Tell me more ×
Ask Different is a question and answer site for power users of Apple hardware and software. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 32 down vote favorite
8

My wife's iPhone has iOS 5 and hence iMessage installed. I would like to be able to chat with her using my Windows computer. What options are available for this? Is there a Windows client or any web site that can provide a bridge?

share|improve this question
2  
There isn't, but its always a good idea to leave feedback about what you'd like to see. – da4 Feb 13 '12 at 18:00
Are you aware of any attempts to reverse engineer this in order to bring iMessage to other platforms? Is this even realistic? – acidburn2k Jun 22 '12 at 15:04
Would another chat client be an option for your wife for talking to yoU? – Thorbjørn Ravn Andersen Feb 13 at 9:49

4 Answers

up vote 24 down vote accepted

As of December 11, 2012 the only official iMessage clients are for iOS 5 and 6, and Mountain Lion. Unfortunately you're out of luck using it on Windows.

share|improve this answer
Thanks! I hope I there's an contrary answer in future, but this is it for now. – Hand-E-Food Dec 20 '11 at 22:15
A Messages Beta for Mac was released today so, although not available just yet, I'd imagine a Windows client isn't too far away. – Marcel Feb 16 '12 at 16:11
2  
@Marcel: iMessage for Windows... I'm sure Apple will "get right on it" - maybe right after they eventually get around to porting FaceTime for Windows. :-) Who really knows, but Apple has a vested interested in steering people to stay within the Apple technology stack. – Edward Brey Feb 20 '12 at 23:24
up vote 8 down vote

As noted above, there currently exists no iMessage client for Windows. However, your question seems broader than that: your wife has an iPhone, you have a Windows computer, and you want to be able to communicate with each other.

There exist a number of options that could allow you to communicate.

If you wish to literally chat, you could use the embedded phone call feature in gmail (requires plugin) on your computer to call your wife's iPhone.

If you wish to type and have messages appear on each other's screen, both Windows computers and iPhones come with e-mail clients.

If you wish to send messages more optimized for shorter communication, you could create a Google Voice account exchange send SMS messages between Google's free interface and your wife's phone. To avoid SMS charges on your wife's phone, she'd need to install the Google Voice app and do the messaging through the app.

If there are particular features of iMessage you wish to exploit that these methods do not allow, please clarify your question to highlight the features you are missing here.

share|improve this answer
You make a good point! Even chat software like MSN would be sufficient. That raises audible alerts on both Windows and iPhone. – Hand-E-Food Feb 22 '12 at 22:01
up vote 6 down vote

No, there is no iMessage client available for a Windows PC.

iMessage is based on a propietary, binary and encrypted protocol (source Wikipedia) with a client side device certificate, which makes it unlikely to be reverse engineered and implemented in third party apps any time soon (although attempts are being made).

share|improve this answer
not even a third party client? – TheX Oct 2 '12 at 19:17
@TheX, no, I updated my answer with some additional info. – Gerry Oct 2 '12 at 19:25
Thanks for the information. – TheX Oct 2 '12 at 19:29
up vote 0 down vote

You could make a Skype account, download Skype to your computer, get your wife to make an account and download the Skype app, all for free and you can video chat and message each other just like FaceTime and iMessages

share|improve this answer

protected by Community♦ Feb 17 '12 at 16:18

This question is protected to prevent "thanks!", "me too!", or spam answers by new users. To answer it, you must have earned at least 10 reputation on this site.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.