Messages

If you've just bought your first iPhone, or if you're one of the many people who just never got around to setting up their voicemail until now, you may be wondering how to open and listen to voicemail on your phone. You'll also want to learn how to delete voicemail messages, since too many undeleted messages will mean new messages can't be added to your voicemail. Voicemail on iPhone is quick and easy to use, once you learn a few quick steps. Let's get started learning how to check voicemail on iPhone, and how to delete voicemail as well, so you never miss a message. 

iOS 11.4 is here, and one of the most long-awaited features included is the ability to store photos and other message attachments in iCloud and sync them across devices. This means, of course, that when you delete a message or attachment it will now be deleted on every iPhone, iPad, or Mac you own (previously, you had to delete the message individually on each device); and when you purchase a new device, all your messages will be there as soon as you sign in to the device. This new capability will offer not only convenience, but also save space on your iPhone and iPad while preserving your privacy with end-to-end encryption. Let's learn more about how messages in iCloud works and what you need to do to use this feature, and how to turn on messages in iCloud, as well. 

With Messages on the iPhone, you can send a message to a group of people rather than copying and pasting the same information into several separate texts. Group iMessages allow everyone in the conversation to communicate with each other and share information, mute notifications, or leave the group as they see fit. If you belong to or have started several group iMessage conversations, it's important to be able to see at a glance which chat is which, so you don't send the wrong comment to the wrong group! Let's get started learning how to name a group chat on your iPhone so you can keep track of who's who in your group messages. 

Apple announced the Apple Business Chat platform at WWDC 2017 and iOS 11.3 has finally introduced us to the program. The Business Chat platform allows iPhone users to connect with companies through iMessages, or from the businesses' app or website, rather than talking on the phone. Apple is rolling out Business Chat slowly; it's only available as a beta version right now, with a limited number of partner companies. Let's stay ahead of the curve and learn how to use Business Chat on our iPhones. 

You've been trying to get in touch with a friend or family member, but they haven't returned your calls or messages. Are they just busy, is something wrong with their phone, or have they blocked your number? How can you tell if someone blocked your number? There's not a surefire way to know if your number is blocked, but there are a few telling signs that indicate someone blocked your number from texting or calling. Let's go over the clues that calls and messages from your iPhone are being blocked.

We've gone over how to block a phone number on the iPhone, as well as how to block texts on the iPhone, but did you know that even when someone's number is blocked they can still leave you voicemails? It seems odd to be able to receive voicemails from someone you've directed your phone to block, but there it is, and in a way this peculiar feature has its merits. For example, if you've blocked an ex or cyberbully, it can be useful to know if they've moved on or if you may have cause to worry. So let's get started learning what happens when you block a number on the iPhone, and how to listen to voicemails from blocked numbers, as well. 

Getting iMessage on a PC is a tall order. Apple is famous for its closed-system standard, and apps like Messages are no exception. If you have a PC running Windows and you want to use iMessage on your PC, I’ve got both good and bad news. First, it is possible to get iMessage on PC. But the best option for getting iMessage on PC requires a remote desktop, which means you need a Mac for it to work. We will go over how to do this, and it will allow you to have iMessage on your PC running Windows. However, I would imagine most people looking to do this don’t have a Mac, which is where the not-so-great news comes in. Overall, Apple is not making it easy for users to have iMessage on a PC. I’ll go over other options I've seen bloggers promote, but I don’t recommend doing them. If you don’t have a Mac and you want to use iMessage on PC, I highly recommend using a different messaging service. Whatsapp,  for example, allows you to use its messaging platform across all devices. But if you’re insistent upon using iMessage on your PC running Windows, let’s go over your options and the only method I do recommend. Here’s how to get iMessage on a PC, and the methods I don't reccomend that are potentially harmful to your devices. 

Animoji is a new iMessage feature that currently is only available on the iPhone X. Animojis are animated emojis, and the technology required to create them is really incredible, with far-reaching potential applications. The Animojis feature allows iPhone X owners to animate various characters in ten-second videos and send them to friends. When you move your face, the Animoji automatically moves with you. With Animojis, you are essentially animating your own face, as though you were in a cartoon right from the comfort of your iPhone. The first iteration of Animojis allowed you to be a unicorn, the poop emoji, a panda, a chicken, and more. With iOS 11.3, Apple has added a bear, a dragon, a lion, and a skull.  Here’s how to use Animojis on your iPhone X.

