With a large majority of the population now owning an iPhone, iMessage has become an important tool for messaging friends, family members, colleagues, and even customers. However, what happens when iPhone users don’t have their device on them? Maybe it’s charging upstairs or you left it behind whilst in a rush to get work; is there a way to check your iMessage online on your computer?
For windows, sadly, there is no official program that allows PC users to access their iMessages remotely but there are some unofficial methods. These methods will involve initially jail-breaking your iPhone/iPod/iPad first though. Whilst jailbreaking your phone is not illegal if you own it, you will be destroying the warranty meaning that any fixes you need will cost in the future. If you head down this road, there are certain iMessage apps for PC that will allow you to check your iMessages remotely but there is a
However, it’s much easier to access iMessage on a computer, or any other Apple device such as an iPod, iPad, Macbook Pro, Mac, for that matter. You can simple set up your iMessages to be sent directly to this computer or device. As long as your device has ‘Mountain Lion’ or later, you will have the opportunity to install iMessage and sync up your two devices.
- Start by opening iMessage from your computer or laptop, it should be down in the dock as a speech mark with three small dots.
- Once it has loaded, you will be prompted to sign in using your Apple ID information. If you are already signed in, you may not have to complete this step but be ready just in case.
- After it has finished connecting your account, you should now receive messages. This means that if you accidentally leave your iPhone at home, as long as you have your Mac/Macbook/Macbook Pro with you, messages can still be viewed via the iMessage program.
Furthermore, once set up it will be possible to send text messages from the computer. After clicking the ‘new message’ button, you will see a search bar in which you can type the name of the person you want to send a message. Whilst typing, you will be shown suggestions and some of these will have bubbles next to the name and other won’t; the names with bubbles are people who have iMessage via either an iPhone or Apple ID. After selecting your recipient, just type your message and hit send and this will be sent to them as if you have done it from your smartphone.
As you can see, this process is extremely simple and by far the easiest way to check your iMessages online; even if you don’t have an Apple device yourself, you can load your Apple ID onto someone else’s device as they can hold multiple profiles. As mentioned previously, you will find various ‘iMessage for Windows’ download links on the internet but you have to be careful as they are bootleg and not a part of Apple. If you choose to download one of these iMessage apps, be careful as some will use it as an excuse to include a virus!