How To Use iMessage On PC/Windows

Last Updated on May 28, 2019 by Jay

Looking for how to use iMessage on PC? Well, while the app itself isn’t natively available on Windows, we do have a couple of tricks up our sleeve. There’s an easy way and a hard way. And when we say hard way, we really mean a 90% of it not working. Still, the easy way is bound to work, so, let’s dig right into it!

How To Use iMessage On PC With Chrome’s Remote Desktop Feature

So, as we mentioned above, iMessage isn’t natively available on Windows. But, what if we told you that you can actually use iMessage from your Mac – but from another computer? 

In case you haven’t heard about it, Remote Desktop is a sort of feature that allows you to control computers remotely by using other devices like phones, tablets, or even from other computers. There are applications which are dedicated to providing this kind of thing while there also others which provide it as an additional option. We’ll be looking at the second one, Chrome’s Remote Desktop feature. 

For this to work, you need to have: 

1. Chrome installed
2. Chrome’s Remote Desktop add-on
3. A Mac and a PC
4. An Internet connection with both of your computers being connected to it locally

So, if you haven’t already, the first thing you need to do is head over to this link and follow the instructions that you’ll be provided with to download and install Chrome on both of your computers. 

After that, you also need Chrome’s Remote Desktop extension. You should be able to get it from this link. All you have to do is click on “Add to Chrome”, wait for the installation to finish, and then you should be all set – almost. 

Now we need to set things up and you’re ready to go. 

Setup

Now that everything is installed, you need to set things up. It’ll take but a minute if you follow these steps (Use your Mac for those): 

1. Open a new tab
2. Head over to your bookmarks bar at the top left part of your screen and click on “Apps” (Make sure that the “Apps” shortcut is enabled. if not, right click on your bookmarks bar and select “Show Apps shortcut”. 
3. Click on “Chrome Remote Desktop”
4. Select “Enable Remote Connections”
5. Wait for the download to finish and choose a PIN

Now that this process is done, your Mac should be ready to be “Controlled” by another computer. All that remains to be done is for you to open your Windows computer, get access to your Mac, and use your Windows PC as if you were using a Mac. To do that: 

1. Make sure that your PC is connected to the same network with your Mac
2. Open Chrome’s Remote Desktop (Follow the same steps that we provided above)
3. Head over to “My Computers”
4. Select your Mac computer which should be detected by now
5. Input the PIN which you choose
6. And you should be all set 

That’s it for the easy way which is more or less bound to work without any issues. If you’re feeling a bit adventurous, you can follow the hard way as well. However, do keep in mind that you’ll most likely come across numerous issues with this one – if it’ll work at all. 

2: How To Use iMessage On PC With VirtualBox

If you’ve got the appropriate software, hardware, and tools for it, computers have the ability to run multiple operating systems simultaneously. So, if your PC is powerful enough, you’ll be able to run both Windows and Mac at the same time, which effectively allows you to get access to iMessage natively. 

Now, do keep in mind four things: 

1. You’re doing this through a virtual machine – which means that Mac OS won’t be running natively
2. Only specific CPUs and motherboards are known for playing well with Mac OS. AMD chipsets are particularly known for not working at all with this
3. Even if you’ve got the exact hardware that works flawlessly with Mac OS, chances are that you’ll come across numerous issues
4. This isn’t a detailed guide. We’ll be posting one in the upcoming weeks

That being said, only follow those steps for the lols. If you are serious about getting iMessage to work on your PC, stick with our previous method. It’s the safest, easiest, and verified to work. 

1. Download and install VirtualBox
2. Find the appropriate ISOs. Medium has already made a right over here
3. Open VirtualBox and proceed with the installation procedure

If the steps that VirtualBox provides you with don’t make much sense, you can wait until we release our dedicated guide on how to install Mac OS as a virtual machine. 

Now, again, even if you do everything right, there is a good chance that you’ll come across issues or that the OS won’t work at all.

That’s all for now. Hopefully, that helped you with your issue. If you’ve got any questions, let us know about them in the comments section and we’ll see if we can help you. 

If you liked this article, don’t forget to share it with your friends. Feel free to come back as we regularly post new content including, but not limited to, how-to guides, reviews, listicles, and more! Till next time!

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George Kasiouras

Editor at Why The Lucky Stiff

George has been reading smartphone reviews since the days where single-core devices and Android 2.0 were a thing. And while he never expected to be the one to write them, here we are today. When he is not writing about tech, you'll find him writing novels, playing games, watching shows or anime, or maybe even soloing with his guitar.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-k-8246a1169/

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