How to send texts from your PC using Android Messages

A 3D printed Android mascot Bugdroid is seen in front of a Google logo in this illustration. File picture: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

A 3D printed Android mascot Bugdroid is seen in front of a Google logo in this illustration. File picture: Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Published Oct 20, 2020

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Johannesburg - Google introduced a desktop browser support for Android Messages back in 2018 that allowed users to use their PC for sending messages and viewing those that have been received on their Android smartphone.

The feature gives users a lot more flexibility in choosing how and where they can carry on with their conversations. As long as your Android smartphone is turned on, you can text from a desktop computer or even other mobile devices including iOS products. Users can send text messages, stickers, emojis, and images on the web version.

To use Android Messages on the web requires using Android Messages as the main texting app on your smartphone. To get you started, make sure you download and install the latest version of Android Messages on your phone.

Here’s how you can text from your computer using Android Messages:

On your phone, open Messages by Google.

Tap the icon with three vertical dots at the top and to the far right. You should see a “Messages for web” option inside this menu.

Go to messages.android.com on the computer or other device you want to text from. You’ll see a big QR code on the right side of this page.

Tap “QR code scanner” and point your phone’s camera at the QR code on your other device. In less than a second, your phone will vibrate, and the two will be linked up. You should notice your conversations show up in the left column of the browser window. Google says that “conversation threads, contacts, and other settings will be encrypted and cached on your browser.”

There you have it! You can text from your PC using Android Messages. To make sure you don’t have to repeat the QR process, you can keep your computer paired with your phone by enabling “Remember this computer.” by going to the settings menu, which you can access from the web version of Android Messages click on the three-dot icon to the right of “Messages.” N.B (You should not turn this on if you are using a public PC that other people can easily access.)

You can simply turn off a linked PC to your messages from your smartphone just go back to the “Messages for web” area of Android Messages, and you can choose to sign out of individual computers.

Browsers that work with Android Messages include Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, and Safari.

IOL TECH

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