To expect Androids to receive iMessages

[ilovewinterpansies]

Posting for traffic (sorry but am desperate).

How on earth can I receive iMessages on an Android?! I've downloaded some apps that supposedly receive them but they don't work.

Have switched from iPhone to Android on my work phone and am missing lots of important texts!!! (This is why Apple is successful - they make it so damn hard to change over...)

iMessage is an Apple product that works on IOS, the Apple operating system

Android is a different, competing, operating system to IOS, Apple won’t be making iMessage work on there any time soon, so you can’t access iMessages on an android device.

The main cross platform messaging app is WhatsApp.

It’s a bit like trying to put a VHS into a Betamax, If you’re old enough to remember that.

You might be able to set it up that you get your iMessages sent on as emails? But I wasn’t aware there was any software that allows you to receive iMessages on Android.

I thought if an Android phone received a text from an Apple it just came through as a normal text?

The only way I managed to get my phone to receive them was to ask the senders to push the message as a text. Also deleting my number and adding again.

Sorry. Must be very frustrating if it’s fpr work.

@PinkPlink

Only if the sender realises you haven’t got it and resends the message as a text is my understanding

Eh? They just send as texts don’t they? And you’ll be charged your sms rate or used from your allocation. I’ve never had a problem sending messages between iPhone and android.

buster - that’s right if it’s just you sending a message to one friend, but I think if you get into group iMessages which I’m assuming Op is referring to you all need to be on there, otherwise you receive a single text message that you can only reply to (from your android) as a text and it won’t go back into the existing group conversation.

I might be confusing details here, but it’s definitely an issue

An “iMessage” from Apple to android is just a bog-standard text.

You won’t receive iMessages on Android.
When an iPhone sends a message, if the recipient is also Apple it sends an iMessage.
If not it sends as a text message. This happens automatically.

I’ve never had any problem sending messages from my iPhones to any Android phones - they just go as ordinary text messages.

However, if you have transferred your phone number from an iPhone to an Android, you may need to deregister the number from iMessages - this tells you how to do it.

selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/

Have switched from iPhone to Android on my work phone and am missing lots of important texts!!!

The problem is that your previous correspondents' phones believe that your phone number is associated with iMessage, when in fact it can only receive the messages as text message. There's some magic I can't remember which you need to do to disassociate your number from iMessage, so that iPhones send the messages as SMS.

It's also possible that your previous correspondents have you set up in iMessage via your AppleID, which is probably your email address, rather than your phone number. You'll need to speak to them about that.

Ok fab I'll try de registering when the kids are in bed. That sounds like it'll do the trick.

Up until now I just simply don't receive the messages and the sender doesn't realise as it seems to send as normal.

Thanks so much everyone - I've tried google, my work's IT department and some techy friends but as usual it's MN that provides the answer

Will try later and report back!!!

@RustyBear you are a saviour.....I followed the instructions on that link (put the SIM card back into an iPhone and switched off iMessage) - now that it's back in an android phone, iMessages won't send and go automatically as text messages or the sender gets an error message.

Yay! Thank you!! Xx

I'm just seconding the "deregister" suggestion by a previous poster. Your solution will work but deregistering is the correct way to do it.

@iamconfused18 I actually tried that first but it said my phone number wasn't registered for iMessages?! Lies damn lies!!

Got confused so tried the iPhone way which has worked....temporarily at least!!