Part 1: Turning on Text Message Forwarding on Mac. The very first thing that you need to do for you to get text messages on Mac is that you have to enable the text message forwarding feature on your Mac. And for you to do so, here is what you will be needing to do. If you have an iPhone and a Mac and use Messages on both devices, you’re probably used to seeing iMessages come through on the desktop or laptop without any issue. People in that very large MacRumors thread have tried to come up with workarounds like turning off Messages on a Mac, or deleting and re-adding contacts. Some are noticing they get notifications. If your Mac is not set up in this way, you can sign in using your Apple ID the first time that you open the Messages app on Mac. This initial setup will only allow you to view and send iMessages. If you'd like to view and send SMS and MMS, as well as iMessages, you'll need to set up text message forwarding. Just to clarify, it is true, the content details to Text Messages can be released only with a Search Warrant from a court of law. Once obtained, please have a law enforcement official contact us at 1-800/922-0204 and we will get him or her in contact with our Law Enforcement Resource Team (LERT).
Sending and receiving messages through iPhone is, obviously, extremely convenient. In the palm of your hand you have the power to send text and media to contacts all over the world.
This convenience comes at a price - many of us have thousands of messages on our phones, taking up storage space and becoming increasingly hard to manage.
If you have a lot of messages on your device, searching through your messages, finding the conversation you're looking for and viewing it can be tricky. This guide will take you through the top three ways to view your iPhone messages directly on the big screen of your PC or Mac computer.
Quick Jump to...
1. View iPhone messages directly on your computer (PC/Mac)
Our first method explores how you can view your iPhone messages in a clear format on your PC or Mac using TouchCopy.
TouchCopy is a popular app which allows you to view and export media from iPhone to computer.
We can use this tool to easily view and search iPhone messages, export them to computer, and even print them out!
What you'll need:
- You can use TouchCopy on a PC running Windows 10, 8 and 7, or Mac using Mac OSX 10.9 (OS X Mavericks) or higher.
- Your iPhone.
- Your USB cable to connect your iPhone to your computer.
Viewing iPhone messages in TouchCopy:
To view SMS, MMS, iMessage or WhatsApp conversations in TouchCopy, simply connect your iPhone and click the Messages section.
View the messages in a conversation by clicking it in the list.
You'll see all your messages, emojis, times/dates, attached media like photos, and contacts details.
Try TouchCopy free ▼
Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:
Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.
Searching iPhone messages in TouchCopy:
Searching messages on iPhone can be fiddly. TouchCopy makes it easy to search through your messages on a big screen.
To do this, enter a contact's name or a key word / phrase that you are looking for into the search box and hit Enter (Return) on your keyboard.
TouchCopy will return a list of only conversations in which your keyword was mentioned. You can click a conversation to see exactly which messages contain your keyword!
Find more information about viewing and searching iPhone messages in TouchCopy >
What Next?
Using TouchCopy just to view your messages is like using an iPhone only to make calls. There's so much more you can do.
Now that you can access your messages on your computer, why not export them for safekeeping, or print them off?
2. View iPhone messages from an iTunes backup (PC/Mac)
If you don't have access to your iPhone anymore, or the texts you are trying to view have been lost or deleted, you'll need to use a backup of your iPhone.
If you backup your iPhone to your computer, your messages will be saved to the backup. The problem is, you can't actually access your messages in the backup without a tool like iBackup Extractor.
iBackup Extractor is a trusted tool which allows you to access the information stored in an iTunes backup, and even extract it to your computer!
What you'll need:
- You can use iBackup Extractor on a PC running Windows 10, 8 and 7, or Mac using Mac OSX 10.9 (OS X Mavericks) or higher.
- A backup of your iPhone stored on your PC or Mac.
How to View iPhone Text Messages on Computer Without Phone:
As mentioned, you don't actually need your iPhone to be able to use iBackup Extractor. This tool accesses a backup of your iPhone stored on your computer to enable you to view your backed up messages.