Message attachments are the photos, GIFs, and videos your friends and family send you. They’re stored as a part of each text message, and they can take up a lot of space without you ever thinking about it. Before iOS 11, you had to select each attachment you wanted to delete in the Message app. But there’s an easier way to delete message attachments and free up storage with iOS 11 on your iPhone. Here’s how.

With iOS 10, Apple introduced Message Effects that allow you to add a bit of fun to the messages you send. You could make confetti rain or a laser show ensue when the recipient opened it. With iOS 11, Apple adds two new Message Effects— Echo and Spotlight. We’ll go over what each Message Effect does and how to use it. Here’s how to use the new Message Effects with iOS 11 on iPhone.

Text message stickers for iOS devices are a great way to add an extra personalized touch to your iMessages. If you have an iPhone or iPad running iOS 10 or later, then you have access to the plethora of texting stickers that are available in the Messages App Store.

In the Messages app on the iPhone, you can create group messages to keep in contact with multiple people simultaneously. You can even hold group chats with contacts that don’t use an iPhone—you just won’t be able to add anyone to a group unless it’s comprised of all iPhone users with iMessage enabled. Group messages can easily get out of hand when there are lots of people in one, but they’re fantastic for sharing information that multiple people need to know in a single message. Here’s how to create group messages on iPhone.

If you can imagine it, there’s probably a way to do it with the iPhone. One of the things you might not know about your iPhone is how to hide text messages. It’s easier than you might think to hide text messages on iPhone. You can lock messages, hide messages, and even turn off message preview on iPhone so that your personal information stays just that...personal. There are even some secret texting app options on the market for iPhone. This makes it easy to figure out how to hide your messages on iPhone. If you are trying to figure out how to hide contacts on iPhone, we will cover that while discussing how to lock iPhone messages and how to find hidden text messages.

Recover Deleted Texts from Your iPhone: 4 Ways to Retrieve Deleted Text Messages

iCloud backups are a great way to recover deleted text messages from an iPhone. If you have ever backed up your iPhone to iCloud, you should be able to use this method to get back your deleted text messages. Make sure you are doing regular iCloud backups; it’s a good idea for saving ALL of your important stuff, not just messages that might potentially get deleted.​ Here are four methods for recovering deleted text messages on iPhone:

1. Restore from iCloud Backup
2. Restore from iTunes Backup
3. Contact Your Service Provider
4. Third-Party Apps & Softwares

We'll cover how to do each of theses methods in full detail.

The stuff on our iPhones and iPads tends to accumulate, using up valuable storage space. But if you're careful, you can use your storage space more efficiently. And one way to do that is to enable a setting to automatically delete text messages after 30 days. This will be especially useful in saving space if your text messages include video and audio messages. Just be aware that deleted messages can’t be searched, so make sure to save any information you need before your message history is deleted. Here’s how to automatically erase old text messages on iPhone.

If your iMessage is not working or not activating on iPhone or iPad, it could be for a number of different reasons, including the iMessage waiting-for-activation error that’s common to many users. However, we'll also cover how to fix iMessage when it's saying the text was not delivered or if your iPhone is not receiving texts. Whether you're on iOS 11 or an earlier software, iMessage may not be working but the solutions are roughly the same. We've got a few troubleshooting tips to fix iMessage when it's not working. iMessage not working is a big problem for users who rely on the service. If your iMessage isn't working or won't activate, we’ll figure out how to fix it. 

Sometimes, whether it's an ex, a cyberbully, or an obnoxious telemarketer, a person just won't get the message and stop calling or texting you. That's when it's time to block their calls and texts on your iPhone. There’s no need to put up with unwanted messages or phone calls when Apple has a feature to block numbers on iPhone. Enabling call blocking for a specific number means you will no longer receive phone calls, FaceTime calls, text messages, or iMessages from that number. Here’s how to block a phone number on iPhone, as well as how to block texts on iPhone!

All those cute pictures, funny memes, and hilarious gifs your friends send you in Messages can take up a surprising amount of your iPhone's storage capacity. Each attachment is saved to the message conversation thread, which is great if you decide to save a couple of the photos. But if you’re someone who doesn't often delete older messages, you can easily free up some phone storage by deleting the attachments. And luckily, you can delete attachments from Messages without deleting the conversation.

You don't have to leave a group message just because you want your iPhone to stop buzzing with new message notifications. Instead you can turn on Do Not Disturb for that message thread and read all the messages about planning your brother-in-law's birthday party later. Here’s how to mute group messages without leaving the conversation.