iMessage and SMS

[bmwman3241]

I use iMessage with a lot of international contacts (Friends and family) since it is free. Is there a way to set certain contacts in the Messages app to be iMessage only?
When the signal or data is bad on either end, it sends the messages as text messages which ends up costing quite a bit if it happens a lot. I would like to set my International iMessage contacts so that if the signal or data is bad, instead of sending a text message, it just stops working until it gets better. Is this possible?

 

[TheNewDude]

I have the same issue with iMessage.
I don't mind it going through as a text message (I have a few free international text messages), but it really sucks when I'm trying to send a picture or a video clip.

 

[HMI]

I use iMessage with a lot of international contacts (Friends and family) since it is free. Is there a way to set certain contacts in the Messages app to be iMessage only?
When the signal or data is bad on either end, it sends the messages as text messages which ends up costing quite a bit if it happens a lot. I would like to set my International iMessage contacts so that if the signal or data is bad, instead of sending a text message, it just stops working until it gets better. Is this possible?

In Settings/Messages, turn off "Send as SMS".
Under Settings/Messages/Send&Receive, change "start new conversations from" to your email address instead of your phone number. If you don't have an email address option, you can first add it to your Apple ID, then add it to your iMessage settings. If you want, you can also create a new unique email address to use with iMessage only, add it to your AppleID/iMessage, and use that.

This would apply to all contacts, though.