Why Are iMessages Being Sent as Text Messages? (2023 Guide)

Not necessarily. As mentioned previously, an iMessage sent as a text message is usually indicative of a network issue. If your iMessage doesn’t have a “Delivered” message underneath it, but previous ones in the conversation did, then this could be an indication that you have been blocked.

Any message sent to a non-Apple user will be sent as a text message. The iMessaging service is only available for Apple devices. But if the iMessage couldn’t be sent, or if the recipient doesn’t have iMessage enabled, then your iPhone will send it as a text message.

You can enable or disable iMessage by going to Settings > Messages and tapping the button next to iMessage at the top of the screen.

While you are probably used to seeing blue bubbles on the messages that you send to other people with iPhones, occasionally that bubble will be green instead. Below a green bubble in an iMessage conversation, there will probably be a line that tells you it was sent as a text message.
The “sent as text message” meaning is that, for whatever reason, your iPhone couldn’t send the message as an iMessage.

Typically, yes, this indicates that the recipient received the message. Your iPhone should only display that message when the original iMessage failed, and the device was able to successfully complete the alternate transmission of the text message.

However, I have personally experienced situations where the person that I was texting did not get that message. Usually, it’s something that occurs when I have poor data connectivity, or when I’ve gotten off a plane and switched time zones. If the text is really important and you haven’t received a response, it might be a good idea to send the message again.

If all of your texts are being sent as SMS, even the ones that are going to people that you know have Apple devices, then the iMessage setting could be turned off. You can check this by going to Settings > Messages > and looking if the iMessage option is enabled.

If this is happening even with the iMessage setting turned on and you are still wondering “why are my iMessages sending as texts” then that can be a little tougher to troubleshoot.

If you have just switched iPhones, then you may need to go back to the old device and turn the iMessage setting off. It’s also possible that the iMessage service just isn’t working properly, or that you have a bad Internet connection.

If messages are being sent as text messages, then it is most likely that the recipient is using a non-Apple device, like an Android.
If you know that they are using an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, then they may not have iMessage enabled.
If they have iMessage turned on and you can send iMessages to other people, then it’s a problem with their device. They can try turning iMessage on and off, restarting their iPhone, and making sure that their phone number has a blue check next to it when they go to Settings > Messages > Send & Receive.

If you see two exclamation points at the corner of a text message, that means that the recipient has added a reaction. You can do this by tapping and holding on the message, then selecting from the list of available reactions. These include:
– a heart
– a thumbs up
– a thumbs down
– HaHa
– two exclamation points
– a question mark

When iPhone users send messages from the Message app that wind up being an SMS (short messaging service) message, then the bubble around the message will be green. It will also say sent as text message underneath the message.

An example of an iPhone SMS message is shown to the right.

As we mentioned above, this might happen for a few reasons –

1. The recipient is using an Android phone.
2. An iMessage recipient might not have a good Internet connection.
3. An iPhone user might have the iMessage service turned off.

If nothing seems to be wrong and you are still seeing a green text bubble, then your mobile communication strength might not be good. Check your Internet connectivity and cellular service to confirm that they are in good working order, and that you haven’;t turned off cellular data or used your full monthly data allotment.

You won’t get an iMessage delivery notification or anything when it goes through, but you can identify successful iMessages because they are blue messages instead of green.

An example of an iMessage is shown to the right.

Note that only the message you send will be a blue message. The other iMessage recipient messages will still be the standard gray color.

There is not a dedicated iMessage app. Any sent message that goes to other Apple users or another iOS device will have the blue bubble is the iMessage option is enabled for that device.

Yes, it is possible to disable the iMessage service completely on your device. You can do this with the following steps.

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Messages.
3. Toggle the iMessage option off.

if you want to send iMessages when possible, and only want your iPhone to send an SMS as a fallback, then you will need to:

1. Open the Settings app.
2. Select Messages.
3. Enable the iMessage option.
4. Turn on the Send as SMS option.

Note that most cellular plans give you an unlimited number of SMS messages, but any MMS (multimedia messaging service) messages that you send, such as pictures or videos, will use data from your data plan if you are connected to a cellular network.