Anyone using the Message Beta?

[benwiggy]

Is anyone having much success with the Apple Message Beta app on OS X?

I spent ages trying to send myself a text message, without success. (Even though I have iMessages on on my iPhone, my phone number wasn't "validated", until I turned iMessages off and then on again on the phone.)

I still couldn't send a message to my phone until I edited my Address Book entry to contain the country code in my phone number. Once it has failed to send a message, the phone number is then blocked with a "not available" dialog, and no way offered to reset this unblocking.

Also, there doesn't seem a way to use a phone number as a Caller ID. Only emails.

(Posted in Applications, as it's an OS X app, though it does also deal with iPhones and that.)

[mnewman]

Here in Thailand, Apple's system doesn't handle country codes properly. I can't call or send messages to people from my iPhone unless I remove the country code from their Address Book entry.

Since I left the country code 'on' in my own Address Book entry I can't send messages to myself from iMessage.

It is very flakey.

I only use it to send iMessages to email addresses.

[benwiggy]

It is still in Beta, of course.

I'm not sure why I would want to send an iMessage to another email address, using my email address as caller ID. Isn't there already a method for sending text messages between email accounts....?

[mnewman]

And, isn't there already a way to send messages between two mobile phone numbers?

[benwiggy]

Quote: Originally Posted by mnewman And, isn't there already a way to send messages between two mobile phone numbers?

The advantage of iMessages is that they go through Apple's servers, not your ISP's SMS servers, so they don't count as "normal" text messages for billing purposes. If you're abroad on a free wi-fi, it's a big saving.

[mnewman]

Quote: Originally Posted by benwiggy The advantage of iMessages is that they go through Apple's servers, not your ISP's SMS servers, so they don't count as "normal" text messages for billing purposes. If you're abroad on a free wi-fi, it's a big saving.

Right. I forgot all about the money saving aspect.

Anyway, thanks for the thread. I can now use Messages on the Mac to send messages to phone numbers; even my own.

[NaOH]

I've used it, largely with success. I'm not much of an IM user—I only do it as an accommodation to a couple of clients—but the iMessages concept is appealing because I have a number of friends who often have to use texting instead of email, so Messages became helpful since I could use my Mac instead of grabbing my iPhone.

Then I stopped using Messages about two months when it seemed to never allow a connection. Honestly, I doubt I spent three minutes trying to figure out the cause. Because of this thread, I opened Messages only to still see the no-connection issue. On a whim, I just fixed the problem simply by unhiding the application (sudo chflags nohidden /Applications/iChat.app). I have no idea why Messages wasn't working because of that since I have loads of hidden applications and no others have given me issue.

Other than that, Messages has worked well for me. I'm not certain why the country code was an issue for you. I don't have one included with any Address Book contacts, and I can send myself and others messages. As for the inability to use a phone number as a caller ID, that hasn't been an issue for me. Since iMessages only works within the iOS world, using my Apple ID has been enough (once the email is added to the iPhone under Settings > iMessage).

And I also like the idea from Gabe at MacDrifter for using Messages as an intra-Apple device clipboard for text, images, etc. I find it a much easier way to move a file from my Mac to iPad than, say, email. Similarly, I use Reading List to move links from an iOS device to my Mac, but that's a different topic.

[NaOH]

Looking at Messages again, in Preferences > Accounts select your iMessage account then hit the Account Details button. There is a Location pop-up menu. I assume it automatically sets yours based on your Address Book card, but you may want to make certain it's set correctly in case that's why you needed a country code in your contact card.

[mnewman]

You're saying you can use Messages on the Mac to send a message to a cell phone number?

I just tried to send a message to my wife using her iPhone number both with and without the country code. Both attempts failed. Sending using her email address works.

I can send a message to my wife from my iPhone to hers using her phone number or her email address.

[NaOH]

Quote: Originally Posted by mnewman You're saying you can use Messages on the Mac to send a message to a cell phone number?

Yes, if the person has a Messages-capable iPhone. That's iOS 5 (I think). I can't remember if any of the iOS default settings need to be configured to make this possible, but I doubt it since some of the people with whom I've used the system aren't the types I'd expect to go through all the settings options.

[mnewman]

OK, I think I have this sorted.

Thai phone numbers are usually entered like this:

66 (0)84-nnn-nnn, where 66 is the country code. The zero is not needed if you're dialing from outside of Thailand and use the country code. It is needed if you're dialing from within Thailand.

But the iPhone's International Assist and the Messages app can't seen to handle this.

I could send a message from Messages on the Mac to my wife using her phone number if and only if I enter her phone number like this: 66 84-nnn-nnn.

The problem with this is that when I go overseas I will be able to call or send my wife an SMS only if I add the zero back in to her phone number.

[NaOH]

Just out of curiosity, is the normal number you dial—the one with the zero in it—listed in your Address Book contact card as an iPhone (rather than work, home, mobile, etc.)? I wonder if that would auto-correct the issue. If not, I guess you could add a specific phone number for Messages to the contact card of your wife and anyone else in Thailand with whom you might use iMessage, that way you can quickly pull up the usable number.

[mnewman]

Actually, I put two entries for my wife's single phone:

086-nnn-nnn as an iPhone for when I'm calling her from within Thailand.

+66 86-nnn-nnn as a Mobile for when I'm calling her from abroad.

It seems like it ought to work, both for phone calls and for Messages, with just one entry.

[NaOH]

Another perk of iMessages is that there isn't really have a character limit. Apple subtly points this out since the character count display (if turned on) doesn't show when you're sending an iMessage. Technically there may be a limit, but the message is simply split and continued in another message. A friend sent me an 862-character iMessage today that came through in one message. That same friend sent a message a few months ago that got split at the 1,071-character mark. That seems like a random number, so I guess it's possible it was split for some other reason.