Does iMessage work internationally?

kfergiez · Oct 27, 2011, 01:48 PM

Just curious if I (living in the U.S.) can send SMS and MMS via iMessage for free to a friend in the U.K.

Cynikal.Mindset · Oct 27, 2011, 01:49 PM

yes u can

FreakinEurekan · Oct 27, 2011, 01:49 PM

Yes. As long as your message is showing up in a blue balloon it will go via iMessage and will be sent via Internet, rather than via cell carrier message.

AlphaDogg · Oct 27, 2011, 01:49 PM

iMessage is not the same as SMS or MMS. Yes it works internationally.

diamornte · Oct 27, 2011, 02:01 PM

Didn't work for me... my friend is visiting China for business, I sent him a text (showing as iMessage, not Text Message in the chat bubble), we both have iPhone 4S's... it shows it as being sent as an iMessage, then after a few seconds, it changes to "Sent as Text Message" Go figure!

heisenberg123 · Oct 27, 2011, 02:03 PM

yes im from Canada and imessage a friend in the USA all the time

maril1111 · Oct 27, 2011, 02:05 PM

yes I have send a message to hungary from here (denmark)

heisenberg123 · Oct 27, 2011, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamornte

Didn't work for me... my friend is visiting China for business, I sent him a text (showing as iMessage, not Text Message in the chat bubble), we both have iPhone 4S's... it shows it as being sent as an iMessage, then after a few seconds, it changes to "Sent as Text Message" Go figure!

where do you see this "sent as" message do you mean it sents as a blue bubble that later changes to green?

are you sure its not start blue than its changing to green just before the sending bar is done? this could be it initial see the reciever is on 5.0 but either your data or his data connection is lost and it defaults back to sms

srcstc · Oct 27, 2011, 02:12 PM

I use it to txt a friend in Poland. It's great.

DougFNJ · Oct 27, 2011, 02:50 PM

I have been regularly imessaging a friend in Netherlands. Make sure the email and phone number is in the contact information maybe? I think it works through one or the other.

Scarlet Siren · Oct 27, 2011, 02:53 PM

I was wondering this also because I'd like to start messaging my friends in Europe and US more.

Thanks!

verwon · Oct 27, 2011, 02:59 PM

I also use it for Canadian texting, with no problems.

gmanist1000 · Oct 27, 2011, 03:25 PM

Yes. My dad was out of country and we used iMessage to talk to each other. He just used wifi to send the messages.

ChinaBrit · Dec 23, 2011, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by diamornte

Didn't work for me... my friend is visiting China for business, I sent him a text (showing as iMessage, not Text Message in the chat bubble), we both have iPhone 4S's... it shows it as being sent as an iMessage, then after a few seconds, it changes to "Sent as Text Message" Go figure!

I live in China and iMessage doe not work for me, at least it does not work internationally. Everything leaves as SMS.

aziatiklover · Dec 23, 2011, 12:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChinaBrit

I live in China and iMessage doe not work for me, at least it does not work internationally. Everything leaves as SMS.

that's prolly because of china 3g firewall that won't let you send anything! I'm currently here in vietnam using 3g and something edge. It works like a charm texting my friends and family in the states and france.

Macman45 · Dec 23, 2011, 12:35 AM

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3)

It's country by country. Works uk to NZ UK to USA Uk to some eastern countries but as posted above not China Or N Korea

haruhiko · Dec 23, 2011, 01:16 AM

Does the internet work internationally?

ET iPhone Home · Dec 23, 2011, 01:44 AM

When texting international using iMessage, is this covered under the text messaging plan (w/ Sprint) or is it completely free?

Also, if I were to text message someone in Stockholm, Sweden from the U.S., do I use the same method (011 + prefix) when dialing from a landline?

New to the 4S. Thanks.

Bawstun · Dec 23, 2011, 10:35 AM

Not sure about the prefixes, but if you hold the 0 key down long enough it turns to a +

But yes iMessage is free. As long as you are seeing a "blue" bubble with the person you are texting, and not green, it is using your phone's data plan and not your carrier's text messaging plan (which would cost you for international rates). If YOU are not in YOUR home country, then using that data to iMessage would probably be considered roaming data and probably cost you. But that's the only way it'd cost that I can think of.

wordoflife · Dec 23, 2011, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bawstun

But that's the only way it'd cost that I can think of.

Also, if an iMessage fails to send, the phone will automatically send it as a text message. This will cost you.

But of course, there's an option to turn that off.

M Quick · Dec 23, 2011, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aziatiklover

that's prolly because of china 3g firewall that won't let you send anything! I'm currently here in vietnam using 3g and something edge. It works like a charm texting my friends and family in the states and france.

Then using anything against the internet would not work as its basically the same thing.

I'm guessing he hasn't enabled iMessage in the settings..

aziatiklover · Dec 23, 2011, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by M Quick

Then using anything against the internet would not work as its basically the same thing.

I'm guessing he hasn't enabled iMessage in the settings..

I was talking about ip address block. China carriers could have gone blocking imessage ip! Its like when we have facebook and twiter block, but anything else work here in some asians country such as china, and vietnam.

ET iPhone Home · Dec 23, 2011, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wordoflife

Also, if an iMessage fails to send, the phone will automatically send it as a text message. This will cost you.

But of course, there's an option to turn that off.

Can you direct me where this can be turned OFF - not send an iMessage as text to prevent a charge? Thanks.

M Quick · Dec 23, 2011, 11:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by aziatiklover

I was talking about ip address block. China carriers could have gone blocking imessage ip! Its like when we have facebook and twiter block, but anything else work here in some asians country such as china, and vietnam.

I see, that seems like a pain!

Didn't know any part of the world would do that to their users, seems silly!

