Is your Pinwheel phone receiving text messages from other numbers, but not from their iPhone-user contacts? They may be sending their texts as iMessages instead of a regular SMS. Here’s what you need to know about how texting works between Apples and Android.
iMessage is an Apple-only feature that lets users send texts over the internet through a wireless network (Wi-Fi) or mobile data (3G/4G/5G LTE network). It uses an Apple ID instead of a phone number when sending messages through this service.
Unfortunately, being an Apple-exclusive feature means this won’t work on devices by Windows or Android.
For more information about the difference between iMessage and SMS, please refer to: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204065
But how are iPhone users supposed to send messages to a Pinwheel user?
► On your iPhone, make sure to send your messages as SMS/MMS; the speech bubble should be green and not blue. Sending texts in a blue speech bubble indicates it’s an iMessage.
► To check if iMessage is turned on for your iPhone, go to Settings and open up Messages. Locate the “Send as SMS” option and toggle it on. You can also scroll up and toggle off the iMessage option to completely disable the feature from your phone.
► If the SIM card you’re using on your Pinwheel phone was previously used on an iPhone, please make sure to deregister the number from iMessage as well.
Should you have further concerns, contact Pinwheel Customer Care or call/text us at (888) 903-7977. Our support hours are open daily from 7 AM to 9 PM CT.