With the new app drawer, you can share stickers, emoji, and games with your friends—with just a swipe. More expressions, less effort. Add a personal touch with Message effects. With just a few taps, you can send messages with bubble and full-screen effects, reply with expressions, and personalize with handwritten notes. This wikiHow article teaches you how to search for a particular message on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac. Open Messages. It's a green icon on one of your home screens with a single white speech bubble.
By Conner Careyupdated on 05/29/2018
I recently wrote an article on how to get messages on Mac, but when I was doing my research, it became clear to me that many users have trouble figuring out how to sync messages from iPhone to Mac. Even if you’ve been sending and receiving messages on Mac, it’s possible your iMessage suddenly stopped working. This problem with iMessage is a communication error between your devices. If you’re receiving messages on iPhone and separate messages on Mac or iPad, something has gone awry. However, we can pretty easily fix iMessage by going through the steps to sync iPhone and iPad as well as to sync iPhone to Mac. Here’s how to get iMessage on Mac, iPad, and iPhone.
Related: How to Get Text Messages & iMessages on Mac
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When iMessage isn’t syncing between your devices, it’s usually a communication issue in Apple’s Continuity feature. This problem can be fixed by making sure your iPhone, iPad, and Mac have all enabled your phone number and emails as ways to send and receive messages. Setting that up, as well as making sure all your devices are using the same Apple ID, will allow you to sync text messages from iPhone to iPad and from iPhone to Mac.
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Prepare iPhone to Sync Messages
- On iPhone, open the Settings app.
- Tap Messages.
- Select Send & Receive.
- At the top, you’ll see your Apple ID. Make a mental note of this, because you need to make sure you’re using the same one on iPad and Mac too.
- Under 'You Can Be Reached By iMessage At' make sure you’ve checked your phone number and all the emails that you use for messages, including your Apple ID email.
- Under 'Start New Conversations From,' select your phone number, unless you have a strong preference for one of your email addresses.
How to Sync Messages from iPhone to Mac
- On Mac, open the Messages app; it will be in your Applications folder.
- If you’re not already logged in, Messages will prompt you to do so.
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- At the very top left of your display, click Messages on the Menu and choose Preferences.
- Select Accounts.
- Tap your iMessage account.
- Near the top, you’ll see your Apple ID. Make sure it’s the same as the Apple ID you're logged in with on your iPhone.
- Under 'You can be reached for messages at' make sure you’ve checked your phone number and all the emails you use for messages, including your Apple ID email.
- Under 'Start new conversations from,' select the same thing (phone number or email) that you did on the iPhone.
- For example, I chose my phone number on iPhone, which means I’m also going to select my phone number on my Mac (and my iPad.)
How to Sync iPhone & iPad Text Messages
![Messages For Mac Book Messages For Mac Book](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125880948/333630106.jpg)
These steps are the same as the ones you took earlier on your iPhone, but now you'll make sure your iPad is synced.
- On the iPad, open the Settings app.
- Tap Messages.
- Select Send & Receive.
- At the top, find your Apple ID. Make sure it matches the Apple ID on your iPhone and your Mac if you want your text messages to sync between all devices.
- We’re following the same process we did on the iPhone, so under 'You Can Be Reached By iMessage At,' check your phone number and the emails you use for iMessages, including your Apple ID email.
- Under 'Start New Conversations From,' select the same number or email that you chose on your iPhone and your Mac.
After following these steps, you shouldn’t have any more problems with messages not syncing between devices. If it ever stops working again, you should be able to return to this article for a reminder on how to sync messages from your iPhone to your Mac or your iPhone to your iPad.
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Master your iPhone in one minute a day: Sign up here to get our FREE Tip of the Day delivered right to your inbox.Messages on macOS lets you communicate with friends, family, and coworkers across a variety of different platforms, including Apple's own iMessage, along with SMS and services from Google, Yahoo, and AOL. But if you're new to the Mac or have just never set up Messages, you might be wondering how to get started with the app.
Follow these simple steps, and you'll be chatting with your friends in no time at all.
How to set up Messages on the Mac
- Launch Messages from your desktop, dock, or Applications folder.
- Enter your Apple ID email address and password. If you have two-step or two-factor authentication turned on for your Apple ID, enter your verification code.
- Click on Messages in the Menu bar and select Preferences.
- Select the Accounts tab.
- Select the phone number and email addresses at which you would like to be reached.
- Choose which phone number or email address people will see when you start a new conversation.
How to set up Messages in iCloud in macOS High Sierra
Messages in iCloud keeps your messages in sync between your Mac and your iOS devices, and also lets you download your messages when you set up a brand new device.
- Open Messages.
- Click Messages in the Menu bar.
- Click Preferences.
- Click the Accounts tab.
- Click on your iMessage account.
- Click the checkbox next to Enable Messages on iCloud.
- Click the Sync Now button to sync immediately.
And that's how you turn on iMessage sync. Of course, to use it properly, you'll also need to turn it on on an iPhone or iPad running iOS 11.
How to set up Messages in iCloud in iOS 11.4
You'll need to make sure Messages in iCloud is enabled in iOS 11 so it can sync messages between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
- Open Settings.
- Tap the Apple ID banner.
- Tap iCloud.
- Make sure the switch next to Messages is flipped to the green 'On' position.
- Tap Apple ID.
- Tap Settings.
- Tap Messages.
- Tap Sync Now to immediately sync your message with iCloud.
Questions?
Let us know in the comments below!
Update June 2018: Added sections for activating Messages in iCloud in macOS High Sierra and iOS 11.4.
macOS Catalina
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