How to Use iMessage

iMessage is a message sent over the Internet between iOS devices. With iMessage, iPhone, Mac, iPad, and iPod Touch devices can receive messages when they’re connected to Wi-Fi (wireless) or 3G/4G networks. Your iDevice will automatically send iMessage messages when you text another user if they also use iMessage.

Table of Contents

Understand the basics

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Send iMessage messages using the Messages app. iMessage messages are sent using the Messages app, just like SMS messages. iMessage and SMS sent to the same person will be gathered in one conversation. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Send messages to Apple users when they’re not using their carrier’s SMS service. iMessage will not count the number of characters. Matching messages will be sent automatically. No need to switch when messaging different people.

Messages sent to other iMessage users will be blue. SMS messages will be green.

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Activate iMessage on all Apple devices. iMessage is sent to all your connected Apple devices as long as they have a network. iMessage is not available on Android devices or Windows computers. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Connect to Wi-Fi or mobile data to use iMessage. iMessage requires a network connection. You will need to be connected to Wi-Fi or a 3G/4G network to use this feature. If your iPhone is offline, iMessage will switch to SMS mode. If your iPod or iPad isn’t connected to Wi-Fi, you won’t be able to use iMessage.

iMessage does not apply carrier messaging charges. iMessage will use cellular data unless you have Wi-Fi.

Turn on iMessage

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Create an Apple ID. iMessage requires a free Apple ID. You will sign in to each device with this ID. iMessage will be synced in all your devices.

You can create a free Apple ID at appleid.apple.com/account . You will need to enter a valid email address to confirm the account.

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Sign in to your iOS device with your Apple ID. Once you have an Apple ID, you can use it to sign in to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. You can use your ID to sign in to multiple devices.

Open the Settings app and select “Messages”.
Turn on “iMessage” and select “Use your Apple ID for iMessage” (iPhone only).
Enter your Apple ID and password. It may take some time to activate.

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Activate iMessage on an OS X computer. You can send and receive iMessages from an OS X computer running Mountain Lion or higher.

Open the Messages app. You can find it on the Dock or in the Applications folder.
Tap “Messages” and select “Preferences”.
Make sure you’ve selected your Apple ID. If you’re not signed in with your Apple ID, press the + button and sign in.
Select “Enable this account”. You can now send and receive iMessages.

Send and receive messages

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Set up the address where you can receive messages. On your iPhone, iMessage can be sent to your phone number or email address. If you have multiple email addresses associated with your account, you can choose which ones you want to use.

Open the Settings app on your device and select “Messages”.
Select “Send & Receive” and then choose an address to use. You can also add an email address where you want to receive messages. You can only use one Apple ID email address associated with a device at a time.
Select the address or phone number you want to send the message from.

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Open the Messages app. Like SMS messages, iMessages are sent using the Messages app.

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Select the “Compose” button to start the conversation. You can start a new conversation with anyone in your contact list. That would be an iMessage conversation if they’re also using iMessage.

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Select the “Send” button. You can tell if a message is a standard SMS or an iMessage by looking at the color of the Send button. If the button is blue, the message will be sent as an iMessage. If the button is green, it will be sent as an SMS.

iPads and iPods can only send messages to other iMessage users.

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Attach photos and videos. You can attach media files to a text-like message. iMessage allows you to send them without the carrier’s multimedia messaging charges.

Select the Camera button in the bottom left corner of the conversation.
Select Photo Library to view all the images and videos on your device.
Select an image or video to add it to your message.
Send Message. If you are sending messages using mobile data, it will charge your carrier’s messaging fees.

Use iMessage more

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Send voice messages using iMessage. You can send voice messages to iMessage contacts. This feature requires iOS 8 or higher.

Open a conversation in the Messages app.
Hold down the microphone button in the bottom right corner.
Continue long press and say the message you want to record.
Swipe up to send the recorded message.

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Submit map information. You can share a location from Apple Maps (Maps) to any iMessage contact.

Open the Maps app and find the location you want to share.
Select the Share button in the top right corner.
Select “Message” from the list of options. Select the “Send” button to send the location. When the recipient taps the map in the chat, it opens the Maps app.

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Turn off iMessage preview on your device’s lock screen. By default, a message preview will appear on your device’s lock screen. If you want to increase privacy, you can turn them off. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

Open the Settings app and select “Notifications”.
Select “Messages” and then scroll down to “Show Previews”. Turn it off.

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Set up automatic deletion of old iMessage messages. Old messages can take up a lot of space on your device, especially attached videos and pictures. By default, your device will store your entire message history. You can set your iOS device to automatically delete old messages if you’re running iOS 8 or higher.

Open the Settings app and select “Messages”.
Select “Keep Messages” and select “30 Days” (30 days) or “1 Year” (1 year). You will be asked if you want to delete any messages on the device whose time is older than the set time limit.

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Leave the group chat if you don’t want to receive notifications. You can leave a messaging group if you don’t want to receive notifications. This only works if all members are using iMessage and iOS 8 or higher.

Open the conversation you want to leave.
Select “Details” in the top right corner.
Scroll down and select “Leave this Conversation”. If this option is grayed out, it means that at least one member is not using iMessage on an iOS 8 or higher device.

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Enable/disable “Read Receipts” to show or hide that you have read messages. Any iMessage contact will be able to see if you’ve read their most recent message. You can turn this feature off if you don’t want to share information.

Open the Settings app and select “Messages”.
Enable/disable “Send Read Receipts” as you like.

Solving problems

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Checking connection. iMessage requires an internet connection. If you can’t access any websites, the problem is with the network connection, not iMessage. Try disconnecting and then reconnecting to the wireless network. You can also restart the device.

You can check the status of the iMessage service at apple.com/support/systemstatus/ .

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Check iMessage settings if you can’t send regular text messages. Sometimes a few iMessage settings can cause service problems.

Open the Settings app on your iOS device and select “Messages”.
Make sure that “Send as SMS” is enabled. This will ensure that messages are sent as SMS if iMessage is unavailable.
Select “Text Message Forwarding” and turn off all forwarding. Forwarding allows you to send and receive SMS messages on any iCloud device, but it can also cause problems.

Steps

Understand the basics

Turn on iMessage

Send and receive messages

Use iMessage more

Solving problems

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