How to link imessage on iphone and mac

• You can use iMessage on your Mac by signing into your Apple ID account.
• Once you're signed in, you can send and receive iMessages from your Mac's Messages app.
• Any iMessage you send or receive on your Mac will appear on your iPhone or iPad too.

Apple has spent years making sure you can send and receive text messages no matter where you are. You can send them from your iPhone, your iPad, your Apple Watch — and even your Mac.

Every Mac comes with an app called Messages pre-installed. Log into this app with your Apple ID, and you can send iMessages as quickly as you can on any other device.

Here's how to set up iMessages on your MacBook, iMac, or Mac mini.

How to set up iMessage on a Mac

1. Open the Messages app by clicking its green-and-white icon in your Dock. If it isn't already there, you can find it in the Applications folder or by searching for it.

2. Sign in with the same Apple ID you use on your iPhone to send iMessages. Depending on your account's security settings, you might need to enter a two-factor authentication code too.

3. Once you're logged in, you can start sending text messages right away if you know the phone number or email of the person you want to text.

4. If you want to see your existing conversations and have all your text messages sync across devices, click Messages in the menu bar at the top of the screen, then select Preferences.

5. Click the iMessage tab, and then toggle on Enable Messages in iCloud. If this option doesn't show up, it means that you've already enabled it somewhere else, so you're all set.

6. Under the You can reached for messages at: heading, you'll see all the phone numbers and email addresses that people can text you at. Check off which ones you want to receive texts from on this Mac.

7. Finally, use the Start new conversations from: drop-down to choose which of those numbers/addresses you want your Mac's text messages to be sent from.

Restart the Messages app, and all your existing text conversations should sync with the Mac. If you want your contacts to sync too, you'll need to log into your Apple ID in the System Preferences app.

Once you've got this set up, make sure that message syncing is enabled on your iPhone or iPad too.

1. Grab your iPhone or iPad — whichever device you primarily use to send texts — and open the Settings app.

2. Tap your name at the top of the menu to open the Apple ID menu, then tap iCloud.

3. In the iCloud menu, make sure that Messages is enabled.

iOS (6 and later) combines your phone number with your Apple ID email address, which makes it possible for others to iMessage your phone number and have those Messages sync across your devices.

First, you need to make sure all your devices are on the same Apple ID.

On each iOS device (iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, iPad Mini):

1. Open Settings.app
2. Go to "Messages" and make sure iMessage is On.
3. If iMessage is on, "Send & Receive" will appear below it. Tap on it.
4. Make note of the Apple ID at the top of the page.
5. Select your phone number and email address(es) that you want to sync to that device.

On each Mac: (Mountain Lion or later)

1. Open Messages
2. Click Messages -> Preferences
3. Click the "Accounts" tab in the top.
4. Select your iMessage/Apple ID account, and make sure "Enable this account" is checked.
5. Select your phone number and any email address(es) that you would like synced.

The most important part is that everything is consistent across all devices that are necessary.

Message History

The steps described previously will not automatically cause old iMessages to sync across all devices. However, iOS and macOS now support "Messages in iCloud": Apple Support Document. Enabling Messages in iCloud will sync historical messages across all of your devices. Make sure you are running the latest version of macOS or iOS.

To turn on Messages in iCloud on your iOS device:

1. Open Settings app.
2. Tap your Apple ID profile at the top of the list.
3. Select iCloud.
4. Enable Messages.

To enable on your Mac:

1. Open the Messages app.
2. In the menu bar, select Messages -> Preferences.
3. Open the iMessage tab.
4. Select the checkbox to Enable Messages in iCloud.

Additional Troubleshooting steps

If you are still having trouble getting new iMessages to sync across the devices try:

1. Disabling then re-enabling iMessage on each device that isn't being synced to.
2. Delete all your previous conversations: Some people have reported that they had to delete all of their conversations before things would sync up.
3. Make sure you have your phone number added to your Apple ID account online.