How to send and receive SMS text messages on iPad and Mac

In addition to iMessage, you can also send and receive regular text messages on your iPad and Mac. This tutorial shows you how to do that so you can continue your SMS conversation from any device and not just your iPhone.

Prerequisites

Your iPad or Mac will use the phone number of your iPhone to send SMS. Here’s what you need to set everything up:

Your iPhone and iPad/Mac must be signed in to iCloud with the same Apple Account.
You must be signed in to iMessage using that same Apple Account on both devices.
iPhone must be turned on, connected to Wi-Fi or a cellular network, and able to send and receive messages.
Your iPad/Mac must be connected to the internet.

How to set up your iPad or Mac to send text messages

Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
Tap Apps, then tap Messages.
Tap Text Message Forwarding. If you don’t see it, turn iMessage off and back on, then tap Send & Receive and sign in again.
Tap to turn on each device, like iPad or Mac, that you want to allow to send and receive messages from this iPhone. If your iPhone is set up with Dual SIM, turn on each line.

If you select a device that isn’t using two-factor authentication for your Apple Account, a verification code appears on that device. Enter that code on your iPhone to finish linking it.

Now, open the Messages app on your iPad or Mac and send a text message to someone. When you do that, you will notice that the text bubble color is green, which signifies SMS, MMS, or RCS.

I sent three SMS from my Mac’s Messages app to my feature phone, and they all were delivered.

Pro tip: You can also choose to save your text messages to iCloud, which will make them available and updated on all your devices, like iPad and Mac. Text Message Forwarding is built into Messages in iCloud, so if you turn that on, you don’t need to set up forwarding separately.

Don’t see your iPad or Mac in the list on your iPhone?

Keep in mind that you must be signed in to Messages with the same Apple Account as your iPhone. So, if your device isn’t listed, sign in to Messages. Here’s how to do that:

On iPad

Open Settings, tap Apps, then tap Messages.
Turn on iMessage.
Tap Send & Receive, then make sure the Apple Account shown at the bottom of this screen is the same as the one on your iPhone. If it isn’t, tap it to sign out, then sign in with the correct Apple Account.

On Mac

Open Messages.
If you aren’t signed in yet, enter your Apple Account email address or phone number and click Sign In, then enter your password and click Sign In again.
Choose Messages > Settings from the menu bar, click iMessage, then make sure the Apple Account shown in this window is the same as the one on your iPhone. If it isn’t, click Sign Out, then sign in with the correct Apple Account.

Now, just follow the first set of instructions at the top to enable Text Message Forwarding on your iPhone. Your iPad and/or Mac should now be on the list for you to select. If not, make sure the devices are connected to the internet. If the problem persists, restart your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.