Android Messages on Mac: how to read and send your texts from macOS

The way to get Android messages on a Mac is Google Messages for web. It is free, it runs in Safari or Chrome, and it lets you read and send your phone's texts from the Mac's keyboard. Google offers it as a website, not as a Mac app, and Apple's Messages app cannot connect to an Android phone. If what you mostly want is to see incoming texts and paste login codes without opening a browser tab, a companion app such as The Relay does that part, but it does not send texts.

How do I set up Google Messages for web on a Mac?

These steps are from Google's help page, Check your messages on your computer or Android tablet.

What you need first:

• On the phone: the latest version of Google Messages, Android 5.0 or higher, and a Wi-Fi or mobile data connection.
• On the Mac: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Microsoft Edge, and an internet connection.
• A Google Account. Google says the account is used to pair the phone app with your computer.

Then:

1. On the phone, open Google Messages.
2. At the top right, tap your account menu, then Device Pairing. If asked, sign in with the Google Account you want to use.
3. On the Mac, open a browser and go to messages.google.com/web.
4. Sign in with the same Google Account you chose on the phone.
5. The phone shows a dialog with three emoji. Tap the one that matches the emoji on the Mac's screen.
6. The phone vibrates when pairing completes, and your conversations appear in the browser.

The web version shows what is in the Google Messages app, so the phone has to be using that app for its texts. If your phone uses a different texting app, which is worth checking on a Samsung Galaxy, you would need to switch to Google Messages first.

What about pairing with a QR code?

Older instructions tell you to scan a QR code on the Mac's screen. Google's help page now treats that as the old method. It says QR code pairing "is no longer available in the US" and walks people who used it through switching to Google Account sign-in. Outside the US you may still see the QR option. If you do not, use the account steps above.

What does Google Messages for web actually do?

Google describes it as showing "what's on your Google Messages mobile app". You read conversations and type replies in the browser, and the messages go out through your phone. The details that matter:

That last row is the weak spot. A browser tab is easy to bury, and a text you were waiting for can sit unread behind twenty other tabs. Keeping the tab pinned helps.

Does it work with RCS chats?

RCS is the newer messaging standard that Google Messages uses in place of SMS when both people have it. Google's RCS help page says it lets you send messages over Wi-Fi and adds read receipts and typing indicators. RCS is switched on in the phone app, under Messages settings, then RCS chats. Since the web version shows what is in the phone app, your RCS conversations are part of what it mirrors. Google's web help page does not list which RCS features carry over to the browser, so check your own conversations after pairing.

Does iMessage on a Mac work with an Android phone?

No. This is the most common wrong turn, because the Mac already has an app called Messages.

Apple's own pages explain why it cannot work:

• Apple says that with iMessage, "messages can be sent to another iPhone or another Apple device". It is an Apple-to-Apple service. That is from Apple's page on the difference between iMessage, RCS, and SMS/MMS.
• Ordinary texts reach a Mac through a feature called Text Message Forwarding, which Apple describes as a "feature of your iPhone". The texts are forwarded from an iPhone signed in to the same Apple Account. There is no equivalent setting for an Android phone.

So you can sign in to Messages on a Mac with an Apple Account and exchange iMessages with other Apple users. What you cannot do is make the texts sent to your Android phone's number show up there, or send SMS from that app through your Android phone. For that, use Google Messages for web.

How do I see texts and login codes on the Mac without a browser tab?

Publisher note: The Relay publishes this guide and is one of the products discussed. Details about other products come from each maker's own pages, checked on 1 October 2026. Prices and features change, so confirm before you buy.

This is where The Relay fits, and it is a narrower job than Google Messages for web.

What it does: when an SMS arrives on the phone, it shows up on the Mac. If the text contains a login code, the code is copied to the Mac's clipboard, so you paste it into the form you were filling in. The phone's other notifications appear as Mac notifications too.

What it does not do: The Relay does not send texts from the Mac. It shows incoming ones. If you want to type a reply from your keyboard, Google Messages for web is the tool, and it is free.

Plenty of people will want both. Use Google Messages for web when you are having a conversation. Let The Relay handle the texts you only need to glance at, such as bank codes, delivery updates, and two-factor prompts.

The Relay costs $19.99, paid once, and needs Android 8.0 or later and macOS 13 Ventura or later. Texts travel directly between your phone and your Mac over your local network and are not uploaded to The Relay's servers. Both devices have to be on the same network or within Bluetooth range, so it will not show you texts from a phone you left at home.

KDE Connect is a free alternative worth knowing about. Its website says it syncs phone notifications to your computer and lets you reply to text messages from it, and its download page lists a stable release for macOS. We cover it in KDE Connect on a Mac.

Questions people ask

Can I send text messages from my Mac to an Android phone?

Yes, in two senses. To text someone who uses Android, any texting method works, including Google Messages for web. To send texts from your own Android phone's number while sitting at your Mac, pair Google Messages for web with the phone. Your messages go out through the phone, so the other person sees your normal number.

Is there a Google Messages app for Mac?

Google's help page describes only the web version at messages.google.com/web, used in a browser. It lists Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge as supported. It does not mention a Mac app.

Why did Google Messages for web sign me out?

Google says you are unpaired automatically if you do not use it for a few weeks. Only one computer can be active at a time, so opening it on another computer can also interrupt the session on your Mac. Pair again from Device Pairing in the phone app.

Is it safe to use Google Messages for web on a shared computer?

Google advises unpairing when you are done on a shared or public computer, because your messages can include things like two-factor codes. In the web page, open the menu and choose Unpair. You can also unpair from the phone, under Device Pairing.

Does Google Messages for web work with a Samsung phone?

It works with the Google Messages app on any phone that meets Google's requirements of Android 5.0 or higher. If your Galaxy uses a different texting app, you would need to switch to Google Messages for the web version to show your conversations.