iMessaging and Facetime

[ExSp33db1rd]

My G/children now eschew e-mail and use nothing but iMessages from their IPhones. I have an iPad, ( no iPhone ) but mainly for travelling and away from home, so it lies dormant most of the time, so when I do occasionally use it there are day old messages awaiting my pleasure.

I use an HP Laptop with Windows H'eight all the time - is there anyway that I can receive Facetime and/or their iMessages on this device, ie. is there a downloadable programme that will work on Microsoft stuff to receive Facetime and iMessages, or are we condemned to living in two different spheres ?

Thinks .... can they send their iMessages to my e-mail address that I can read on a variety of devices and locations ?
(why can't they just use e-mail for everything, I can read that on my Laptop at home, and my iPad when away ? But that doesn't seem to be the method of choice for Millennials ? )

[Jhieminga]

The quick answer is: no you can't. A quick Google shows that there are some workarounds that may work, but all of them require either a separate Mac that is also available, some dodgy software that may include malware or a lot of tinkering for something that might work on a good day. iMessages and Facetime are cornerstones of the Apple ecosystem and the company is just not interested in allowing Windows users acces to it. Your best bet is to train the grandchilderen I'm afraid.

[rjtjrt]

The simple way is to give in and buy a “cheap” iphone (well, a sl less exorbitant iphone).
i have an iphone se and it is ok for me. Buying a refurbished one is an option.
then iMessages are on both your phone and your ipad, and i find typing an sms on ipad much easier than on a phone.

[ExSp33db1rd]

Thanks for the replies, sadly what I had expected

Your best bet is to train the grandchilderen I'm afraid.

Probably easier to train a new puppy ? They'll just have to continue to put up with not getting instant responses from me - hope they never need rescuing from something in a hurry !

[Jhieminga]

I'd approach it the same way as training a puppy: use incentives. You could always drop some hints about a sizable bit of inheritance earmarked for those grandchildren that regularly keep in touch using e-mail....:E

[Ancient Observer]

As their i-whatevers can easily be set up for e-mail, they don't really have an excuse.

SWMBO's family in Texas are all addicted to i-whatevers. One of them works for the i lot. We trained SWMBO's sister to use whatsapp, and that works fine across all phones.. Their incentive is that other relatives in Canberra also use whatsapp.