 6 iOS 11.x and an iPad (2)

Mar 1, 2018 4:41 AM in response to pumpichank

For some reason that recipient is unable to receive iMessages sent from your Mac. If other iMessage users are receiving them, then it is not something you can fix. The recipient has to do that on the iOS device account registered with Apple's iMessage service.


Have him or her follow these instructions: If you can't send or receive messages on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support. The relevant passage is "If you see a green message bubble."


If those iMessages are being received on the iOS device but are not being forwarded to the Mac, then read and follow Use Continuity to connect your Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple Watch - Apple Support.


This may also be helpful: About iMessage and SMS/MMS - Apple Support.

Mar 1, 2018 9:21 AM in response to John Galt

Thanks. You say "If other iMessage users are receiving them, then it is not something you can fix. The recipient has to do that on the iOS device account registered with Apple's iMessage service." but I'm pretty sure the recipient no longer has access to the iOS device or that account. I can't believe that *I* have no control over how *my* Messages.app sends messages to my recipients!

Mar 1, 2018 7:21 PM in response to John Galt

See, the problem is that I don't know if the other person has an iPhone or not, or used to but no longer does, or whatever. All I know is that he never gets messages I send to him via Messages.app, but he does get texts from my phone. I've seen this before, and to be honest, I think this is a misfeature of Messages. My recipients shouldn't control whether I send them an iMessage or an SMS, I should control that.


But I really do appreciate the links and the answers. Clearly, Messages is working the way it's intended, I just don't think that it's very useful to work that way! So I think the next step is to file a bug with Apple, though I don't have much hope of this being changed.

Mar 1, 2018 7:29 PM in response to pumpichank

There's another reason why this misfeature is broken: there's absolutely no indication either to me or to my recipient that they are not getting my messages. To me, it looks like they were sent and my recipient is just ignoring me. My recipient doesn't know he isn't getting my messages. So until we both get suspicious and communicate out of band, we're just in a world of misunderstandings.


I have filed bug #38052121 at bugreport.apple.com

Mar 5, 2018 10:06 AM in response to Ralph-Johns-UK

Ralph Johns (UK) wrote:



The Messages app on the iPhone (and those iPads with SIM Cards) can tell if the item cannot go as an iMessages.

This might be technically true, but in practice it is not. It's possible that the recipient still has an Apple account, but has no access to or memory of it. Then Messages.app thinks the message is delivered via iMessage, but it really isn't. And here I'm talking about the user experience. If the recipient doesn't get the message, and neither he nor I can tell that that's the case, then it's broken. If I want to force an SMS delivery just for this recipient, Messages.app does not give me this ability. That is the fundamental bug here.

Mar 7, 2018 4:14 AM in response to pumpichank

This feature is not "broken". Mac products don't have the ability to natively send SMS because that's a protocol used by cellular carriers and devices, which your Mac does not connect to. Therefore, your Mac will always try imessage unless your recipient is not properly registered, AND, you have properly set up text message forwarding. Both of those must apply to send SMS messages from your Mac through your iPhone. The feature is working as intended, you just don't understand it's limitations.

Mar 7, 2018 1:01 PM in response to panchososa694

Oh, I understand how this works, and I don't doubt that it's working as designed, but I maintain that it's a misfeature.


For the record, let's assume my Mac and iPhone are set up correctly, and that from Messages.app I am able to send both iMessages to my recipients who have iPhones, and SMSes to my recipients who do not. All of that works great.


The misfeature is that I cannot choose to send SMSes to recipients who may at one time in the past have registered for iMessages. Only my recipient can choose that. It is a misfeature that I cannot control which medium my messages are sent by when both options are available to me.

Force SMS for a recipient in iMessage

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