Am I blocked? Am I not in service? What’s happening?!
iPhone users all recognize the distinct blue text bubble that pops up when an iMessage is fired off to a bestie, parent, sibling, or study group. When texting a fellow iPhone user, all messages sent back and forth appear in blue, alongside a convenient “Delivered” status, and sometimes, a read receipt. But, every now and then, you notice that the text bubble color changes. You might wonder, wait… why are my texts green?
There are a few different reasons why some texts on your iPhone are sent as green. Before you spiral, double check that iMessage is turned on. To do this, go to Settings, click on Messages, and make sure that iMessage has been toggled to the “on” position. If iMessage is active and your messages are still sending as green, here’s a crash course on what that might mean (no, it doesn’t always indicate that
you’ve been blocked).
In short, green texts mean that they were sent as SMS (Short Message Service) texts. An SMS message is the same thing as a text message, and was first introduced way back in the 1990s. SMS texts use a cellular signal to send and receive messages, while iMessages use an Internet connection (aka WiFi).
Your text might be sent as SMS because you don’t have an Internet connection, your iMessage is turned off (you can fix that with the steps mentioned above), the recipient’s iMessage is toggled off, their phone is turned off, or you’re texting someone with an Android. In these cases, you’ll see a “Sent as Text Message” note underneath the bubble. (iMessage is a proprietary Apple feature, so only iPhones, iPads, Macs, and other Apple devices will have it.)
If you’re sending texts to a fellow iPhone user and your messages have previously been blue, then a green text could be a sign of a potential block. There won’t be a “Sent as Text Message” status underneath the text, either. In some cases, the text still sends in the blue bubble, but the “Delivered” message never shows up underneath.
But remember: Being blocked is not the only reason your texts are sent as green. Take a deep breath, don’t jump to conclusions, and consider all of the other reasons why your iMessage isn’t working. It could all come down to subpar WiFi.
Leah Campano is an Associate Editor at Seventeen, where she covers pop culture, entertainment news, health, and politics. On the weekends, you can probably find her watching marathons of vintage Real Housewives episodes or searching for New York City’s best almond croissants.
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