But you can use either number or mail or both to receive iMessages at. Have you tried both by adding the second?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ET iPhone Home

Can you direct me where this can be turned OFF - not send an iMessage as text to prevent a charge? Thanks.

You can only do the opposite, but there is a way around it, if you don't want a charge then turn the phone into flight mode and turn on wifi and send a message to make sure you are not getting charged.

NP.

wordoflife · Dec 23, 2011, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ET iPhone Home

Can you direct me where this can be turned OFF - not send an iMessage as text to prevent a charge? Thanks.

Sure.
Settings > Messages > turn "Send As SMS" OFF.

When this is set to "OFF", iMessages that fail to send will not be sent and you will have to manually resend it.
When this is set to "ON", iMessages that fail to send will be sent as a text message automatically.

Oct 27, 2011, 01:48 PM	#1
kfergiez macrumors regular Join Date: Jul 2010	Does iMessage work internationally? Just curious if I (living in the U.S.) can send SMS and MMS via iMessage for free to a friend in the U.K.
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 01:49 PM	#2
Cynikal.Mindset macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Guelph ON, Canada	yes u can __________________ http://cynikalmindset.blogspot.com/
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 01:49 PM	#4
AlphaDogg macrumors 68040 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Denver, CO	iMessage is not the same as SMS or MMS. Yes it works internationally. __________________ 15" 2.66GHz C2D uMBP \| 13" 2.4GHz i5 MBP 500GB \| '07 MacBook iPhone 5 32GB \| iPhone 3GS 8GB \| iPhone 8GB אני רוצה לעשות עליה לישראל
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 02:03 PM	#6
heisenberg123 macrumors 601 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Hamilton, Ontario	yes im from Canada and imessage a friend in the USA all the time __________________ 15" i7 Quad Core MBP (Early 2011) 2.0GHz, 16GB RAM, 1TB HD, AMD Radeon HD 6490M(Intel HD Graphics 3000) OSX Lion 10.7.3 16GB Samsung Galaxy SIII with 32GB microSD
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 02:05 PM	#7
maril1111 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Denmark	yes I have send a message to hungary from here (denmark) __________________ 13" 2011 MBP 2.3,8 GB Ram,320GB HDD;13"MB 4.1 3 GB Ram 120GB HDD;iPad 3 32Gb 4G+Wifi;Ipod Classic 160GB;ipod nano 8GB
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 01:49 PM	#3
FreakinEurekan macrumors 68000 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: Eureka Springs, Arkansas	Yes. As long as your message is showing up in a blue balloon it will go via iMessage and will be sent via Internet, rather than via cell carrier message.
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 02:01 PM	#5
diamornte macrumors regular Join Date: Apr 2009	Didn't work for me... my friend is visiting China for business, I sent him a text (showing as iMessage, not Text Message in the chat bubble), we both have iPhone 4S's... it shows it as being sent as an iMessage, then after a few seconds, it changes to "Sent as Text Message" Go figure!
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 02:12 PM	#9
srcstc macrumors member Join Date: Oct 2010	I use it to txt a friend in Poland. It's great.
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 02:50 PM	#10
DougFNJ macrumors 6502 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: NJ	I have been regularly imessaging a friend in Netherlands. Make sure the email and phone number is in the contact information maybe? I think it works through one or the other. __________________ 13" MacBook Pro 2012 iPad Mini Black 64GB LTE VZ iPhone 5 Black 64GB VZ iPod Nano 6 8GB Apple TV 2nd Gen Like Watches? www.youtube.com/dougfnj
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 02:53 PM	#11
Scarlet Siren macrumors newbie Join Date: Oct 2011	I was wondering this also because I'd like to start messaging my friends in Europe and US more. Thanks!
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 02:59 PM	#12
verwon macrumors 68020 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Seattle	I also use it for Canadian texting, with no problems.
	0

Oct 27, 2011, 03:25 PM	#13
gmanist1000 macrumors 68000 Join Date: Sep 2009	Yes. My dad was out of country and we used iMessage to talk to each other. He just used wifi to send the messages.
	0

Dec 23, 2011, 12:35 AM	#16
Macman45 macrumors G4 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Somewhere Back In The Long Ago	Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0_1 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.1 Mobile/9A405 Safari/7534.48.3) It's country by country. Works uk to NZ UK to USA Uk to some eastern countries but as posted above not China Or N Korea __________________ Time And Tide Wait For No Man
	0

Dec 23, 2011, 01:16 AM	#17
haruhiko macrumors 68000 Join Date: Sep 2009	Does the internet work internationally? __________________ Mac: rMBP'12, iMac'08/24", Mini'09 (dead), MBP'10/15", MBA'11/13"/256. iPhone: 5/64B, 4S/64W, 4/32B, 3GS/16. iPT: 3G,1G. iPad: 3/4G/64 2/3G/32, 1/WiFi/16. ATV'12,'11 AEBS'09
	1

Dec 23, 2011, 01:44 AM	#18
ET iPhone Home macrumors 6502a Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Orange County, California USA	When texting international using iMessage, is this covered under the text messaging plan (w/ Sprint) or is it completely free? Also, if I were to text message someone in Stockholm, Sweden from the U.S., do I use the same method (011 + prefix) when dialing from a landline? New to the 4S. Thanks.
	0

Dec 23, 2011, 10:35 AM	#19
Bawstun macrumors 6502a Join Date: Jun 2009	Not sure about the prefixes, but if you hold the 0 key down long enough it turns to a + But yes iMessage is free. As long as you are seeing a "blue" bubble with the person you are texting, and not green, it is using your phone's data plan and not your carrier's text messaging plan (which would cost you for international rates). If YOU are not in YOUR home country, then using that data to iMessage would probably be considered roaming data and probably cost you. But that's the only way it'd cost that I can think of.
	0

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