Microsoft Announces iMessage Support on Windows With Several Limitations - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

Microsoft Announces iMessage Support on Windows With Several Limitations

Microsoft today announced that it is adding iPhone support to its Phone Link app on Windows 11. The app allows iPhone users to make and receive phone calls, send and receive text messages, and view an iPhone's notifications directly on a PC.

Windows 11 Phone Link iMessage
Notably, the app brings limited iMessage functionality to Windows. After pairing an iPhone with a PC via Bluetooth and granting some permissions on the iPhone, users can send and receive iMessages and SMS text messages in Phone Link, but there is no support for group chats or sending photos and videos.

As noted by The Verge's Tom Warren, Phone Link also lacks full message history for conversations and displays all sent and received messages as gray bubbles, meaning iMessages and SMS text messages cannot be differentiated.

Microsoft says iPhone support in Phone Link will be available in preview starting this week for a "small percentage" of Windows Insider members enrolled in the Dev, Beta, or Release Preview channels. The preview will be expanded "over time."

Popular Stories

iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...
imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
ios 26 4 yellow

Here Are Apple's Release Notes for iOS 26.4

Wednesday March 18, 2026 11:56 am PDT by
Apple provided developers and public beta testers with the release candidate versions of iOS 26.4 and iPadOS 26.4, which means we're going to see a public launch as soon as next week. The RC versions of the software include Apple's official release notes, giving us final details on what's included in the update. Apple Music - Playlist Playground (beta) generates a playlist from your...

Top Rated Comments

ThisBougieLife Avatar
40 months ago
Limited or not, it’s a step in the right direction. This is something I thought would never happen.
Score: 55 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kylelerner Avatar
40 months ago
It’s essentially using the same Bluetooth support stack as your car would to send and receive text messages.
Score: 30 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Stella Avatar
40 months ago
Great for iPhone owners who use only Windows.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
philrock Avatar
40 months ago
Definitely a step in the right direction. I use the iMessage feature on my Mac more than I thought I would. Having even limited functionality when I'm on my PC will be nice.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
40 months ago

Curious when / if Apple will block this...
Microsoft couldnt have done this without Apple...so this is here to stay
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving 🎗️ Avatar
40 months ago
Awesome feature but I'm a mac person. Glad to see, this option is out there for PC users.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Related Apple News: Reviews | Politics | South Africa | Ipad | Mac