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My 85 yo Mom doesn't have a cell phone but does have a Mac. My son is going to college and she wants to keep in touch but he only texts and has an Android. I think I can set-up iMessage on her Mac as she has an Apple ID, but can she send texts to Android phones?

She also has an iPad but has trouble using it.

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Why not go with Skype?

It has clients for Mac, PC, iPhone, and Android. It even has the option to send native SMS (text) messages but there really is no need if both parties have a Skype client.

Best of all, she can message, voice and video chat.

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Yes, she can use Messages on her Mac to text to anyone with an email address or phone number. Here's and Apple page on how to setup Messages on her Mac. She has to make sure her Mac has an active internet connection (you might need to check that for her first). You didn't mention the type of iMac she has so this assumes she has the latest operating system.

It's very simple, she just needs to start a conversation in Messages and then add your son's Android phone number or its email address (every internet-enabled phone will have an email address). She'll be able to chat with him after that.

This is called sending an SMS message.

  1. Click enter image description here at the top of the Messages window.
  2. Address your message by typing the recipient's name, email address, or phone number. Or click plus sign and choose a recipient. If they're in your Contacts app, Messages finds them as you type. To start a group conversation, just add more recipients.
  3. Type your message in the field at the bottom of the window, then press Return to send it.
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  • Just checking, if the OP's mum hasn't got an iPhone, will she still be able to use her Mac to send a text message to an Android phone? That's my reading of the OP's exact scenario.
    – Monomeeth ♦
    May 22, 2017 at 22:58
  • @Monomeeth That's my understanding. I've sent text messages to devices that weren't iPhones, via SMS I'm assuming, from my Mac. I just use the phone number of the device.
    – fsb
    May 23, 2017 at 12:33
  • Additional research shows it used to work until March 2016 when OS El Capitan rendered it unusable. Have not found a fix to this.
    – KB214
    May 24, 2017 at 0:11

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