Text bubbles are usually blue, so we break down why they're sometimes green.
If you have an iPhone, you may be wondering: Why are my messages green? Most of the time, the text messaging bubbles are blue (and gray) but every once in a while, our texts can show up as green bubbles too. Since this can be pretty confusing for iPhone users, Parade is breaking down all the reasons that can cause your messages to show up in different colors.
Keep reading to find out why iPhone text messages are sometimes green—plus, try these fun texting games and check out questions to ask someone over text.
So, what is a green text message? A green text message means that your message was delivered as an SMS—that's "Short Message Service"—over cellular service.
According to T-Mobile's website, "SMS stands for Short Message Service and is commonly known as texting. It's a way to send text-only messages of up to 160 characters between phones."
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The other main kind of text message is an MMS (Multimedia Message Service) and this just means a message that includes some kind of media (whether that's an emoji, picture or video) attached.
Well, it may surprise you to learn that most iPhone users actually aren't sending texts via SMS or MMS. Instead, iPhone users' phones are using iMessage—unique to Apple devices—which typically uses a WiFi signal or data to send and receive texts.
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So, if a text message is green, it can mean one of two things. No, it doesn't mean that the text won't go through or hasn't gone through. Instead, a green text message on an iPhone is an SMS message that has been delivered to a phone that is not an iPhone or Apple device (ie. an Android). A green message can also mean that you aren't connected to the internet or that your iMessage is turned off in settings.
Since a green text message usually indicates that an iPhone is texting an Android, you may be extra confused if you know for a fact that you're texting another iPhone… and it still shows up as a green bubble.
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If you both have iPhones, a few different things could be happening. First, you may not have access to the internet. Without WiFi or data, your message can't be delivered over iMessage, so it reverts back to an SMS, which uses cell service. If you're on WiFi and still get a green bubble, the other person may not have great service.
A green text message does not mean that you are blocked. If that was the case, the text would not show up as 'delivered' on Read Receipts.
Related: iPhone's New iOS 16 Update Will Actually Let You Edit and Unsend Messages—Here's How
Another indication that the person has blocked you is if you dial their number on a phone call and it goes straight to voicemail after only one ring. Depending on your carrier, you may also hear a busy tone before the call automatically hangs up.
The default setting on an iPhone is to use iMessage to send text messages to other iPhones, iPads and iPods. But if you have data and a WiFi connection, chances are that your default settings have been changed.
To turn your iMessage back on—so that texts go from green to blue in most cases—follow these steps:
1. Go to Settings in your phone, then Messages.
2. Make sure 'iMessage' is toggled to 'on.'
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If you get into Settings > Messages and your 'iMessage' is, in fact, toggled to 'on' and you're still getting green text messages, you likely are out of data, not connected to WiFi, or are texting someone who's out of data, disconnected from WiFi or doesn't have an iPhone.
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