How to get iMessage on Android or Windows (via Beeper)

Apple is good at keeping its users within its ecosystem. It’s hard to move to Android once you enter the iPhone world and fall in love with its exclusive services or apps. One of the main iOS applications we wish we had on Android and Windows is iMessage. There is no official way to get iMessage on Android, but Beeper makes this possible with its unified chat app.

What is Beeper?

Beeper is a unified chatting and inbox app. One of the project’s leading players is Eric Migicovsky, former CEO and Founder of Pebble. It is known for efficiently unifying all your social networks and messaging apps seamlessly. You can also do things like set notes, search across all services, and you can even do voice/video calls.

Additional supported services include Google Chat, Instagram, Messenger, Signal, WhatsApp, Twitter, Discord, Slack, Telegram, Discord, and many of the best chat apps.

The app is currently in beta, and the only way to use the app is with an invite, but we’ll talk more about this later.

How does Beeper make it possible to use iMessage on Android and Windows?

How does Beeper accomplish this if iMessage isn’t supported outside Apple devices? Beeper works as a middleman between your iMessage content and your other devices. It connects your Apple ID account to its servers and reroutes messages through its chatting app. Essentially, you’re sending a message to its servers, the servers send it to iMessage, and the recipient then gets the message. The same works the other way around. Of course, this server would be MacOS-based and supported by Apple. It is based on a Mac Mini.

You need to get on a waitlist

As previously mentioned, Beeper is still in a closed beta stage. This means you’ll need an invite in order to get access to the app. Click on this link to get on the waitlist, and hopefully, you can get in soon.

How much is the app?

The app sounds pretty cool, right? Even in beta, it accomplishes something we’ve been waiting years for. The unified chat service works well, has a nice design, and works on all major platforms. You would be right to think so much goodness can’t be free. Even in its beta stage, Beeper used to cost $10 a month. A bit on the pricey side for a service that isn’t even ready for prime time, but some of you probably deemed it worthy.

Beeper changed things up in March 2023, when it announced Beeper is now free to use. That said, you still need to get on the waitlist and be accepted to use it. Additionally, Beeper plans to make money with an upcoming Beeper Plus subscription, which will enable additional features. This will include larger chat history backups, access to multiple network connections, and more.

The company has also announced users will get a free trial of Beeper Plus, but only for some available features. The full plan is said to launch “later in 2023.” Those who have already paid for Beeper will also be granted lifetime access to Beeper Plus, which is a lovely show of gratitude to early adopters. Beeper Plus will cost $5 to $10 USD, so that’s a nice perk to have!

Are there any downsides?

There’s no official way to use iMessage on Android or Windows, so Beeper must jump some hoops to accomplish this. The trick here is they’ll need access to your Apple ID account. This might raise some concerns among the security conscious, even if Beeper swears it’ll only use this information to get your messages from iMessage. Beeper stores these accounts on a Mac Mini server. Additionally, they will access your contacts to facilitate chatting. If you’re going to do this, you have to trust Beeper. Furthermore, you have to trust they won’t get hacked.

Another major downside was that Beeper didn’t support RCS (Rich Communications Services). Beeper announced RCS compatibility in August, though. This is great news, as it also means iPhone users can get RCS support by using Beeper.

Lastly, Beeper needs to be set up from a PC. You can’t just set it up and run it using the mobile app alone. More specifically, you can’t add services to your Beeper account from the Android app. The app is meant to sync to your account, which is controlled by the PC software. For those without a computer, that pretty much makes this a non-starter.

As you can see, Beeper comes with its fair share of downsides, all of which were confirmed when we started testing the service further.

How to set up iMessage on Beeper

Are you ready to move forward? If you got your invite, it’s time to set up iMessage on Beeper. You’ll get notified when it’s your turn. In this case, you have to follow instructions to set up Beeper.

1. Follow the instructions to install the Beeper app on your Windows PC, and create your account.
2. Download the Beeper Android app.
3. Sign in to your Beeper account on the Android app.
4. You’ll be asked to verify your identity from the Windows app. Click on Yes. You can also use the security code provided to you during account setup.
5. Now, both your Windows and Android apps are ready. It’s time to enter your iMessage account.
6. Click the + button on the left-side panel of the Windows Beeper app.
7. Click on iMessage.
8. Hit Continue.
9. If you don’t have an Apple ID, create one here. You can do this while you wait for Beeper to assign a server to you.
10. Enter your Apple ID credentials and verify your account.
11. Beeper will take some time to activate your iMessage. You’ll be able to chat on iMessage after this.
12. Open the Beeper app on your phone, and you’ll see iMessage added to the available services in the bottom tabs.

How to remove iMessage from Beeper

Are you not convinced by iMessage on Beeper? Here’s how to get rid of it.

1. Open the Windows Beeper app.
2. Click on the Gear Settings icon.
3. Select Chat Networks.
4. Go into iMessage.
5. Click on Delete.
6. Hit Delete iMessage Cloud Connection.

Do any other apps support using iMessage on Android?

Beeper has been the only real solution for using iMessage on Android for some time, but a competitor has recently emerged. The competing app is called Sunbird. It is much easier to set up, and you don’t need an Apple device or an additional computer to get it working. All you need is your Android phone.

We’ve actually tested an Alpha version of Sunbird, and believe the experience still needs some work. Regardless, it seems like it might be a worthy competitor to Beeper. All that said, Sunbird also requires that you sign up for a waitlist and sit tight until you get your chance to try out the app.

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