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Making Apple’s iMessage compatible with a Windows PC is neither the easiest nor the most elegant thing to do, and I should know. Sending and receiving iPhone messages on my Windows laptop has been a personal mission for a couple of years, and I’ve spent far too much time researching and testing the most promising methods, which I’m going to share with you now.

Apple products like iPhones and MacBooks work well together, but getting an iPhone or iPad to work well with Windows can feel like hard work. Apple often has little incentive to make a popular and proprietary service like iMessage work well for a competitor.

I’m clearly not alone in my quest. “How do I use iMessage on Windows?” is one of the most common questions I get asked time and time again by iPhone users with Windows computers. With Windows taking up 62% of the US desktop market and iOS taking up 55% of the US mobile market, the number of users of Apple and Microsoft’s flagship devices is large enough to create a desire for better crossover. When that doesn’t happen, there’s frustration, and there are mountains of Reddit threads where this group of people try to solve the problem of getting iPhones and Windows PCs to connect.

I will share the “answers” I found on my journey and I hope they help you. For more information, check out 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 world of Apple, all you need is an Apple ID to use iMessage on all your Apple devices. If you use a Windows computer and don’t want to pick up your iPhone every time you get a message, it’s not nearly as easy. (Ahem, ahem: me.)

If you want the simplest setup and are happy with the basic version, you can connect your iPhone to your PC using Microsoft’s Phone Link app, for example.

I found the setup to be simple: after you install the app, connect your iPhone to your PC via Bluetooth and you’re ready to use iMessage from your computer. That’s what you want to do, right? Well, it’s time to temper your expectations.

It’s true that you can use iMessage to send messages, but Phone Link was never intended to be “iMessage for Windows” and the sheer number of limitations is almost laughable.

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 using Phone Link to reply or send the message yourself. You also can’t join group chats or receive pictures, but you’ll still get a notification when any of these events occur.

Phone Link also mirrors your iPhone’s notifications, but not all of them are actionable. For example, when I clicked on a notification from Reddit or X (formerly Twitter), in both cases I was taken to the website’s page where I could download the mobile app.

How to set up Microsoft’s Phone Link app

If you want to give it a try, here’s how to use iMessage on your Windows PC with the Phone Link app.

Here are the requirements:

• iPhone with iOS 14 or higher
• Windows 11 machine
• Lower expectations

Download the Link to Windows app on your iPhone and look for the Phone Link app on your Windows 11 PC—it’s a system app, so you don’t need to download it from the Microsoft Store.

1. Start both apps.
2. The Phone Link app will ask you which phone type you want to connect. Click iPhone.
3You will then be shown a QR code that you can scan with the “Link to Windows” app on your iPhone to establish the Bluetooth connection.
4. Follow the instructions in the Phone Link app and adjust any settings on your iPhone to proceed with the steps.

Once this is complete, you’re essentially done. As long as your iPhone maintains its Bluetooth connection with your PC, you can send and receive messages via iMessage using the Phone Link app.

Note: If you don’t mind the lack of iMessage features in the Phone Link app but want a little more general functionality, check out the Intel Unison app, a Phone Link alternative that also requires Windows 11. It has all of those Phone Link limitations but a few other features, like viewing your phone’s photos in the app and transferring files. Whether that’s enough for you to choose this app over Phone Link is up to you.

Screen Mirroring lets you share your iPhone screen on Windows

Screen mirroring not only allows you to add iMessage to your PC, but also allows you to cast your entire iOS screen on Windows. The good news is that you have a choice of options here. Essentially, download a screen mirroring app on your phone and PC that will allow you to use your iPhone on Windows.

The concept is simple, but most of these apps are paid. They’ll also likely pale in comparison to Apple’s upcoming native iPhone screen mirroring on Macs, announced at WWDC. If you want to try mirroring, check out AirDroid Cast, which currently costs about $3.50 per month and lets you control your iPhone from your Windows PC.

Set up a virtual machine to run MacOS on your Windows computer and use iMessage

Now we come to an area that requires a little more time and effort – and is really beyond the scope of this guide. However, if you aren’t afraid to get your hands dirty digitally, you can run MacOS on a virtual machine from your Windows computer. Sign in with your Apple ID and use iMessage from there. It’s technically iMessage on Windows, even though it’s actually iMessage on MacOS… on Windows.

Use an Always-On Mac to run iMessage on Windows

For the next two options, you’ll need a Mac computer that never sleeps and that you can either access remotely or use as a server. This isn’t an uncommon practice, as a used Mac Mini can cost anywhere from $50 to $100.

Chrome Remote Desktop

If you have a Mac that you can always leave on, the easiest way 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 anywhere you have access to the Chrome desktop browser that also has the extension installed.

To do this, install the Chrome extension on your Mac and follow the instructions to enable the permissions needed to use the service. From there, you can launch the service from another Chrome web browser and consolidate your entire Mac—including the Messages app—into one tab from which you can jump into iMessages at any time.

This option may seem over the top, but given how easy it is to set up, it’s definitely worth considering.

Advanced setup for a big win: Blue bubbles or air messages

Blue Bubbles and Air Message are two custom apps that require using an existing Mac as a server, which might cause confusion for some people. If that’s the case, you can skip this section and try one of the methods above.

I’ve used Blue Bubbles to run iMessage on my PC for the past few years with great success, but be warned: it’s intended for tech-savvy hobbyists who want to install iMessage not only on their Windows PCs, but on other devices as well.

Blue Bubbles is an open-source project that offers a “clean, customizable iMessage client for all platforms.” It’s available for Android, Windows, and via a web app, so you can access your iPhone’s messages from anywhere and on any device. Group chats, Tapbacks, message editing, and other iMessage features are present, though some of these features depend on which version of macOS you’re running.

Despite having installed custom ROMs for years, I’d say I only know enough to do some damage – and follow instructions reasonably well. Fortunately, there are a wealth of resources to help you out if you get stuck.

AirMessage is another recommended custom app, but I haven’t tried it personally. There’s no dedicated app for Windows, but rather a web app that you can access from anywhere.

Since both apps integrate a Mac computer, they feel like real solutions that are more akin to iMessage. The downside to these apps, aside from the setup process, is that Apple can shut down these services at any time and without warning. Apps like Beeper (perhaps the best chat app ever) have run into Apple’s limitations and dropped support for iMessage integration.

So there you have it – a selection of ways to get iMessage working on Windows machines, from easy but limited to more difficult but really useful.

Don’t miss how to survive with an iPhone and a Windows computer and how iOS 18 handles RCS messages.