What's that, you need to view old iPhone messages, or ones which have been deleted from your phone? No problem, if the messages are stored in a backup, you can get to them with iBackup Extractor.
To view your messages, launch iBackup Extractor, select the backup containing your desired messages, and select the conversation you need to view its messages!
You can also search your messages for a particular contact or key phrase by entering your query in the search bar in iBackup Extractor!
How To Get Text Messages On Mac Without Phone
Try iBackup Extractor free ▼
Receive an email with a link so you can download the free trial on your computer:
Note: We respect your privacy. We won't share your Email address with anyone else, or send you spam.
What Next?
Making new backups of your iPhone on your computer usually means overwriting the old one. This could mean that you lose the data you need.
To avoid this, you can extract the important bits you need from your backup using iBackup Extractor: Save your SMS, MMS, iMessage and WhatsApp conversations to your computer. You can export as HTML, PDF or Plain text, or print out your messages so that you have a hard copy.
3. View messages, and text from your computer
(Mac only)
Our final method is provided free by Apple and uses the Messages app on Mac computers.
'With Messages for Mac, you can send unlimited messages to any Mac, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch that uses iMessage, Apple's secure-messaging service. iPhone owners can use it for SMS and MMS messages, too.' - Apple
That's right- not only can you view your iPhone messages through your Mac, you can even use it to send messages!
The only problem here is that if this is the first time you are setting up your Mac to receive your iPhone messages, you'll only be able to view new messages sent after this point. To view older iPhone messages as well, you'll need to use Method 1 or Method 2.
What you'll need:
- A Mac or MacBook with the Messages app installed.
- The Apple ID details used on your iPhone.
How to View iPhone messages using Mac Messages app:
All you need to do to get your iPhone messages on your Mac is to open the Messages app on your Mac.
If your Mac uses the same Apple ID as your iPhone, you'll see your messages. If your Mac is not set up in this way, you can sign in using your Apple ID the first time that you open the Messages app on Mac.
This initial setup will only allow you to view and send iMessages. If you'd like to view and send SMS and MMS, as well as iMessages, you'll need to set up text message forwarding.
Setting up Text Message Forwarding
- Ensure that your iPhone and Mac are using the same Apple ID...
- On your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive.
- On your Mac, open the Messages app, click Messages in the toolbar > Preferences, then click iMessage.
- On your iPhone, open Settings > Messages > Text Message Forwarding.
- Tap the switch next to your Mac's name to allow it to send and receive SMS and MMS from your iPhone.
- You may receive a verification code on your Mac. If so, enter the code on your iPhone to allow this change.
The SMS and MMS you receive on your iPhone will now also forward to your Mac, if both devices are connected to the internet.
Takeaways
So, now you know the best 3 ways to view your iPhone messages on your computer.
As you can see, each method has its own unique benefits. You should now have all the knowledge you need to make an informed decision about which method is best for you.
If you are still unsure, here's what we recommend:
- Use TouchCopy to view SMS, MMS, iMessage and WhatsApp messages. You can also save and print your messages.
- Use iBackup Extractor to view your iPhone messages from an iPhone backup. This method is perfect if you don't have your iPhone, or if you are looking for messages which were deleted from your iPhone.
- Use Mac Messages app if you want to send and receive text messages on your Mac. Not suitable for viewing older messages, or for viewing WhatsApp conversations.
Thanks for reading!
2020-12-21 14:58:42 • Filed to: macOS 11 • Proven solutions
Apple’s Messages is really amazing because your messages are unified across iPads, iPhones, and Mac’s, only if you stay logged in to the same Apple ID on all the devices. Apple not only cares about iPhone users that can enjoy iMessage but also cater to SMS text messages to users. Therefore, as you use Messages with your Mac on macOS 11 from iPhone, you can get text messages on your Mac on macOS 11 from Android. In this article, you will learn more about this, and also get the answer to “why are my messages not showing up on macOS 11?”
How to Get Text Messages on Your Mac on macOS 11
To get text messages on your Mac on macOS 11, you need to set up Messages on Mac properly. To do so;
- Go to your Applications, Dock, or Desktop and launch Messages.
