ile Android users who have switched from ione already lament the loss of the superb Messages app, they’re also giving up another neat feature: the ability to send receive texts from their Mac. As a recent full-time switcher to Android, keeping track of conversations on my Macbook is one of the main things I’ve missed, I’ve learned to keep my phone within arm’s reach whenever I’m at my desk.

Android SMS for iChat offers something of a solution. ile it’s not quite as polished as Apple’s native syncing with the macOS app (which is actually called Messages rather than iChat now), the service actually does manage to spoof Apple’s system into syncing the messages received on your Android phone. And while there are some bugs wrinkles that keep it from being a true replica of the iCloud-ione experience, it should provide enough home cooking to keep switchers happy.

-platform chats

The setup is a little more complicated than Apple’s method, but the app’s tutorial does a good job walking you through it. First you need to download the Android version from ay, since that’s where most of the heavy lifting takes place. From there you’ll create an account, head back to the Messages app on your Mac. Click Add Account, then Other, add a bber account with your newly created username password. After a few more clicks the two apps will be linked.

ile you might need to refer to the SMS for iChat app to tweak the occasional setting, you’ll actually still be using the main messaging apps on your phone Mac as usual. Once it finishes setting up, it should bring over any threads you’ve saved, though several of the conversations in Messenger on my xel were left behind.

Otherwise it mostly behaves like the normal Messages app does, but there a few inconsistencies. For one, anything originating from your Android phone won’t be separated into gray green bubbles. Rather, both sides of the conversation will all be stacked on top of each other with sent messages marked with a “- (Sent by you via Android)” signature. It’s not too hard to decipher the flow of the conversation, but if you’re looking to keep a pristine log of your conversations on your Mac, SMS for iChat might not suit your needs.

Familiar faces

SMS for iChat did a nice job with keeping up with new messages coming in, I haven’t missed a single one since I started using it (despite some back–forths being inexplicably split into new conversation threads). Notifications work nicely too, though an odd quirk displays banners for both incoming outgoing messages.

But despite those hiccups, SMS for iChat dutifully synced anything sent to my Android phone, I was able to respond to incoming messages on my Mac like I did before. ll, almost like before—the service doesn’t support delivery of MMS messages just yet, though the company says it is working on a version that will add the functionality. However, incoming pics can be viewed via a link to a secure site.

Speaking of, if you’re concerned about the privacy of such an unofficial solution, developer MDRS assures users that it uses secure connections 128-bit encryption when transferring messages. Texts are delivered via ’s Cloud Messaging service purged after three days.

Should you download it?

The service is free to download use, but if you want to manage more than five messages per day you’ll need to pony up some dough. There are three options for subscribers, each of which offer unlimited messages. You can opt to pay $10 a month, $60 a year, or $130 for a lifetime subscription. That might be too rich for some people, especially for an app that might not ever work perfectly due to Apple’s efforts to stymie outsiders, but even with the inconsistencies I thoroughly enjoyed using my Mac again to send text messages.

ile it won’t replace the smooth, consistent manner in which iCloud shares messages between the ione the Mac, it does bring back much of the functionality you gave up when you switched. And when you’re navigating a strange new l, a little familiarity goes a long way.