I should be aware that getting Apple’s iMessage to work well with a Windows computer isn’t the simplest or most graceful task. For a few years now, sending and receiving iPhone messages on my Windows laptop has been a personal quest of mine, and I’ve devoted far too much time to studying and experimenting with the most promising techniques. I’ll be sharing them with you shortly.

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Although Apple devices, such as iPhones and MacBooks, get along well, it might be difficult to get an iPhone or iPad to function with Windows. Apple often has little motivation to help a rival company succeed with a well-known and exclusive service like iMessage.

Clearly, I’m not the only one on this journey. “How to use iMessage on Windows” is a question that I see asked often by iPhone users who use Windows laptops. The number of people who use Apple and Microsoft’s flagship devices is large enough to create a desire for better overlap, frustration when it doesn’t happen, and mountains of Reddit threads filled with people trying to find a solution to the problem of bringing iPhones and Windows PCs closer together. This is because iOS accounts for 55% of the US mobile market and Windows for 62% of the US desktop PC market.

I believe it may be helpful to share the “answers” I have discovered along the way. For further information, see how to capture screenshots in Windows 11 and how to extend the battery life of your iPhone.

The simplest method to use iMessage on a PC is using Microsoft’s Phone Link App, although it’s not very good.

All you need to utilize iMessage on all of your Apple devices if you live in an Apple environment is an Apple ID. If you’re on a Windows computer and don’t want to pick up your iPhone each time you get a message, it’s not quite that easy. (Cough, cough: me.)

Microsoft’s Phone Link software is one option to connect your iPhone to your PC if you want the simplest setup and are comfortable with the stripped-down version.

The setup seems easy to me: Once the program is installed, you may use iMessage from your computer by pairing your iPhone and PC over Bluetooth. You want to do it, don’t you? It’s time to control your expectations, then.

You may send messages using iMessage, of course, but Phone Link was never intended to be “iMessage for Windows,” and the sheer amount of restrictions is almost absurd.

For example, you must receive a message via Phone Link in order to respond or send the message yourself, since you are unable to access or respond to existing conversations that were not made on your PC. Additionally, you are unable to receive photographs or take part in group discussions, but you will still be notified when one of those things happens.

Not all of the alerts on your iPhone will be actionable, but Phone Link will replicate them. For instance, both Reddit and X (previously Twitter) sent me to the website’s mobile app download page when I clicked on their notifications.

How to install the Phone Link software from Microsoft

Here’s how to utilize iMessage on your Windows computer using the Phone Link program if you’d want to give it a try.

First, the prerequisites are as follows:

iPhone running iOS 14 or later running Windows 11
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Install the Link to Windows app on your iPhone, then on your Windows 11 PC, look for the Phone Link app. Since it’s a system software, you shouldn’t need to get it from the Microsoft Store.

1. Open both applications.
2. You will be prompted by the Phone Link app to choose the phone type you want to connect. Select iPhone.
3. After that, a QR code will appear, which you may scan with your iPhone’s Link to Windows app to initiate a Bluetooth connection.
4. To go through the procedures, follow the directions on the Phone Link app and change any iPhone settings.

After it is finished, you’re essentially done. You may send and receive messages using iMessage from the Phone Link app as long as your iPhone and PC are still connected via Bluetooth.

Note: The Intel Unison app is a Phone Link substitute that also needs Windows 11 if you don’t mind the absence of iMessage functions in the Phone Link app but would want a little more general functionality. In addition to the limits of Phone Link, it has additional features including file transfers and the ability to see your phone’s images inside the program. It is up to you whether or not that is sufficient for you to choose it over Phone Link.

You may share your iPhone’s screen on Windows via screen mirroring.

Screen mirroring allows you to share your complete iOS screen on Windows, which goes beyond just adding iMessage to your computer. The good news is that there are several options available to you. In essence, you can use your iPhone on Windows by downloading a screen mirroring program on both your phone and computer.

Although the majority of these applications are paid, the idea behind them is straightforward. Additionally, they will probably be insignificant compared to Apple’s WWDC announcement of native iPhone screen mirroring on Macs. Check out AirDroid Cast if you want to attempt mirroring. It allows you to operate your iPhone from your Windows computer and presently costs roughly $3.50 per month.

Use iMessage and create a virtual machine to run MacOS on your Windows computer.

We are now entering an area that is much beyond the purview of the guide and calls for a bit extra time and work. You may run MacOS on a virtual machine from your Windows computer, however, if you don’t mind getting your hands filthy with technology. After logging in with your Apple ID, utilize iMessage. Although it’s really iMessage on MacOS… on Windows, it’s officially iMessage on Windows.

To run iMessage on Windows, use a Mac that is constantly on.

A Mac machine that never sleeps is needed for the following two choices, which you may use as a server or remotely. Considering that a secondhand Mac Mini may cost anywhere from $50 to $100, this is a typical practice.

Remote Desktop for Chrome

Using the Chrome Remote Desktop web software or browser extension is one of the simplest methods to access a Mac that you can leave running at all times. You can use the iMessage service wherever you have access to the Chrome desktop browser with the extension installed, and the setup process is comparatively easy.

Install the Chrome extension on your Mac, then follow the steps to allow the permissions required to utilize the service. You can then launch the service from a different Chrome browser and have your whole Mac, including the Messages app, in a tab. From there, you may access iMessages at any time.

Although this option may seem excessive, it’s worth investigating because of how simple it is to set up.

Complex preparation for a significant reward: Air Messages or Blue Bubbles
The Blue Bubbles Web App
The Blue Bubbles online application’s home page

Some consumers may be put off by the fact that two bespoke programs, Blue Bubbles and Air Message, need to use an existing Mac as a server. If that’s the case, you may attempt one of the preceding approaches and skip this part.

For the last several years, I’ve operated iMessage on my PC with great success using Blue Bubbles. Note that this is only for tech-savvy enthusiasts who want to install iMessage on devices other than their Windows PCs.

An open-source initiative called Blue Bubbles offers a “clean, customizable iMessage client across all platforms.” You can view your iPhone’s messages from any location and on any device thanks to its availability for Android, Windows, and web apps. Message editing, group chats, touch backs, and other iMessage capabilities are available, however some of them rely on the MacOS version your server is running.

Even though I’ve installed custom ROMs for years, I’d only say I know enough to do harm and follow directions quite well. Fortunately, there are many of tools available to assist you proceed if you run into difficulties.

Another custom app that is suggested is AirMessage, however I haven’t used it yet. Instead of a Windows-specific software, it features a web application that you can use from any location.

Both of these applications start to seem like genuine solutions that are more akin to iMessage as they interface with a Mac machine. Apart from the setup procedure, these applications have the drawback that Apple has the right to abruptly terminate these services at any moment. Apps like Beeper, which is perhaps the greatest chat software ever, have encountered Apple’s limitations and ceased to allow integration with iMessage.

There you have it: a variety of options to get iMessage to function on Windows computers, from simple but constrained to more complex but really helpful.