Continuity, Handoff, Messages, etc.

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ahmad

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#173326 19-May-2015 19:05

I'm upgrading to a Mac that now fully supports Bluetooth 4.0 LE features which I couldn't use before so never did.

I have never used iMessage because I don't like being restricted to only using it with other iOS users and prefer Viber which is cross platform. The only time I did briefly use iMessage was inadvertent (every time iPhone is restored it turns itself on by default) and then when I turned it off I found that I LOST a bunch of iMessages which were not saved into the local message history - stupid!!

However the thought of replying to SMS on my Mac is sort of appealing.

So are there any catches to using iMessage? I note that I now have to link my iCloud and mobile number - are there any problems doing this and how have you found Continuity in general? Does it work as advertised and is it useful? Any other things to watch?

I'm using an iPhone 5S with a MacBook Air 2013.

tdgeek

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#1307948 19-May-2015 19:19

It works great. I have all my iMessages and texts on my rMBP, iPhone 6 Plus and iPad Air. The only gotcha is if I am home and my phone rings so does the iPad. No biggie. I can switch to the other device should I want what I was doing on another device, works well, but I never use it. Thats my use case, others would/could/should find it useful, especially a business user on the go

ahmad

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#1307952 19-May-2015 19:22

Can't you stop the iPad receiving calls if you want that? Any issues with messages/iMessages particularly when TXTing non iOS users?

alasta

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#1308005 19-May-2015 21:03

I have had problems keeping iMessages syncing between devices and over the weekend it decided to completely de register my number from iMessage for no reason, but when it works it works well. It's like most of Apple's ideas; good concept but not as reliable or user friendly as they want you to believe.

I've stopped using SMS altogether, favouring a combination of iMessage and Facebook Messenger as a replacement. Syncing SMS between devices is a nice idea but to me it feels like a clumsy workaround for the limitations of a technology that's had its day.

tdgeek

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#1308019 19-May-2015 21:12

ahmad: Can't you stop the iPad receiving calls if you want that? Any issues with messages/iMessages particularly when TXTing non iOS users?

I can by turning it off in FaceTime, but I leave it on, I'm not into mass switch on switch off.

No issues with texts or non iOS users. How it works is that its not your iPad or Mac doing texts, its the iPhone. Essentially the iPad, Mac are joined to the iphone. They are wirelessly connected to the iphone microphone and speaker. If I text from my Mac, I am actually texting from my phone. Very cool.

tdgeek

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#1308022 19-May-2015 21:21

alasta: I have had problems keeping iMessages syncing between devices and over the weekend it decided to completely de register my number from iMessage for no reason, but when it works it works well. It's like most of Apple's ideas; good concept but not as reliable or user friendly as they want you to believe.

I've stopped using SMS altogether, favouring a combination of iMessage and Facebook Messenger as a replacement. Syncing SMS between devices is a nice idea but to me it feels like a clumsy workaround for the limitations of a technology that's had its day.

It works 100% reliable for me, its great. Its all in the setup, for some reason my wife iPad Mini and 4S have changed, I now have two wives on my phone, so dunno what she did. But I take your point, the setup isn't obvious.

This is mine

iPhone

You can be reached my messages at:
Cell
iCloud email (that I don't use for email)
Apple ID email (my regular email as well)

Start Conversations from:
Apple ID email

iPad

You can be reached my messages at:
Cell
iCloud email
Apple ID email (my regular email as well)

Start Conversations from:
iCloud email

rMBP

You can be reached my messages at:
Cell
iCloud email
Apple ID email (my regular email as well)

Start Conversations from:
Cell

Hmm, as you can see, my setup is not consistent, but it works. So, I assume that as long as these are ticked, they are registered to iMessage. My iPad is cellular but thats turned off. The rMBP isn't cellular but it sends from my cell, which I guess is JUST an iMessage Identifier.

tardtasticx

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#1308089 19-May-2015 22:51

Continuity is amazing and I don't know how I lived without it before. The SMS through iPad/OS X is my favourite, if my phone is in the next room and a non-message friend texts it's great to be able to reply while reading on my iPad or working on my MacBook. One thing that sometimes irks me is when I get a phone call and the whole house pretty much rings, and when I'll pickup on my phone the iMac will keep ringing or something and I have to walk over to mute it. It doesn't always happen but when it does it's really awkward.