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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

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29 replies

pumpichank Author

Level 1

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Mar 7, 2018 2:23 PM in response to John Galt

Nope, I fully understand all of that. I also understand that Messages.app is obviously working the way Apple intends it to work. I've done the best I can in explaining what I think is misfeatured in Messages.app, so I'll leave it at that.

Thanks to everyone who has participated on this thread.

pumpichank Author

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Mar 7, 2018 5:24 PM in response to panchososa694

To add on to John's succinct and accurate reply, Mac computers DO NOT have the hardware to send SMS messages. That's why you don't have the flexibility to choose the way you do on your iPhone. It's not a misfeature nor is it even technically an issue. You just want a device and piece of software to do something that it cannot, nor was it ever designed/intended to do.

Thanks for the reply. But then how does Messages.app on macOS send SMSes to recipients that have not registered their number with Apple? It must send those through the phone, right? That's why you sometimes see blue messages and sometimes see green messages (I use the mental association of "blue == bad" and "green == good" 🙂 ). I know this happens because I have recipients with Android phones and they definitely get my messages via SMS sent through Messages.app. It has to get sent through my iPhone.

At some point, Messages.app must be deciding, "do I send this via iMessages, or do I send this via SMS through the iPhone?" And if Messages.app is making that decision, then it should surface that decision through the U/I so I can make that decision explicitly.

I know Messages.app can send both an iMessage and an SMS, even if the latter must go through my iPhone. I know this to be the case because I've observe both behaviors every day. I have recipients with iPhones and Android phones and both can get the messages I author on Messages.app. So, when Messages.app wants to send an iMessage, why can't I say "no, instead please send this one via SMS through my iPhone"?

pumpichank Author

Level 1

27 points

Feb 28, 2018 10:19 PM in response to CountryGirl56

Thanks, but unless I'm missing something, it doesn't really help. I need Message.app to stop trying to iMessage this person and switch back to SMS.

pumpichank Author

Level 1

27 points

Mar 5, 2018 3:47 PM in response to pumpichank

Apple duped my bug report to 12671333 which of course means I'll never see the resolution of it. 🙂 But at least they do acknowledge that it's a problem.

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Mar 7, 2018 4:50 PM in response to pumpichank

No idea what a "misfeature" is but Macs cannot send SMS as has been previously stated. They do not have the supporting hardware.

pumpichank Author

Level 1

27 points

Mar 7, 2018 6:07 PM in response to panchososa694

Fair enough. But then my iPhone should give me that control. I should be able to go into Contacts and say "never try to iMessage this phone number".

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Mar 7, 2018 6:14 PM in response to pumpichank

Let Apple know what you think your iPhone should do…

Feedback - iPhone - Apple

pumpichank Author

Level 1

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Mar 7, 2018 6:19 PM in response to dialabrain

Oh, I have 😀

dialabrain

Level 10

136,127 points

Mar 7, 2018 6:22 PM in response to pumpichank

Then you've done all you can.

Mar 7, 2018 10:38 PM in response to pumpichank

At the end of the day, if you seek or need that level of granular control, then you hitched your wagon to the wrong ecosystem...

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.

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)

pumpichank Author

Level 1

27 points

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.

John Galt

Level 10

155,810 points

Mar 7, 2018 1:24 PM in response to pumpichank

You don't seem to grasp the fundamental concept that iMessage is an Apple service for Apple devices only. Conversely, SMS/MMS text messaging does not use Apple's iMessage service.

If the recipient's phone number is registered with Apple's iMessage service, and the recipient no longer wishes to use that service, then the recipient must de-register it. No one else may do that.

All those answers have already been provided to you in this Discussion.

Feb 28, 2018 4:38 PM in response to pumpichank

See if this helps…

Use Messages with your Mac - Apple Support

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Force SMS for a recipient in iMessage