Microsoft has been toying with bringing texting functionality to Windows 10 PCs for a while now, and the company is still trying to figure out the best approach. As promised, Microsoft has updated Skype Preview for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile users in the Windows Insider Program with texting support. You can download the latest version now from the Windows Store.
The texting relay feature allows users to send and receive SMS and MMS messages from a Windows 10 PC. Skype lets you view new messages as they arrive and respond to them from your computer. You can send and receive texts, participate in group chats, and share photos, all in the same view as your Skype conversations.
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You’ll need the latest Skype Preview on both your Windows phone and PC. Once that’s done, do the following:
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- On your Windows phone, launch Skype Preview, go to settings and select “Make Skype your default messaging app.”
- On your Windows PC, launch Skype Preview, go to settings and select “Enable Skype on this device to sync my SMS messages.”
The new feature will be available more broadly “over the next couple of months,” but still as a preview. For months, Microsoft had been experimenting with making the Messaging app for Windows 10 and Windows 10 Mobile support texting across all your devices. But the company killed it so that Skype could champion the functionality.
While it definitely makes sense to consolidate the functionality into the Skype app, it’s taking the company excruciatingly long to get it done. There is still no release date for when to expect the functionality, and even then it appears to be limited to Windows 10 Mobile. That’s very frustrating given that Cortana for Android supports missed call alerts, texting, and reminders showing up your Windows 10 PC. This only further confuses what Windows 10 users should rely on if they want to access texting on their computers.
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