How do i sync my imessages between iphone and macbook

iMessages sent from my iPhone don’t appear on my Mac, and vice versa. How can I sync the Messages apps on iPhone and Mac?

One of the pleasures of Apple’s increasingly joined-up macOS/iOS approach (a strategy which Apple calls Continuity) is being able to start a task on a mobile device and then continue it on desktop when you arrive at work, say. And one of the neatest ways this can work is in Messages. The matching Messages apps on iOS and Mac should allow you to easily and conveniently carry on iMessage conversations across the two platforms. No longer do you have to keep look down from your Mac and pick up your phone to reply to messages; you can do it all on the Mac.

Except that sometimes the synchronisation between Mac and iPad or iPhone isn’t quite right: some people have found that iMessages sent from the iPhone don’t appear in the conversation in Messages on the Mac, and vice versa. In this article we explain how to make iMessage sync between iPhone, iPad and Mac. Don’t worry – it’s dead easy.

Read next: How to use Messages in iOS 10 | iOS 10 tips

1. Pick up your iPhone and launch the Settings app. Swipe down to the fifth group of categories (the one starting with Mail) and tap Messages. The fifth option down is labelled Send & Receive, with a phone number or email address, or something like “3 Addresses”, next to it: tap this.

2. You’ll now see all the phone numbers and email addresses on which you can be contacted via iMessage. Tick any numbers or addresses that you want to use but which aren’t currently ticked.

When we looked at this, incidentally, we saw only the iPhone’s number, so had to tap ‘Use your Apple ID for iMessage’. This unlocked the long list of email addresses registered to our Apple ID. We then ticked and ticked the addresses as appropriate. (If you want to remove an address from the list entirely, tap the i button and tap Remove This Email.)

3. Now go to your Mac and open the Messages app. Click Messages in the top menu bar, then select Preferences. (You can jump straight to the settings from Messages, or from most other Mac apps, by hitting Cmd-comma.) Click Accounts.

4. As on the iPhone, you need to tick all the email addresses that you want to be associated with iMessage on this machine. If your Apple ID account says Inactive, click on it and enter the required details, then tick or uptick the numbers/addresses you want to use.

5. And that should be it. Restart Messages on each device and see if everything is now working the way it should.

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7:20

Apple's iMessage lets you integrate stickers and apps with your messages or send those messages with flair. You can also sync iMessage between different Apple devices -- but only once you've set it up properly. If messages are showing up on your iPhone, but not your iPad or Mac, you're not alone, and we can help.

If you're struggling with sending and receiving iMessages on all the things, then follow along.

TL;DR

Using the same Apple ID and use just your phone number to send and receive messages is the best way to ensure all of your iMessage conversations are sent to all of your Apple devices. If you need to use an email address as well as your number, just double check that the same email address is selected on all of your Apple devices.

It starts with the iPhone

Let's start with making sure everything is set up properly on your iPhone, before we move on to an iPad or Mac.

1. Open Settings > Messages > Send & Receive on your iPhone.
2. At the top of the page is the Apple ID used on your iPhone for iMessage - make note of it. Below will be your phone number along with any email addresses you have associated with your Apple ID.
3. I suggest picking just your phone number as what you will use to send and receive messages. Doing so will prevent a lot of confusion and avoid messages inadvertently syncing to one device.
4. If you opt to select an email address as well, a new option will appear at the bottom of the screen. Select your phone number or an email address as what you want to Start new conversations from.

Now that you have iMessage set up on the iPhone, you need to verify the same information is used on your remaining Apple devices.

On an iPad

1. Open Settings > Messages > Send & Receive and check to make sure the same Apple ID you used on your iPhone is being used on your iPad.
2. If that's the case, then select select your phone number and any email addresses you added on your iPhone.
3. It's very important that you select the same item for the Start new conversations from option at the bottom of the screen as you did on your iPhone.

If the Apple ID doesn't match, you can tap on it and follow the prompts to sign out, then sign in with the same Apple ID you used on your iPhone.

On a Mac

1. Open Messages then go to Preferences > Accounts and check that the Apple ID used to sign into iMessage is the same as your iPhone and iPad.
2. Check the boxes next to the phone number and email address(es) you want to use.
3. Again, it's very important to select the same item for the Start new conversations from option at the bottom of the screen as you did on your iPhone.

Editors' note: This post was originally published in 2012; it has since been updated to reflect new features.

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