All iPhone-owning Windows 11 users can now send iMessages from their PC

Windows 11 using iMessage
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Sending an iMessage from a Windows PC isn't something you've been able to officially do — until now.

Microsoft announced some time ago that its Phone Link for iOS app could soon support iMessages, with the feature rolling out slowly. Now, the company says that the rollout is complete and that everyone can now use it if they want to.

That means that iPhone owners who also have Windows 11 can now send and receive iMessages using a connected iPhone. But that doesn't mean that it's perfect and there is one huge caveat worth remembering.

Better than nothing

Microsoft announced its news via an update to an existing Phone Link announcement blog post. The news is short and sweet, with Microsoft saying that it is "pleased to announce that Phone Link for iOS is now available to all Windows 11 customers."

There are, however, some things to keep in mind.

At the top of that list is the fact that group messaging is not supported, no matter how much you try. That means that you're going to have to pick your phone up in at least some cases. And there's another problem.

Microsoft says that image and video sharing is not supported when using Phone Link, which is a shame. In terms of supported devices, you don't need to be running the best iPhone to use Phone Link. Anything with iOS 14 or newer will work just fine, but remember that it needs to be connected to the PC for any of this to work. Unlike when you're using a Mac, Windows doesn't actually connect to Apple's iMessage service itself, unfortunately.

That's on Apple of course, but it's still a limitation that is important to remember if you spend any amount of time in front of a Windows 11 PC but might not have your iPhone with you.

Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too.

Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.