- Insert the correct Apple ID email address as well as Password. In case you have a two-factor or two-step authentication turned on, enter your verification code. (inserting the Apple ID is most relevant if it is the first time to launch Messages on your Mac)
- Choose Messages in the menu bar
- Then proceed to Preferences.
- Select the Accounts tab and then hit iMessage
- After successfully being signed in, enter the phone number and email addresses that you would like to be reached.
- Also, select the phone number and email address that people will view when you begin a new conversation. This phone number will be the default that starts new conversations. It is changeable by clicking on it and then choosing another option.
Having set up Messages in Mac, proceed to turn on Text Message Forwarding so that you can receive regular text messages on Mac. To do so;
- Make sure that you use the same Apple ID to log in on iPhone
- Access the iPhone Settings
- And choose Messages
- Select Text Message Forwarding. And then turn ON/OFF switch on the Mac you want to get text messages on.
- Ensure that iPhone is turned on and connected to the internet so that any new text messages that come in are forwarded to the respective Mac.
So long as you are signed into Messages on your Mac and have turned on Text Message Forwarding in your iPhone settings, you are in a position to send and receive iMessage and text messages.
So as you use Messages with your Mac on macOS 11, you can reply to the texts that come in.
How to Get Messages in iCloud in macOS
To get messages in iCloud in macOS 11, you need to enable Messages in iCloud. To do so;
- Ensure that you are logged in to your Apple ID on your Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
- Access the Settings on iPhone
- Select the Apple ID account that is shown at the top
- Select iCloud and the toggle the ON/OFF switch for Messages
- Open Messages on your Mac
- Select Messages in the menu bar
Get Text Messages On Macbook Air
- Click on Preferences
- Choose the iMessage tab
- tick the checkbox next to Enable Messages in iCloud so that all your messages and iCloud will sync to and from your Mac.
As you carry out the following set up, you may find that messages syncing and text forwarding is not working, hence the question “why are my messages not showing up on macOS 11?”
To solve this problem;
1. Confirm that you are using the same Apple ID on your Mac and iPhone. Different accounts cause syncing problems.
2. Ensure that your iPhone is connected to a functional cellular connection or Wi-Fi. You can try to toggle the Wi-Fi off and on to fix any connectivity issues
3. If you are still experiencing Wi-Fi connection issues, try to reconnect to the network. First, forget the Wi-Fi network and then reconnect to it once more.
4. If none of these network solutions work, reset your network settings. Note that the apps and data will remain intact, but you must input the Wi-Fi passwords again
5. Try to turn off the text message forwarding on your iPhone and then toggle it again as you ensure that the Apple ID is the same
6. Reduce the accumulated messages in Messages in iCloud. So, access iPhone Settings>General>iPhone Storage>Messages. Select the media to delete, tap Edit to select files, and use the Delete button to delete.
Best PDF Editor for macOS 11 – PDFelement for Mac
As you maneuver about “how can I get text messages on macOS 11?” you can also understand how to perfectly manage your PDF documents. PDFelement for Mac is the best PDF manager and thus the most recommended app for any macOS 11 Mac. Since PDF files are essential, you need this tool to get through editing and create your desirable PDFs.
Get Text Messages On Macbook Pro
PDFelement for Mac has great capabilities for macOS 11 users since it comes with powerful editing tools such as creating links and adding background and watermark. It also creates new PDF files from other file formats like images, PowerPoint, and Word, among others. It also supports multiple output formats and converts PDF files to these types of files. PDFelement for Mac uses OCR to extract information or content from scanned PDF files.
Get Text Messages On Mac From Android
Basically, PDFelement for Mac is advantageous because it ensures that you produce PDFs with a professional outlook. It is diverse in PDF creation and thus saves time while enabling you to be creative and resourceful. PDF conversion assists in making other file types using PDF information, which also efficient and time-saving. With the ability to handle scanned PDFs, you benefit further when you need data from office paperwork.
Find Text Messages On Mac
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