Cell Phones

Switch from iPhone to android?

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  • Sep 11th, 2017 2:33 pm
Deal Guru
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Jan 30, 2006
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Switch from iPhone to android?

I have iMessage set up on my iPhone, iPad and iMac. Do I need to disable iMessage on every device before using the Sim in my android?

Or onky disable the iMessage on the iPhone?

A bit confused.

Thanks
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May 8, 2009
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Going to the Moon
Congrats on entertaining switching to Android.

My understanding is that you'll have to dissociate your cell number with your Apple ID, which if I'm not mistaken will affect any Apple device linked to that ID.
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Aug 2, 2004
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titaniumtux wrote: Congrats on entertaining switching to Android.

My understanding is that you'll have to dissociate your cell number with your Apple ID, which if I'm not mistaken will affect any Apple device linked to that ID.
I switched from iPhone to android and I didn't have to disassociate my number. You don't need to do anything. Rest the iPhone and make sure your Apple ID is not tied to the device
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Dec 7, 2012
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@trellaine201, deregister iMessage on your iPhone and I would do it online also

Deregister iMessage on your iPhone or online
https://support.apple.com/en-ca/HT203042


iPad and iMac can use your Apple ID to send and receive iMessages, disable iMessage on these devices if you do not want to use iMessage

"If someone sends an iMessage to your Apple ID, you'll get it on your other Apple devices. If someone sends a text to your phone number, you'll get the message only on your phone."
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Aug 2, 2004
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iMessage works by either phone number or email. Remove the SIM and it will work by email. You don't need to do anything.
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Mmm Electric Light BulbOh. What if I want to switch back and forth for the first little while. But I guess I should really just commit otherwise it could confusing and messy?
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Gee wrote: iMessage works by either phone number or email. Remove the SIM and it will work by email. You don't need to do anything.
Oh? So as long as my number isn't associated with iMessage? Right now iPad is set to my phone number/email
Deal Expert
Aug 2, 2004
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trellaine201 wrote: Oh? So as long as my number isn't associated with iMessage? Right now iPad is set to my phone number/email
You pull the SIM, the number will be disassociated when you insert it into your Android phone. iMessage will work by email only. I use iMessage on my iPad and if you try to send it my cell number, I will not receive anything. The only way to send me an iMessage is to use my email. The iPad will stop receiving message on your cell number.
trellaine201 wrote: Mmm Electric Light BulbOh. What if I want to switch back and forth for the first little while. But I guess I should really just commit otherwise it could confusing and messy?
No, it's okay to switch back and forth. The key is your iPhone. If the SIM is inserted, iMessage will receive messages with either your email or cell number. Pull the SIM and if inserted on an android phone and it registers on a cell network, the number will no longer work with iMessage.
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Thank u Gee. So if I associate iMessage with email. I would miss some messages? E.g my android is with me at work. Ipad is at home.

Sorry still a bit confused. What is the best thing to do so I don't miss texts or any message for that matter.

And thank u for your help.
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Aug 2, 2004
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trellaine201 wrote: Thank u Gee. So if I associate iMessage with email. I would miss some messages? E.g my android is with me at work. Ipad is at home.

Sorry still a bit confused. What is the best thing to do so I don't miss texts or any message for that matter.

And thank u for your help.
It depends. If people are using iMessage and sending to your phone number, it will appear in the Messages app on your android phone and not on your iPad. If they use iMessage and send to your email, you will get the message on your iPad only.

Being on Android, if you send an SMS (phone number) to an iPhone user, it will appear in iMessage. You can not send to an email address using the Android messages app. It is strictly used for SMS.

Your iPhone friends will end up having two conversations with you in iMessage. One sent to a phone number (SMS), the other to your email which is sent to iMessage on your iPad. The best thing to do is for your friends to setup a group chat in iMessage and add both your phone number and the email. This will ensure that you will get the message on both your iPad and android cell phone.
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Sep 23, 2013
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Gee wrote: Your iPhone friends will end up having two conversations with you in iMessage. One sent to a phone number (SMS), the other to your email which is sent to iMessage on your iPad. The best thing to do is for your friends to setup a group chat in iMessage and add both your phone number and the email. This will ensure that you will get the message on both your iPad and android cell phone.
The OP can herd all his buddies to use WhatsApp which gives the best transition.
Other alternatives: Skype, wechat or Line. But they all require to be on wifi or data
For those buddies without wifi or on the road all the time, OP needs to text sms them
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Ugh a slight pain. So I may not get all my messages directed to my android as texts? Some will go to my iPad? As I still use this method when at home. Hmm have to figure this out.
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trellaine201 wrote: Ugh a slight pain. So I may not get all my messages directed to my android as texts? Some will go to my iPad? As I still use this method when at home. Hmm have to figure this out.
Once you've made the switch and put the SIM into your Android device, you will receive SMS text on your phone if people are sending it to your phone number (meaning, in their iMessage, they have your phone number listed as the recipient). If they are sending the meesage to your Apple ID email address in iMessage, then you will receive it on your iPad at home. You won't get any SMS text on your phone. You'll no longer be able to get the same message on both your phone and iPad.
Deal Expert
Aug 26, 2002
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trellaine201 wrote: Ugh a slight pain. So I may not get all my messages directed to my android as texts? Some will go to my iPad? As I still use this method when at home. Hmm have to figure this out.
You just have to tell your friends to only text you with your cellphone number and not your iCloud email. If they have previous message logs in their iMessage, tell them to start a new message with only your cellphone number. Then for sure you'll be getting their messages as SMS on your Android device.
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Cool. I think I understand now! Thanks everyone. I guess when I receive an iMessage I'll just start texting that person :) making the switch.
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rvs007 wrote: You just have to tell your friends to only text you with your cellphone number and not your iCloud email. If they have previous message logs in their iMessage, tell them to start a new message with only your cellphone number. Then for sure you'll be getting their messages as SMS on your Android device.
The problem with this is his iPad / Mac will not get any messages.

You can add your friends on your iPad using iMessage and then form a group with your cell number as well. This way, any messages sent to the group will go to your iPad and android phone.
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Aug 26, 2002
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Gee wrote: The problem with this is his iPad / Mac will not get any messages.

You can add your friends on your iPad using iMessage and then form a group with your cell number as well. This way, any messages sent to the group will go to your iPad and android phone.
Yes, that's a workaround but not exactly what he was looking for, which is to receive the same message on both the Android and iOS devices. Unfortunately, with a proprietary messaging service like iMessage, there's really no support outside of the Apple ecosystem which you're looking to leave. Replace your iPad with an Android tablet and you can probably get the same as what you had with your iPhone/iPad combo.
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Aug 2, 2004
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rvs007 wrote: Yes, that's a workaround but not exactly what he was looking for, which is to receive the same message on both the Android and iOS devices. Unfortunately, with a proprietary messaging service like iMessage, there's really no support outside of the Apple ecosystem which you're looking to leave. Replace your iPad with an Android tablet and you can probably get the same as what you had with your iPhone/iPad combo.
He can't receive the message at all on his iPad if it is an SMS

The best solution would be to switch to a cross platform app like Hangouts. Unfortunately, not everyone in his circle will make that switch. It's easier to keep the iPeople on iMessage.

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