Sometimes all you need to communicate with someone is a text message, and typing on a full-sized keyboard can be far more comfortable than using your thumbs on a smartphone. Here’s how you can start using your computer to send and receive regular text messages.
iPhone 
+ Mac
The Messages app on your computer will allow you to send and receive those blue-bubbled messages as long as your iPhone and Mac are both signed into the same Apple ID. But make sure the text message forwarding feature on your phone is turned on if you want to send and receive those familiar, green-bubble SMS texts.
- Tap Messages after opening the Settings application.
- Select “text message forwarding” from the menu.
- Choose the Mac (or iPad) you want to use for text messaging.
Android + Mac
You have fewer options if you own a Mac and an Android device, which is not as rare as it sounds. The most practical method is to send text messages using Google’s Messages program, which many modern Android phones do by default. (If it isn’t already on your phone, you can get it free from Google’s Play Store here.)
Once the program is loaded, launch your preferred web browser on your Mac, go to the Google Messages website, and follow the on-screen steps to couple your phone and computer by scanning the QR code. Following that, all your text chats will appear directly in your web browser, allowing you to receive and respond as long as you continue to be signed in.
Android + Windows PC
The method we just outlined for using Google Messages is the simplest one. However, suppose your computer is running Microsoft’s Windows 10 or Windows 11 operating systems. In that case, you may use a unique phone Link function that does much more than forwarding your SMS to the appropriate recipients. Here’s how to configure it.
- Find the search box or button in your taskbar on your Windows computer. Type “phone link” there. If prompted, sign into your Microsoft account.
- Install the “Link to Windows” app on your Android phone if it isn’t already there. You can use the link provided by the Phone Link application on your computer to locate it.
- Once the app has been installed on your phone, click the button that enables pairing with the QR code in the Phone Link window on your computer, and proceed as directed.
You can use the Phone Link software on your PC to do more than send and receive messages; you can also view your phone’s images on a monitor, save those files to your PC, and even run some Android apps inside Windows without having to plug anything in.