Getting Apple’s iMessage to work well with a Windows PC isn’t the easiest or most elegant thing to accomplish, and I should know that. Sending and receiving iPhone messages on my Windows laptop has been a personal mission for a couple of years now, and I’ve spent way too much time researching and testing the most promising methods. I’m about to share them with you.
Apple products like the iPhone and MacBook work great together, but getting an iPhone or iPad to work well with Windows can feel like a chore. Apple often has little incentive to make a popular, proprietary service like iMessage work well for a competitor.
Clearly I’m not alone in my quest. “How to use iMessage on Windows” is one of the most frequently asked questions I see iPhone users with Windows computers asking over and over again. With Windows holding 62% of the US desktop PC market and iOS taking 55% of the US mobile market, the number of people using Apple and Microsoft’s flagship devices is significant enough to spur a desire for better overlay, frustration when it doesn’t happen, and mountains of Reddit threads filled with this group of people trying to solve the problem of bringing iPhones and Windows PCs closer together.
I am going to share the “answers” I found along my journey and I hope they help. For more information, see how to maximize your iPhone’s battery life and how to take screenshots in Windows 11.
Microsoft’s Phone Link app is the easiest way to access the iMessage service on a PC, but it’s not great
If you live in the Apple world, all you need is one Apple ID to use iMessage across all your Apple devices. It’s not so simple if you’re on a Windows machine and don’t want to pick up your iPhone every time you get a message. (Cough, cough: me.)
If you want the easiest setup and are okay with the basic version, then Microsoft’s Phone Link app is a way to connect your iPhone to your PC.
I found the setup simple: after installing the app, connect your iPhone to your PC via Bluetooth and you can use iMessage from your computer. That’s what you want to do, right? Well, it’s time to manage your expectations.
It’s true that you’ll be able to send messages using iMessage, but Phone Link was never intended to be “iMessage for Windows” and the sheer number of limitations is almost ridiculous.
For example, you can’t view or reply to existing chats that weren’t created on your PC, so you’ll need to receive a message with Phone Link to reply or send the message yourself. You also can’t participate in group chats or receive images, but you will still receive a notification when one of those events occurs.
Phone Link will also mirror notifications from your iPhone, but not all of them will be actionable. When I clicked on a notification from Reddit or X (formerly Twitter), for example, both took me to the website page to download the mobile app.
How to set up Microsoft’s Phone Link app
If you want to try it out, here’s how to use the Phone Link app to use iMessage on your Windows PC.
First, here are the requirements.:
- iPhone with iOS 14 or later
- windows 11 machine
- Reduced expectations
Download the Link to Windows app on your iPhone and search for the Phone Link app on your Windows 11 PC—it’s a system app, so you shouldn’t have to download it from the Microsoft Store.
1. Launch both applications.
2. The Phone Link app will ask you what type of phone you are connecting. Click iPhone.
3. It will then show you a QR code that you scan with the Link to Windows app on your iPhone to initiate the Bluetooth connection.
4. Follow the instructions provided in the Phone Link app and adjust any settings on your iPhone to advance the steps.
Once that’s complete, you’re pretty much done. As long as your iPhone maintains its Bluetooth connection with your PC, you’ll be able to send and receive messages via iMessage from the Phone Link app.
Note: If you don’t mind the lack of iMessage features in the Phone Link app, but want a touch more overall functionality, check out the Intel Unison App, a Phone Link alternative that also requires Windows 11. It comes with all those Phone Link limitations but some other capabilities, such as viewing your phone photos within the app and transferring files. It’s up to you if that’s enough to choose it over Phone Link.
Screen Mirroring can share your iPhone screen on Windows
More than just adding iMessage to your PC, screen mirroring will share your entire iOS screen on Windows. The good news is that you have a variety of options here. Basically, you download a screen mirroring app on your phone and on your PC that will allow you to use your iPhone on Windows.
The concept here is simple, but most of these apps are paid. They’re also likely to pale in comparison to Apple’s upcoming native iPhone display that will be mirrored on the Mac, which was announced at WWDC. If you want to try mirroring, check out AirDroid Cast, which currently costs around $3.50 a month for the ability to control your iPhone from your Windows PC.
Set up a virtual machine to run MacOS on your Windows machine and use iMessage
Now we’re getting into an area that requires a bit more time and effort, and is really beyond the scope of this guide. However, if you’re comfortable getting your hands digitally dirty, you can run MacOS in a virtual machine from your Windows machine. Sign in with your Apple ID and use iMessage from there. It’s technically iMessage on Windows, although it is actually iMessage on MacOS… on Windows.
Use an always-on Mac to run iMessage on Windows
These next two options will require a Mac computer that never sleeps and that you can access remotely or use as a server. This isn’t an uncommon practice, given that a used Mac Mini can cost anywhere from $50 to $100.
Chrome Remote Desktop
If you have a Mac you can leave it on at all times, one of the easiest ways to access it is through the Chrome Remote Desktop Web App or browser extension. Setup is relatively straightforward and you can access the iMessage service from anywhere you can access the Chrome desktop browser that also has the extension installed.
To do this, install the extension in Chrome on your Mac and follow the instructions to enable the necessary permissions to use the service. From there, you can launch the service from another Chrome web browser and have your entire Mac, including the Messages app, in one tab, where you can access iMessages whenever you want.
This option may seem like overkill, but given its simple setup, it’s definitely worth considering.
Advanced settings to get a big reward: Blue Bubbles or Air Message
The home page of the Blue Bubbles web application
Blue Bubbles and Air Message are two custom apps that require using an existing Mac as a server, which may make some people cross their eyes. If that’s the case, feel free to skip this section and try one of the methods above.
I have used Blue Bubbles for the past few years to run iMessage on my PC with much success. Be warned: It’s for techies who want to add iMessage not only to their Windows PCs but also to other devices.
Blue Bubbles is an open-source project that provides a “clean, customizable iMessage client across all platforms.” It’s available for Android, Windows, and through a web app, so you can access your iPhone messages from wherever you are and from any device you choose. Group chats, back taps, message editing, and other iMessage features are all present, though some of those features depend on which version of macOS your server is running.
Despite my years of installing custom ROMs in the past, I would only say that I know enough to do damage and follow instructions pretty well. Fortunately, you can find a lot of resources to help you move forward if you get stuck.
Airmail is another custom app that comes recommended, but I haven’t personally tried it yet. It does not have a dedicated Windows app, but instead has a web app that you can access from anywhere.
Because both apps integrate with a Mac computer, they start to feel like real solutions that are more like iMessage. The downside to these apps, outside of the setup process, is that Apple could shut down these services at any time, without warning. Apps like Beeper (which may well be the best chat app of all time) ran into Apple’s restrictions and stopped supporting iMessage integration.
There you have it: a variety of options for getting iMessage working on Windows machines, from easy but limited to more difficult but truly useful.
While you’re at it, don’t miss how to survive with an iPhone and a Windows PC and how iOS 18 will handle RCS messaging.
